Ryan Walters Hints at Lightening Up Purdue's Nonconference Schedule Moving Forward
Purdue could be making a shift in its approach to scheduling nonconference opponents. Although coach Ryan Walters didn't say the Boilermakers would be lightening up its schedule down the road, he made it clear that he has no problem trying to rack up the wins.
This season, the Boilermakers will play 11 Power Four opponents in a 12-game schedule. Purdue plays Notre Dame and Oregon State in nonconference play, paired with a nine-game Big Ten slate.
Previous Purdue coach Jeff Brohm loved loading up the schedule with quality opponents, providing fans with intriguing matchups and testing the Boilers' toughness on the field. But Walters doesn't exactly have that same scheduling mentality.
"My theory is, nobody cares how the wins came at the end of the season, they just want to make sure you got the wins," Walters said during his weekly radio show on Thursday. "Because of the 12-team Playoff, strength of schedule is non-existent anymore. We play nine conference games. If you look at our counterparts in the SEC, they play eight conference games. They usually play maybe one Power Four opponent and then three Group of Five (teams), with an FCS or an HBCU included in there.
"To me, that makes the most sense. You want to give yourself an opportunity, the best opportunity you can, to have as many wins in the column at the end of the season as possible. I'll just leave it at that."
Right now, there isn't a lot of wiggle room in Purdue's nonconference schedule. The Boilers' have the non-league portion of their schedule set through the 2028 season, playing 11 Power Four opponents in three of the next four seasons (excluding 2024).
Would Purdue look to adjust its schedule and attempt to back out of some of these Power Four matchups that are already on the schedule? Here's what the Boilermakers have set through 2028:
- 2025: vs. Ball State; vs. Southern Illinois; at Notre Dame
- 2026: vs. Wake Forest; vs. Indiana State; vs. Notre Dame
- 2027: at Notre Dame; vs. North Carolina; vs. Miami (Ohio)
- 2028: vs. Western Illinois; at Wake Forest; vs. Notre Dame
The Boilers also have games against Vanderbilt (2029), TCU (2030), North Carolina (2031) and Ole Miss (2033, 2034) on the schedule.
It'll be interesting to see what kind of changes Purdue makes to its future schedules, if any at all.
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