Back To The Roots! Road To CFB Visits A Purdue Football Game Day

Road to CFB returns to the town where the initiative started – West Lafayette, Indiana, for a Purdue Boilermakers football game day.

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

Nine years ago, I sat in the stands of Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue for my first college football game day away from Bowling Green. You can read more about my first impression here. But that Saturday afternoon changed my entire outlook on the sport and sparked the desire for more. Thus, Road to CFB was born. And nine years later, I decided to revisit the birthplace of this journey.

Each year, my dad and I plan for a weekend together where he comes along on the journey. Previous stops included bucket list schools like Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. We sat together in the stands for Enter Sandman at Virginia Tech and got a full tour of the Jordan-brand facilities at North Carolina. It's become a tradition, a cherished one, at that. This year, we decided to team up for a weekend in the Hoosier State (dubbed the Old Oaken Bucket Drive, thanks to creative wordsmithing from Andrew of College Football Tour).

Deep In the Hoosier Heartland

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

The "Hoosier" moniker isn't just for Purdue's not-so-friendly neighbors to the south, it's a statewide title of pride. Driving from Cleveland to West Lafayette takes you straight down the Hoosier Heartland Highway. "Heartland" here isn't awarded lightly, either; this is pure Americana. Dozens of miles of farms, cornfields, and homesteads litter the sides of U.S. Highway 24.

West Lafayette is a self-sustaining Big Ten college town. It has to be, as it sits squarely in the middle of not-alot (and that's coming from a born and bred Midwesterner). In mid-October, you can catch some gorgeous fall foliage, tucked in a corner of America a low percentage of the national population lays eyes on.

On a standard Saturday game day (preferably one that kicks off at noon or 3:30), students flock to the bars in costume before the sun comes up. The tradition is called the "Breakfast Club" and groups are encouraged to coordinate outfits.

Ross-Ade Stadium sits on the outskirts of Purdue's campus, just a short walk away from multiple campus-operated golf courses. These Big Ten championship golf courses present a visible challenge but gorgeous and peaceful scenery. Whether you park a short ways away in a local's lawn or over a mile away, parking fees are standard. This evening, we paid $40 to park 1.2 miles away and fees didn't increase nor decrease the closer we got. Given the propensity for traffic to build up, you may as well park on the outskirts, where egress is easier.

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

Pregame, we navigated to the north end zone for the team walk, led by a show put on by Boiler Beats, Purdue's energetic drum line. Boilermaker Pete–a meme-able and somewhat terrifying mascot–pumps the crowd up and takes photos with all fans.

There's plenty of game day work at Ross-Ade Stadium. The majority of workers are tasked with keeping the concourse absolutely spotless, a mission well accomplished. As a enthusiast of ticket stubs, it was a tough to see such a pristine facility, but it's impressive nonetheless.

Hammer Down Cancer!

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

The name Tyler Trent is as recognizable on the Purdue campus as Drew Brees. "T2," a Purdue superfan battling cancer, was the face of the 2019 Purdue football team (and others surrounding that year). A commemorative evening took center stage when Purdue blew out No. 2 Ohio State on a Hammer Down Cancer night in 2019, spurring a rash of upsets at night in West Lafayette.

Students, seated in the Ross-Ade Brigade section, showed up painted in "We Luv T2." Some boasted signs about their own victory over cancer. It's a solemn evening that adds a bit of juice and butts in the seats at Ross-Ade Stadium. I'd highly recommend attending Purdue's annual Hammer Down Cancer nights, be it football or other sports, like basketball.

The turnout for the night was exceptional. Despite a brutal and non-competitive season, the stands at Ross-Ade were packed. A 1-5 team had no business filling the stands on a Friday night like Purdue did this night. Peak excitement comes out for the All-American Marching Band and the iconic World's Largest Drum.

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

If I had to throw a couple gripes out, it's that the sound balancing in the stadium is poor. Videos on the scoreboard are difficult to hear and the down and distance are hidden in the corner of the scoreboard in 12-pt. font – sitting in the north end zone guarantees you'll be guessing on down and distance or referencing the sticks. As a result, the upper rows of the north end zone are a bit quiet.

Ross-Ade Stadium installed LED lights not long ago and aren't afraid to use them. Light shows litter the game, from the team run out to the third/fourth quarter break.

#2 Oregon 35, Purdue 0

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

Purdue has a reputation when hosting top-three national opponents at night – a reputation strong enough to earn them the "Spoilermakers" moniker. This week, Purdue hosted No. 2 Oregon at night. Unfortunately, the Spoilermakers didn't show.

Oregon, the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, jumped out to an instant 14-0 lead, gaining nearly 160 yards before Purdue gained 15. While the rest of the game was quieter (by both offenses), Oregon nailed the coffin shut with a 99-yard touchdown drive spanning a hair over two minutes. It was clear Purdue never had a chance, despite catching Oregon off an emotional home win over Ohio State.

Patience for the existing coaching staff was well past worn thin. Down 21-0, Purdue opted to attempt a short field goal on 4th & 4, sending down a downpour of boo birds from the fans. Those boos intensified to a full-on cascade when the attempt missed wide left. To add insult to injury, a student selected from the crowd made two field goals equal distant to the one just missed following the failed attempt to win a Kroger gift card.

The Wabash River stayed free of goal posts this night, unfortunately.

Purdue Game Day Grades

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

Stadium: B. Ross-Ade Stadium has a couple differentiators: towering light structures and a massive press box. While not entirely unique, the north end zone ribbon board is a nice touch. South end zone renovations provide unique student section standing room seats and tie the venue together, rather than having an empty end zone. There's not many bad seats in the house, if any. The lights and press box do shrink the scale of the stadium, though. Navigating is easy and, overall, this stadium makes sense.

Tradition: B+. The World's Biggest Drum, strong tie-in to the locomotive and school's engineering roots (Boilermaker Special, tracks on the helmets and swag, etc.), and various chants and calls from the student section pin a Purdue football game day as uniquely collegiate. Fans shake keys on kickoffs and third downs, too.

Atmosphere: B-. On big downs, this crowd got up. We've seen it get really up for huge games in years where the team's record was better, especially at night. But in between those big downs, this crowd wasn't really engaged. Understandable, since the team is a non-competitive 1-5 coming in (with multiple 40+ point losses). I'll give the crowd the benefit of the doubt, since I've heard it be better in the past.

Tailgating: C+. It exists! There's some unique setups, like a Purdue Ambulance, but overall pretty bog standard. Enough folks turned out for a Friday, but I think the size of this fanbase reflects the scope of tailgating – respectable but nothing mind-blowing.

Fans: B. I'll tell you what, for being extremely non-competitive–Purdue lost 52-6 just two weeks prior to rival Wisconsin–these fans showed up. It was a Friday night, the team stunk, temperatures after kickoff were frigid, and pretty much everyone in town knew the Boilermakers were about to get smoked. And after getting smoked in the first half, Purdue fans' butts remained in seats. This is a ride or die fanbase.

Extracurriculars: D. I dare any non-Indianan or Purdue grad to point West Lafayette out on a map. It's an hour from Indianapolis (a pretty good city, if you ask me!) but that's about it. There's just not much to do outside of the town and the town itself doesn't blow enough minds to earn a better grade.

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