Maryland visits Purdue on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at 12:30 p.m. ET in a Big Ten game that puts two struggling teams back in the same frame. The matchup at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, arrives with Maryland at 2-6 overall and 0-5 in conference play, while Purdue is 3-5 and 2-3 in the Big Ten.
That is why Maryland Vs Purdue is drawing attention now: both teams need a cleaner conference performance, and both bring clear statistical flaws into the game. Maryland has lost six straight, including a 37-30 defeat to Rutgers and a 20-17 loss to Illinois on Oct. 31, while allowing 31.6 points per game. Purdue, meanwhile, is trying to steady itself after winning back-to-back Big Ten games over Illinois and Minnesota in early October before losing to Washington and then falling 31-17 at Penn State on Oct. 31.
Malik Washington is the player who most shapes Maryland’s side of the matchup. He has been sacked just eight times this season, which helps explain why Maryland’s offense can expect time to throw against a Purdue defense that has only 10 sacks. Washington has thrown nine touchdown passes and seven interceptions, and he passed for 263 yards and two touchdowns against Rutgers. Maryland’s passing game has another edge in Chris Durr Jr., who leads the team with 58 catches for 638 yards, has four 100-yard games, and has four touchdown catches with a long reception of 65 yards. He drew 12 targets against Rutgers and finished with six catches for 104 yards, and he had seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown at Nebraska.
That passing strength meets a Purdue defense that gives up 243.6 passing yards per game and 418.6 total yards per game. Purdue’s own offense brings a different kind of pressure. The Boilermakers rank fifth in the Big Ten with 263.4 passing yards per game, but Ryan Browne has thrown four interceptions in his last two games after one in his first six. He completed 10 of 29 passes for 142 yards with two interceptions at Penn State, and he has thrown for 1,964 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He has also been sacked 14 times, which keeps the game tied to pass protection on both sides. Purdue’s big-play receiver, who averages 15.9 yards per catch and leads the team with 41 catches for 652 yards, can stretch the field, and he drew 16 targets against Washington while making nine catches for 116 yards.
Maryland’s defense has 17 sacks, so the question is not whether both teams can create offense. It is whether Purdue can protect Browne long enough to exploit Maryland’s secondary, or whether Washington can use the extra time Purdue’s front has allowed most of the season. The answer starts at kickoff on Saturday in West Lafayette, and it should tell whether Maryland’s losing streak grows or whether Purdue’s recent inconsistency turns into another conference swing.
