With its best start since 2023, UCLA football (2-0) opens Big Ten competition against Purdue (1-1) Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins are coming off a 28-10 victory over San Diego State, after an initial 0-0 deadlock at halftime. Here is this week’s scouting report from Sports editor Jacob Nguyen, who hopes fans take advantage of the now-free tickets, and Sports reporter Jack Clarke, who has high expectations for both the Bruins offense and Love Island star Bryce Alakai’s DJ set at the Rose Bowl.
Purdue’s offense:
Offensive scheme: Spread
Run-pass percentage: 51% run, 49% pass
Strength: Rushing attack
Weakness: Red zone offense
X-factor: Fame Ijeboi
After registering the Big Ten’s third-fewest points per game at 18.8 alongside a 2-10 record in 2025, saying that the Boilermakers had a difficult time establishing an effective offense last season would be an understatement.
Now, entering year two for head coach Barry Odom and offensive coordinator Josh Henson, many members of the Purdue faithful have expectations for an offensive turnaround in West Lafayette as the 2026 season continues.
Averaging 489 yards per game on offense and 40 points per game, it seems Henson’s scheme has begun to find its stride. This success can be largely attributed to an increased emphasis on the rushing attack, anchored by the emergence of running back Fame Ijeboi.
In the Boilermakers’ most recent double-overtime 38-36 loss to Wake Forest, the Minnesota transfer logged 114 ground yards and three touchdowns.
Glimpses into his film demonstrate Ijeboi’s characteristics as a patient runner with high-level burst and vision at the line. At the second level, he can use his athleticism to make cuts and jukes that elicit missed tackles in the open field.
But the Boilermakers’ offense is far from one-dimensional, with a consistent passing game to complement Purdue’s physical rushing attack.
Commanded by quarterback Ryan Browne, Purdue’s offense has the ability to punish defenses that overadjust to the run through an effective play-action and run-pass option aerial assault. In his most recent game against Wake Forest, Browne attempted 42 passes for 329 yards and one touchdown.
Browne’s pocket presence and levelheadedness have allowed him to effectively find targets in Asaad Waseem, who leads Purdue pass catchers with 172 receiving yards, and Chauncey Magwood, who tallied a team-high 77 yards against the Demon Deacons, including an impressive contested catch in the first quarter.
While all signs in the first two contests point to an offensive rebirth for the Boilermakers, their inability to turn red zone trips into touchdowns has held Henson’s unit back.
Against Wake Forest, the Boilermakers made it to the red zone five times during regulation but were only able to punch the ball into the end zone twice, settling for a field goal on their other three trips. Especially in close games, the inability to take advantage of red zone positioning can be the difference between a victory and a crushing overtime loss.
For UCLA’s defense, it is most likely that Purdue will initially script a run-heavy opening series with a multitude of run-pass option concepts. After shutting down SDSU through the air, the Bruins will probably see a Boilermaker offense centered on Ijeboi’s physical running.
When facing a talented runner such as Ijeboi, UCLA’s defense will have to emphasize gap integrity among the front seven while also setting edges to ensure runs don’t spill to the outside – where Ijeboi’s burst has proved to punish undisciplined defenses.
Pressure will also be a key to a successful game plan, especially on the third down. Browne has demonstrated an ability to step up in the pocket but has not shown a tendency to run the ball himself, meaning that five-man pressures could force Browne’s reads and lead to takeaways.
Despite its struggles in 2025, Purdue’s offense has the personnel and scheme to challenge the UCLA defense as it opens conference play Saturday.
Purdue’s defense
Defensive scheme: 3-3-5
Strength: Run containment
Weakness: Explosive plays
X-factor: Mister Clark
Any older Purdue fan might not have great memories of seeing who is calling plays again for the Boilermakers.
After a one-year stint with Minnesota, defensive coordinator Kevin Kane returns to West Lafayette, where he manned the defense for two seasons prior to last year. In both 2023 and 2024, the Boilermakers allowed the most points per game in the Big Ten.
But with new pieces at his disposal, Kane has the opportunity to help revive a team that was winless in conference play in 2025 – somehow even worse than the 3-9 Bruins.
Kane’s “attacking” philosophy – focused on getting to the ball early and forcing turnovers – has been on full display through the Boilermakers’ first two games, with Purdue stuffing the line of scrimmage with heavier fronts. Consequently, the squad had been effective at limiting opposing runs to start the year, surrendering just seven non-quarterback rushing yards to Indiana State on Sept. 4. Against Wake Forest on Saturday, Purdue allowed 186 total rushing yards on a 4.5 average – a metric that dropped to 3.55 after excluding a singular 44-yarder from wide receiver Drayden Dickmann.
The tackle duo of Ian Jeffries and Curt Neal has excelled at stuffing inside seams and plugging up gaps, combining for 1.5 sacks to open the 2026 season. As a unit, the Boilermakers also have 17 tackles for loss on the year, good for second in the Big Ten.
While the Boilermakers have consistently collapsed opponents’ pockets, Purdue’s edge rushers have come up short in fully bringing quarterbacks down. The squad has totaled five sacks through two games, but only a pair of those came from defensive ends, with Jeremy Lewis leading the team with 1.5.
Consequently, the Boilermakers have fallen victim to heavy running performances from opposing signal callers, allowing 60 yards to the Sycamores’ Elijah Owens. The Demon Deacons’ Gio Lopez put up another 58 rushing yards and two touchdowns, capping off his Week Two victory with the walk-off two-point conversion in double overtime on a designed quarterback run.
Such displays likely bode well for the dual-threat ability of senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who has gone for 86 rushing yards, including one score, to start the year.
Kane’s downfield scheme is further supplemented by former Florida International nickelback Mister Clark, whose comfort playing below the line of scrimmage has already turned into a sack. Last season with the Panthers, Clark tied for second-best in the country with 13 pass deflections, bringing a keen ability to roam in high coverage to West Lafayette.
However, the Boilermakers’ focus on stuffing the trenches leaves the secondary primarily in loose zones, where Purdue has suffered major yardage. Serving as quite literally the last line of defense, Kane and company have consistently been diced up by tactical routes and tarnished by explosive plays. Through two games, the Boilermakers have allowed 443 passing yards on just 28 total receptions, including 218 to FCS Indiana State.
With an average of 15.6 passing yards allowed per play, the Bruins may be able to take advantage in open space, with Iamaleava having yet to throw a touchdown in 2026 compared to two interceptions.
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