UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State visits Purdue in Ross-Ade Stadium on Thursday night for a Big Ten matchup to begin its 136th season and the 2022 campaign. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
BIG TEN SEASON OPENERS: On Thursday night, Penn State will compete in its fifth season opener against a Big Ten opponent. The first was against Minnesota, a 38-20 win, on September 4, 1993 in Beaver Stadium in Penn State's first game as a Big Ten conference member. The following year, the Nittany Lions began the season with a 56-3 win at Minnesota. The 2020 shortened season started with a matchup at Indiana, a 36-35 overtime setback. The Nittany Lions came out on top, 16-10, against No. 12/15 Wisconsin last season in Madison.
ROAD WARRIORS: Penn State will open Big Ten action on the road for the seventh-straight season and 12th time in the last 13 years. Since 2016, Penn State has begun conference play at Michigan (2016), at Iowa (2017), at Illinois (2018), at Maryland (2019), at Indiana (2020) and at Wisconsin (2021). In 30 seasons as a Big Ten member, Penn State has opened on the road 21 times in conference.
SERIES HISTORY: The Nittany Lions hold a series lead of 15-3-1 against Purdue. The Nittany Lions will face the Boilermakers for the first time since 2019 and just the third time since 2013. The blue and white have won the last eight contests between the two schools, dating back to 2004. In the last matchup on Oct. 5, 2019, a fast start on offense, and a voracious pass rush that totaled 10 sacks, led Penn State to a 35-7 win over Purdue in Beaver Stadium. For the game, the Nittany Lions held the Boilers to 104 total yards and minus-19 rushing yards.
STARTING OFF RIGHT: Penn State has won 17 of its last 20 season-opening contests and five of its last six. The Nittany Lions are 111-22-2 all-time in season openers.
THE OPPOSITION: Purdue went 9-4 overall in 2021 with a 6-3 record in Big Ten action. The Boilermakers earned a pair of victories over top-three opponents last season, including at No. 2 Iowa on Oct. 16 (24-7) and at home against No. 3 Michigan State on Nov. 6 (40-29), while also closing the year strong with a 48-45 win over Tennessee in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. Purdue was dominant in the passing game, ranking second nationally in completion percentage (70.8) and fifth in passing offense (355.4).
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
- Jeff Brohm enters his sixth year at the helm of Purdue football, boasting a career record of 58-39, a .598 winning percentage, with nearly half of those wins coming at Purdue.
- Brohm came to the Boilermakers from Western Kentucky, where he compiled a 30-10 overall record and guided the Hilltoppers to Conference USA Championships in 2015 and 2016.
- Previously, Brohm served as an assistant coach at Louisville (2003-08), Florida Atlantic (2009), Illinois (2010-11), UAB (2012) and Western Kentucky (2013).
- As a student-athlete, Brohm was a three-year starter at quarterback for Louisville from 1989 to 1993.
- The 2021 Purdue season featured a 9-4 record, the second-most wins in a season in program history.
- The Boilermakers tied for second in the Big Ten West, helped by a pair of Top 5 victories over No. 2 Iowa and No. 3 Michigan State, handing both teams their first loss of their 2021 campaigns.
- The season was capped off with a 48-45 overtime victory over Tennessee at the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville.
- Led by second team All-Big Ten quarterback Aidan O'Connell, the 2021 Boilermakers ranked fifth nationally in passing offense at 355.4 yards per game.
- Mackey Award watch list member Payne Durham caught 45 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns in 2021.
- King Doerue returns at running back after posting 533 yards and two touchdowns.
- On the defensive side, Purdue boasted an improved defense that ranked 23rd in the red zone.
- LB/S Jalen Graham tallied 64 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions and seven pass breakups in 2021.
- S Cam Allen led the Boilers with four interceptions a year ago.
- Charlie Jones, a dangerous returner, transferred from Iowa after being named the Rodgers-Dwight Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year and ranking second in the nation with 1,251 all-purpose yards.
NON-SATURDAY OPENERS
- Penn State has played 11 season openers on a non-Saturday, with a 7-3-1 record in those contests.
- The Nittany Lions will play their first ever Thursday season opener.
- Penn State will play their first non-Saturday season opener since Sunday, August 27, 2000 against USC, a 29-5 setback at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
- The Nittany Lions have opened the season four times on a Sunday, three times on a Wednesday, three times on a Friday and twice on a Monday.
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score |
| Wednesday | 10/31/1888 | Dickinson | T, 6-6 |
| Friday | 10/10/1890 | at Penn | L, 0-20 |
| Friday | 10/2/1891 | at Lafayette | W, 14-4 |
| Wednesday | 9/25/1895 | Gettysburg | W, 48-0 |
| Sunday | 9/23/1900 | Susquehanna | W, 17-0 |
| Sunday | 9/22/1901 | Susquehanna | W, 17-0 |
| Friday | 9/2/1977 | at Rutgers | W, 45-7 |
| Monday | 8/29/1983 | vs. Nebraska | L, 6-44 |
| Wednesday | 8/28/1991 | vs. Georgia Tech | W, 34-22 |
| Sunday | 8/25/1996 | vs. USC | W, 24-7 |
| Sunday | 8/27/2000 | vs. USC | L, 5-29 |
BIG TEN SEASON OPENERS
- The Nittany Lions are playing their fifth season opener against a Big Ten foe and the third consecutive opener against a conference opponent.
- Penn State played its first ever Big Ten game, against Minnesota on Sept. 4, 1993, a season-opening 38-20 victory.
- The Nittany Lions opened the 1994 season at Minnesota on Sept. 3, earning a 56-3 win.
- Penn State began the 2020 season, and a Big Ten-only schedule, at Indiana, falling 36-35 in overtime.
- The Nittany Lions earned a 16-10 win at No. 12 Wisconsin to begin the 2021 campaign.
- Penn State has played two previous Big Ten openers on a non-Saturday, defeating Illinois, 63-24, on Sept. 21, 2018 and Maryland, 59-0, on Sept. 27, 2019, both in Friday games.
- The Nittany Lions are 15-14 all-time in Big Ten openers and 17-12 in Big Ten road openers.