WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It took some time, but the changes Rutgers made leading up to its biggest game of the year were enough to salvage its season.

After being carved up and shut down early, the Scarlet Knights bunkered down defensively and woke up offensively to earn a crucial 27-24 win over Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday.

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The first Big Ten win of the year prevents Rutgers (4-4, 1-4) from falling into its first five-game losing streak in three years, keeps its slim hopes of a bowl bid alive and, most importantly, alleviates mounting pressure that would have peaked with an all-time bad loss.

Purdue (2-6, 0-5) entered Saturday with a program-record 13-game losing streak against Big Ten teams and had not beaten a Power Four team since the last day of the 2023 season. The Boilermakers were widely viewed as the worst team in the league, and they saw Rutgers as their last realistic chance at snapping their long skid.

And for the first half-hour, the hosts looked well on their way to doing so.

Purdue marched down the field on its first drive of each half, scoring walk-in touchdowns where no Rutgers defender was within striking distance of Boilermaker receivers on each possession. The Boilermakers drove 75 yards in four plays across 110 seconds on their first possession of the second half, taking a 17-7 lead that felt much wider.

On the other end, the Scarlet Knights went three-and-out twice, failed to convert a fourth down in the red zone and missed a 45-yard field goal on their first four drives. It was not until their final drive of the first half — in which they marched 85 yards on 17 plays while converting two fourth downs — that they put points on the board.

When Purdue answered to take a 17-7 lead at the start of the second half, it looked like the beginning of the end for Rutgers. Instead, it was a turning point for a struggling defense that came up big in a crucial moment.

The Scarlet Knights forced Purdue to punt four times in the final seven drives of the game, holding the hosts to seven points in the final 28 minutes of the game. After it surrendered a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, it was bailed out by an offense that sprang to life.

Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis combined with KJ Duff for big play after big play in the second half, leading to the star sophomore receiver finishing with 241 yards on six catches, the second-most receiving yards in a game in program history.

The duo combined for a 72-yard touchdown that cut Rutgers’ deficit to 17-14 midway through the third quarter, connected on plays of 37 and 42 yards that set up a go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, then collaborated on a 32-yard play that started the game-tying drive late in the quarter.

On the most important drive of the game, the Rutgers defense made its biggest play of the game. Senior defensive end Jordan Walker deflected a pass from Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne, leading to a scramble in which redshirt freshman Farell Gnago forced a fumble that was recovered by senior safety Jett Elad.

The first and only takeaway of the game led to a game-winning 30-yard field goal from kicker Jai Patel as time expired.

The victory improves Rutgers to 3-0 all-time against Purdue, ensures it will not finish winless in the Big Ten for the first time since the 2019 season and keeps its faint hopes alive to sustain its postseason streak.

Here are five observations from Rutgers-Purdue:

1. Athan Kaliakmanis bounces back with solid game

After struggling in recent weeks, the quarterback had one of his best performances of the season.

Kaliakmanis threw for 359 yards, a touchdown and zero interceptions on 19-of-27 passing (70%). He completed five passes of 20-plus yards — including a crucial 72-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter — and he could have had another if senior slot receiver DT Sheffield had not dropped what would have been a huge play.

2. Wide receivers pick up slack for Strong

After missing the entire second half of Rutgers’ loss to Oregon last week, star wide receiver Ian Strong did not play against Purdue. Schiano called him a game-time decision in a pregame interview with the Big Ten Network, and the decision was clear when Strong did not take the field with the offense on the opening drive of the game.

The rest of the unit picked up the slack.

Duff had a historic night, but he was not alone.

Backup Ben Black made a couple of big plays in Strong’s place, coming up with a huge catch on the final drive of the first half that converted a fourth-and-2 and put Rutgers back in the red zone, setting up its first touchdown. In the fourth quarter, on a do-or-die fourth-and-2, he made a 16-yard reception that put Rutgers in the red zone.

3. Rutgers defense does enough, but glaring issues remain

Rutgers’ defense held Purdue to 1-of-9 on third down and had one of its better stretches of the season when it held Purdue to five punts in the span of six drives. But when it was bad, it looked like a repeat of last week’s slaughter at the hands of Oregon.

The Scarlet Knights gave up eight plays of 15-plus yards, and on multiple occasions, they left receivers completely open, including on all three of Purdue’s touchdowns.

In the fourth quarter, Rutgers was on the verge of another big stop, forcing Purdue to face a third-and-8 on a do-or-die drive late in the fourth quarter. Then, the Scarlet Knights committed a pass interference that gifted the Boilermakers a free first down, which they took advantage of by scoring a go-ahead 14-yard touchdown.

4. Jai Patel’s baffling stretch in Big Ten play continues, but he comes up big

The kicker entered conference play with a program-record 18 consecutive made field goals and was on pace to become the most accurate kicker in Rutgers football history (83.3%).

Then, when the calendar flipped to Big Ten play, Patel’s accuracy fell apart in baffling fashion. Through five conference games, he has missed five of his nine attempts, with a majority of the misses (three) coming from kicks within 40 yards.

He missed a 45-yarder on the third drive of Saturday’s game against Purdue, a fitting end for a promising drive that fizzled out. But to his credit, he nailed a 20-yarder in the final minute to tie the game at 24-all, then a game-winning 30-yarder as time expired.

5. Bonus Round

Here are some other thoughts from Ross-Ade Stadium and around the Big Ten.

a. Rutgers appeared to have lost another player for the long haul midway through the second quarter, when cornerback Al-Shadee Salaam suffered what appeared to be a serious injury when recovering a muffed punt.

He stayed on the turf for a long time as he was tended to by two team trainers, then was carted off the field with a heavy cast on his right leg. It would be really surprising if he is not the 12th Scarlet Knight to be ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season with injury.

b. Running back Antwan Raymond made some notable contributions, like converting a third-and-10 on the Scarlet Knights’ first scoring drive, en route to a solid statline (116 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries). But it is notable that, for the second consecutive week, he fumbled.

c. While Rutgers moved the ball well, it once again had issues cashing in on its progress. The Scarlet Knights scored two touchdowns and a field goal in four red zone trips.

d. Rutgers fans might want to root for Illinois against Washington, which kicks off shortly in Seattle. If the Illini win, they will almost certainly remain in the Associated Press Top 25, giving the Scarlet Knights one last (realistic) shot at ending their Power-Four-leading 16-year ranked win drought.

e. Minnesota at Iowa will be an intriguing game between two teams Rutgers faced this season. They are a combined 4-2 since facing the Scarlet Knights, with their only losses coming to No. 1 Ohio State (Minnesota) and No. 2 Indiana (Iowa).

f. Former Rutgers assistant Fran Brown’s second season at Syracuse is descending into a disaster. The Orange have lost four straight since starting quarterback Steve Angeli — a Bergen Catholic product — went down for the year, including Saturday’s meeting with No. 7 Georgia Tech. Syracuse needs three wins in its final four games to earn a bowl bid, and considering it has road games at No. 9 Miami and No. 12 Notre Dame, that seems highly unlikely.

g. Respect to Rutgers radio sideline reporter Anthony Fucilli, who overcame a flight delay on Saturday morning to make it to Ross-Ade Stadium just before kickoff. He chopped to a level that Schiano and company would be proud of.

h. The train horn at Ross-Ade Stadium is significantly more obnoxious than the one at SHI Stadium, even at its peak. But at the very least, this one fits the motif of the place, which had a gigantic statue of a boilermaker out in front of the stadium.

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