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Washington vs Purdue: prediction and projected score

Final: Washington 38, Purdue 26. We projected Washington 30.7-25.7 (63%) — winner called correctly.

Matchup analysis

Before kickoff our model projected Washington 30.7, Purdue 25.7 at Ross-Ade Stadium in Week 7. That is a lean: Washington wins about 63% of the time by our estimate, with a projected margin of 5 points and 56.3 combined points. Tags: upset alert.

Washington is 3-3, scoring 26.2 and allowing 22.2 points per game (+4 per game). Purdue is 3-3, scoring 32.2 and allowing 31.3 points per game (+0.9 per game).

The most lopsided unit battle: Washington's middle-of-the-pack offense (51st of 138 in our opponent-adjusted ratings, worth about 28.8 points against an average defense) against Purdue's below-average defense (97th). Washington's strong defense (40th) should limit Purdue's middle-of-the-pack offense (56th of 138 in our opponent-adjusted ratings, worth about 27.4 points against an average defense).

College football is noisy: even a well-rated projection misses the final margin by about 14 points on average. Based on how real results have scattered around our numbers, the final margin should land somewhere between Washington by 28 and Purdue by 18 about 80% of the time.

Purdue gets about 2.1 points for playing at home. Washington is still favoured on the road, so the ratings gap is bigger than the value of playing at home. The game is on Fox.

Result: Washington 38, Purdue 26. The model had the right winner; the margin was off by 7 points and the total by 7.7.

Market lines

Market lines · Source: The Odds API, ESPN, Action Network · Updated Oct 29, 9:25 AM UTC. Shown for information; not an input to our projections.

ProviderSpread (open → now)Total (open → now)Moneyline (Washington / Purdue)
ConsensusPurdue -2.75 → Purdue -352 → 50.5+130 / -152.5
DraftKingsPurdue -2.5 → Purdue -351.5 → 50.5+130 / -155
BovadaPurdue -352.5 → 50.5+130 / -150

This game's lines: CollegeFootballData.com · read Oct 22, 6:37 PM UTC.

ProjectionMarginTotalPurdue win
Our modelWashington -556.337%
Market consensusPurdue -350.558%
Blended projectionPurdue -1.551.655%

Blended projection = 0.16 x our margin + 0.84 x the market margin, weights fitted on past seasons (see methodology).

Model vs market

Purdue win probability
model 37% · market (no-vig) 58% · difference -21 pts
Margin
model Washington -5 · market Purdue -3 · difference -8.0 pts (Purdue view)
Total
model 56.3 · market 50.5 · difference +5.8

Model margin is 8.0 pts more toward Washington than the market.

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Original projection vs new formula

ProjectionScoreWin probMargin missTotal miss
Original projectionWashington 30.7, Purdue 25.7Washington 63%right winner7.07.7
New formulaWashington 31.0, Purdue 25.3Washington 65%right winner6.27.7

Final: Washington 38, Purdue 26. Original = the number we posted before kickoff. New formula (2026-10-21 matchup terms) = the current model re-run with only the games played before this one.

Washington vs Purdue: stat comparison

Season to date before kickoff: these numbers are frozen at kickoff and do not include this game or anything after it.

Basic
StatWashingtonPurdue
Points per game26.2#8832.2#55
Points allowed per game22.2#6031.3#119
Yards per play5.77#906.18#65
Yards per play allowed5.48#636.87#128
Rushing yards per game110.5#132151.0#93
Net passing yards per game257.8#41271.5#27
Rushing yards allowed per game146.7#59166.0#92
Net passing yards allowed per game196.5#60253.2#121
Turnovers per game0.50#350.50#34
Takeaways per game1.33#260.67#97
Sacks per game1.67#911.17#120
Sacks allowed per game3.33#1322.17#92
Advanced
StatWashingtonPurdue
EPA per play+0.04#93+0.16#37
EPA per play allowed+0.01#52+0.21#130
Success rate42.3%#8147.7%#32
Success rate allowed41.3%#7446.6%#126
Explosive play rate12.6%#7514.7%#30
Explosive plays allowed11.4%#6218.3%#138
Havoc rate15.3%#3511.5%#118
Havoc allowed12.4%#5611.9%#40
Points per scoring opportunity4.15#634.37#51
Points per opportunity allowed4.09#884.46#115
Average starting field positionown 28#94own 30#61
Opponents' starting field positionown 29#69own 29#68
Offensive plays per game (pace)63.8#8968.3#42
Situational
StatWashingtonPurdue
Rushing EPA per play-0.02#112+0.03#98
Passing EPA per play+0.08#76+0.28#22
Rushing EPA allowed-0.06#28+0.18#126
Passing EPA allowed+0.09#90+0.24#121
Rushing success rate39.9%#10643.7%#80
Passing success rate44.4%#5151.7%#17
Run stuff rate17.8%#8415.3%#41
Passing-down success rate27.0%#10738.2%#20
Passing-down success allowed29.5%#7141.0%#133
Third-down conversion rate32.5%#12146.1%#40
Third-down rate allowed32.1%#2349.3%#130
Red-zone touchdown rate59.5%#9258.1%#97
Red-zone TD rate allowed58.3%#6969.6%#114

# = rank among 138 FBS teams. Efficiency numbers exclude garbage time. Per-play numbers of teams with a weak schedule are pulled toward their opponent-adjusted values (fully at one standard deviation below an average schedule). Source: play-by-play (cfbfastR / sportsdataverse), aggregated by us.

More: Washington schedule · Purdue schedule · all Week 7 projections

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Projections are statistical estimates for entertainment and analysis only. They are not betting advice and nothing here guarantees any result.

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