This isn’t your average college football ranking.
My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it’s my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:
- Who do I think is good?
- Why do I think they’re good?
- What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?
Here is a look at where Purdue lands in my Ultimate 136.
Purdue ranking: 99
Last year’s ranking: 88
Top player: RB Devin Mockobee: Led Purdue with 138 rushes for 687 yards and 4 TDs; also caught 17 passes for 170 yards and 1 TD.
RJ’s take: Purdue will be better, but that’s not saying a lot for a team that didn’t beat a single FBS team last year. And after a year like that, you need to bust the program down to the studs and build something totally new. So, Purdue hired a program builder in Barry Odom.
Odom flipped UNLV from a program that was looking like a longtime loser — eight straight losing seasons before he arrived — into a College Football Playoff contender in 2024 with its first double-digit winning season since 1984.
The bet here is that Odom might be able to do what Curt Cignetti did at Indiana last year, but that will not be easy.
Purdue plays Notre Dame, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana in Odom’s first year.
[Check out RJ Young’s Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]
Purdue Win Total Odds: Over 3.5 (+194) Under 3.5 (-245)
Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school’s rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I’ll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.
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