Purdue Boilermakers running back Devin Mockobee (45) rushes the ball Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

FOX Analyst Ranks All 136 FBS College Football Teams — Here's Where Purdue Falls

Originally posted on Purdue Boilermakers on SI
By Dustin Schutte | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 2:59 PM ET

Add RJ Young to the growing list of skeptics regarding Purdue's potential during the 2025 season. The FOX college football analyst recently ranked all 136 teams at the FBS level, with the Boilermakers listed as the worst team among all Power Four squads entering the year.

Young ranked Purdue at No. 99 for the upcoming season, the lowest of any team in major college football. The Boilermakers were two spots ahead of Michigan State, which ranked No. 97 in Young's evaluation.

I won't rehash the complete list of the 136 schools and where they ranked, but here's where every Big Ten team fell in Young's rankings:

No. 2 — Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 3 — Oregon Ducks
No. 7 — Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 11 — Indiana Hoosiers
No. 12 — Michigan Wolverines
No. 16 — Illinois Fighting Illini
No. 26 — USC Trojans
No. 29 — Iowa Hawkeyes
No. 30 — Nebraska Cornhuskers
No. 48 — UCLA Bruins
No. 49 — Washington Huskies
No. 51 — Wisconsin Badgers
No. 55 — Northwestern Wildcats
No. 62 — Rutgers Scarlet Knights
No. 69 — Minnesota Golden Gophers
No. 76 — Maryland Terrapins
No. 97 — Michigan State Spartans
No. 99 — Purdue Boilermakers

Did @RJ_Young really rank all 136 FBS teams ahead of the season? Yes, yes he did

Where did your team land on his rankings? pic.twitter.com/6H1ejN8DDq
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 11, 2025

Boilers rank last in ESPN Big Ten power rankings

Young isn't the only analyst low on Purdue heading into the 2025 season. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg also ranked the Boilermakers last in his Big Ten football power rankings entering the year.

"Barry Odom is back in the Power 4 following an impressive run at UNLV. He takes over a Purdue team with almost an entirely new roster and a schedule that includes Notre Dame and Ohio State," Rittenberg writes. "Moderate improvement is the goal for Odom, whose track record on defense and with personnel suggests better days are ahead."

Purdue was also predicted to finish last in the conference in the Cleveland.com preseason Big Ten poll. It was the second straight year in which the Boilers were projected to finish 18th.

This article first appeared on Purdue Boilermakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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