Purdue Football hasn’t been ranked in a preseason poll since 2005, where they started the season ranked #13 and finished unranked with a 5-6 record. In addition, Purdue hasn’t been ranked since Week 7 of the 2007 season, and hasn’t received a single vote in either AP or Coaches polls since Week 5 of the 2012 season.
So it really wasn’t a surprise when Purdue wasn’t listed in the Coaches Preseason Poll for the 2017 season (unless you’ve been in a coma since 2005). Despite this, three of Purdue’s opponents were ranked in this poll, two of them within the Top 10:
#9 Michigan (home)
#10 Wisconsin (road)
#17 Louisville (neutral site)
In addition to these three teams, four Purdue opponents were not ranked but still received votes:
Northwestern (25 votes)
Nebraska (23 votes)
Minnesota (6 votes)
Iowa (5 votes)
Purdue’s schedule certainly looks a bit daunting, especially for first year head coach, Jeff Brohm, who now opens his Purdue career against #17 Louisville and defending Heisman Champion, Lamar Jackson.