Report: Purdue football completes 2025 schedule with FCS opponent

• Purdue football and Southern Illinois will play on Sept. 6, 2025, per FBSchedules.com
• The Boilermakers are in a stretch of playing FCS opponents four times in six seasons.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Purdue football will reportedly complete its 2025 schedule with another home game against an FCS opponent.

According to FBschedules.com, Purdue and Southern Illinois agreed to a game contract for Sept. 6, 2025. Purdue will pay the Salukis a $500,000 guarantee.

The game continues a near-annual trend of the Boilermakers playing FCS opponents. Purdue played Indiana State in 2022 and is scheduled to play the Sycamores again this season and in 2026. It is also scheduled to play Western Illinois in 2028.

Other scheduled nonconference games in 2025 include a season-opening home game against Ball State on Aug. 30 and a trip to Notre Dame on Sept. 20. That season's Big Ten schedule includes road trips to Michigan and Washington — last season's national championship game opponents — as well as home games against Ohio State and USC.

Southern Illinois has reached the FCS playoffs in three of the past four seasons, winning one game in each of those tournaments.

The teams met once previously, in 2014, with Purdue beating SIU 35-14.