On Saturday at 3:30 p.m., the Purdue Boilermakers (1-0) take on No. 18 Notre Dame (1-1) for the Shillelagh Trophy.
While there are many different predictions for the game’s outcome, College Football 25 has determined a winner as many times as it took until Purdue was victorious.
All simulations were performed on Heisman difficulty and at the time of day closest to real-life kickoff.
Notre Dame, boasting a 90-overall rating featuring an 85-overall offense and a 90-overall defense, was a strong favorite against the 82-overall Boilermakers.
Purdue would eventually lift the Shillelagh Trophy on the fifth simulation, beating Notre Dame 31 — 14.
Hudson Card left the simulated game injured in the third quarter, but 73-overall backup quarterback Marcos Davila subbed in to save the day.
Davila went 9-for-9 on passing attempts, racking up 98 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Boilers to victory.
Card’s injury was not of concern, and he would dominate the rest of the virtual season as “player of the game” in nine of Purdue’s 10 remaining games.
Next on Purdue’s schedule is a matchup at Oregon State, where a 23-point second quarter saw Purdue win 33-23 on the first simulation.
Purdue then had the privilege of hosting No. 24 Nebraska at Ross-Ade.
Home-field advantage proved to be huge as the Boilermakers took down the Cornhuskers in just the second simulation by a score of 30-24.
The virtual Boilermakers then marched into Madison, Wisconsin to play the 87-overall Wisconsin Badgers.
Purdue toppled Wisconsin on the first simulation winning 21-13 behind player of the game Hudson Card who threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
Card is the key to the Boilermakers’ air raid offense this year, and completed 24 of 25 passes in Purdue’s opening game of the season in real life.
Every upset required outstanding quarterback play from Card, not only from his arm, but his ability to run and extend plays too.
After an easy road win on the first simulation against Illinois, the Boilermakers faced 93-overall Oregon at home. Oregon, currently No. 9 in the AP Poll, boasts one of the highest-rated offenses in the game with a 94 rating.
In 14 simulations, the Boilermakers were able to topple the mighty Ducks, 35-32.
After another easy win against Northwestern, the Boilermakers headed to Columbus for their hardest test yet.
No. 3 and 93-overall Ohio State has the highest-rated defense in CFB 25, with a 96 rating.
Purdue did enough to beat the Buckeye defense 24-21 for the first time on the 18th simulation, again by only a field goal.
It did not get much easier as the next game the Boilermakers took on No. 8 Penn State.
Home-field advantage was in full effect once again, and Purdue showed its “Spoilermaker” potential by beating Penn State on the first simulation.
This momentum carried on to two easy Purdue wins against Michigan State and Indiana University to close out the season on a three game streak.
Purdue was projected to finish 3-9 and last in the Big Ten before the 2024 season, but went 5-7 in the first simulated games against each opponent, including an upset against No. 8 Penn State.
