Fun Facts: Iowa-Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University is a state university. It is named for John Purdue, a primary benefactor of the school in the 19th Century.

Legend has it that John Purdue insisted all the buildings on campus be made of red brick or all of his inheritance would go to his heirs. There are buildings on campus that aren't made of red brick. But not many. It's one bricky place.

On with the Fun Facts:

1. The last four teams that Purdue has played have a combined record of 32-3. The four teams that have beaten Iowa have a combined record of 32-3.

2. Purdue is 146th in the Sagarin Ratings, which combines FBS and FCS teams. The Boilermakers are ranked below 32 FCS teams.

3. The Boilermakers' Paul Griggs, who kicked a last-second, 46-yard field goal to beat Iowa last year in Iowa City, is 5-of-10 in field goals this season.

4. Purdue sold 30,808 season tickets for football this season. In 2007, it sold 42,880.

5. Purdue's smallest home crowd this season was 47,203 ... for Nebraska.

6. The Purdue band sports the world's largest bass drum. It stands over 10 feet high when it is mounted on its field carriage and requires a crew of four to move it around the field. It is just plain big.

7. Iowa has been outscored in the third and fourth quarters of Big Ten games by a total of 78-16. Purdue has been outscored in the third and fourth quarters of Big Ten games by a total of 61-7.

8. Purdue's last two bowl wins were against Central Michigan and Western Michigan in the Motor City/Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

9. Iowa has a 6-game losing streak in Novembers. Its last November win was Nov. 19, 2011 against Purdue.

10. Researchers at Purdue's Birck Nanotechnology Center are developing a new type of semiconductor technology for future computers and electronics based on "two-dimensional nanocrystals" layered in sheets less than a nanometer-thick that could replace today's transistors. I'll explain this in detail in two weeks when I do the Michigan-Iowa Fun Facts.