American college football season
1996 Purdue Boilermakers football |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
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Record | 3–8 (2–6 Big Ten) |
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Head coach | - Jim Colletto (6th season)
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Offensive coordinator | Tim Salem (2nd season) |
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Offensive scheme | Pro set |
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Co-defensive coordinator | Bob Morris (2nd season) |
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Co-defensive coordinator | Ty Smith (1st season) |
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Base defense | 4–3 |
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MVP | Brian Alford |
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Captain | Jon Krick, Emmett Zitelli |
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Home stadium | Ross–Ade Stadium |
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Seasons |
The 1996 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Jim Colletto in his sixth and final season as head coach, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing eighth in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Purdue started the season 0–3, averaging under seven points per game. Over the final eight games the Boilermakers went 3–5, failing to qualify for a bowl game for the 12 straight season. The Boilermakers also failed to win a road game.
Brian Alford received numerous postseason accolades, including First Team All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and the media, and broke the Purdue record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season. Senior captain Emmett Zitelli was selected to the Second Team All-Big team by both the coaches and the media. After the season, none of the Boilermakers were selected in the 1997 NFL Draft, Zitelli signed as an undrafted free agent.
Preseason
In 1995 the Purdue Boilermakers had the second best season in the Colletto era. The team finished with a 4–6–1 regular season record, failing to qualify for a postseason bowl game for the 11th straight year. The Boilermakers struggled to win games, facing what was rated as the third most difficult schedule in the nation in 1995.[1] However, Purdue did finish first in the Big Ten in rushing offense.[2]
Going into 1996, there was doubt that Purdue could successfully replace all-time leading rusher Mike Alstott and have a winning season.[3] Entering the season, Colletto thought that each of his quarterbacks would be a contributor on offense, electing Rick Trefzger as the team's starting quarterback, and moving former tailback, Edwin Watson to fullback to replace Alstott.[4]
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
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August 31 | 12:30 pm | at Michigan State | | ESPN | L 14–52 | 72,511 | |
September 14 | 2:30 pm | at No. 9 Notre Dame* | | NBC | L 0–35 | 59,075 | |
September 21 | 7:00 pm | West Virginia* | | | L 6–20 | 39,445 | [5] |
September 28 | 12:00 pm | NC State* | - Ross–Ade Stadium
- West Lafayette, IN
| ESPN Plus | W 42–21 | 39,739 | [6] |
October 5 | 2:00 pm | Minnesota | - Ross–Ade Stadium
- West Lafayette, IN
| | W 30–27 | 45,805 | |
October 12 | 12:30 pm | at No. 10 Penn State | | ESPN | L 14–31 | 96,653 | |
October 19 | 3:30 pm | No. 2 Ohio State | - Ross–Ade Stadium
- West Lafayette, IN
| ABC | L 14–42 | 58,323 | |
November 2 | 12:30 pm | at Wisconsin | | ESPN | L 25–33 | 78,330 | |
November 9 | 12:30 pm | No. 9 Michigan | - Ross–Ade Stadium
- West Lafayette, IN
| ESPN2 | W 9–3 | 39,328 | |
November 16 | 12:00 pm | at No. 13 Northwestern | | | L 24–27 | 41,178 | |
November 23 | 1:00 pm | Indiana | | | L 16–33 | 49,197 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Eastern time
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[7]
Roster
1996 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster |
Players | Coaches |
Offense Pos. | # | Name | Class | WR | 1 | Donald Winston | Fr | QB | 3 | John Reeves | So | WR | 5 | Willie Tillman | Jr | WR | 6 | Isaac Jones | Jr | QB | 12 | Billy Dicken | Jr | QB | 13 | Rick Trefzger | Sr | FB | 16 | Eric Haddad | Jr | WR | 20 | Chris Daniels | Fr | WR | 24 | Kirk Olivadotti | Sr | RB | 25 | Curtis Taylor | Jr | FB | 36 | Edwin Watson | Jr | FB | 37 | Dartanian Sanders | Sr | RB | 43 | Kendall Matthews | Sr | FB | 45 | Cullen Bryant Jr. | Fr | OT | 52 | Nick Sweeney | So | OT | 54 | Mark Fischer | Sr | G | 56 | Chukky Okobi | Fr | C | 63 | Jim Niedrach | So | G | 72 | Emmett Zitelli | Sr | OT | 73 | David Cohen | So | G | 74 | Wayne Finchum | So | G | 76 | Dan Maly | Sr | C | 78 | Brian Nicley | Sr | OT | 79 | Chad Manning | Sr | WR | 80 | Brian Alford | Jr | TE | 81 | Brandon Jewell | Sr | TE | 90 | Pete VanderWeele | Jr | TE | 91 | Matt Light | Fr | | Defense Pos. | # | Name | Class | FS | 2 | Derrick Brown | Jr | CB | 4 | Derrick Winston | Sr | SS | 7 | Adrian Beasley | So | DB | 10 | Lee Brush | Jr | FS | 11 | Michael Hawthorne | So | CB | 14 | Jamel Coleman | Jr | LB | 19 | Joe Hagins | Sr | DB | 22 | Lamar Conard | Fr | SS | 23 | Willie Burroughs | Jr | CB | 27 | Willie Washington | Fr | LB | 28 | Mike Rose | Fr | DB | 29 | Reggie Johnson | | LB | 32 | Noble Jones | So | LB | 34 | Chike Okeafor | Jr | CB | 38 | Bryce Gillins | Fr | LB | 29 | Nick Zitelli | | DB | 46 | Glenn Davis | | LB | 48 | Chris Koeppen | Sr | DE | 49 | Chukie Nwokorie | So | LB | 51 | Troy Bacon | | DT | 53 | Jon Krick | Sr | LB | 57 | Ray Lee | So | DE | 58 | Craig Williams | Sr | DE | 59 | Rosevelt Colvin | So | DT | 71 | Anthony Gutwein | Jr | DE | 82 | David Nugent | Fr | LB | 86 | Scott Dobbins | | DT | 97 | Greg Smith | Sr | DT | 98 | Leo Perez | Sr | | Special teams Pos. | # | Name | Class | PK | 17 | Chris Arnce | Jr | P | 26 | Danny Rogers | Fr | P | 29 | Brandon Kaser | So | PK | 96 | Shane Ryan | Fr | | - Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Tim Salem (offensive coordinator)
- Bob Morris (co-defensive coordinator, defensive backs)
- Ty Smith (co-defensive coordinator, linebackers)
- Chester Caddas (defensive line)
- Randy Fichtner (wide receivers, recruiting coordinator)
- Tom Freeman (offensive line)
- Leroy Keyes (running backs)
- Karl Morgan (defensive line)
- Kurt Van Valkenburgh (defensive backs)
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
- Injured
- Redshirt
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Depth chart
Defense [8] | | WLB | MLB | SLB | ⋅ | Chris Koeppen | ⋅ | Noble Jones | Ray Lee | ⋅ | | SS | Willie Burroughs | Adrian Beasley | | CB | Derrick Winston | Willie Washington | | | | | CB | Jamel Coleman | Bryce Gillins | | Offense [9] | | | LT | LG | C | RG | RT | Mark Fischer | Wayne Finchum | Brian Nicley | Emmett Zitelli | Nick Sweeney | Chad Manning | Dan Maly | Jim Niedrach | Chukky Okobi | David Cohen | | TE | Brandon Jewell | Pete Vander Weele | | WR | Willie Tillman | Isaac Jones | | | QB | Rick Trefzger | John Reeves | | | | RB | Kendall Matthews | Curtis Taylor | | | FB | Edwin Watson | Dartanian Sanders | | Special teams | PK Shane Ryan | PK Chris Arnce | P Danny Rogers | P Brandon Kaser | KR Joe Hagins | PR Donald Winston | LS Chris Daniels | H Rick Trefzger | | | | | |
Game summaries
NC State
- Edwin Watson 29 rushes, 227 yards
Minnesota
- Kendall Matthews 30 rushes, 131 yards
Michigan
#9 Michigan at Purdue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Michigan | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | • Purdue | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 | - Date: November 9
- Location: Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana
- Game attendance: 40,624
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Scoring summary |
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| 2 | 7:22 | Purdue | Shane Ryan 28 yard field goal | Purdue 3-0 | | 3 | 10:07 | Michigan | Remy Hamilton 21 yard field goal | Tie 3-3 | | 4 | 7:20 | Purdue | Brian Alford 5 yard pass from Rick Trefzger (kick failed) | Purdue 9-3 | |
Purdue's first win versus Michigan since 1984
Statistics
Passing
Player | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT |
Rick Trefzger | 96 | 170 | 1,158 | 8 | 8 |
John Reeves | 51 | 102 | 772 | 6 | 5 |
Billy Dicken | 40 | 81 | 518 | 1 | 4 |
Rushing
Player | Att | Yards | TD |
Edwin Watson | 194 | 768 | 6 |
Kendall Matthews | 123 | 471 | 3 |
John Reeves | 52 | 157 | |
Rick Trefzger | 43 | 56 | 1 |
Donald Winston | 2 | 49 | |
Lee Johnson | 12 | 43 | |
Eric Haddad | 6 | 24 | |
Chris Koeppen | 1 | 24 | |
Brian Alford | 3 | 22 | |
Dartanian Sanders | 5 | 18 | |
Billy Dicken | 20 | -40 | |
Receiving
Player | Rec | Yards | TD |
Brian Alford | 63 | 1,057 | 12 |
Willie Tillman | 40 | 557 | 2 |
Edwin Watson | 25 | 220 | |
Isaac Jones | 14 | 241 | 1 |
Kirk Olivadotti | 16 | 171 | |
Brandon Jewell | 11 | 92 | |
Kendall Matthews | 9 | 29 | |
Chris Daniels | 1 | 22 | |
Eric Haddad | 2 | 19 | |
Lee Johnson | 2 | 16 | |
Matt Light | 1 | 16 | |
Reggie Johnson | 1 | 7 | |
Donald Winston | 1 | 5 | |
Dartanian Sanders | 1 | -4 | |
[10]
References
- ^ "1995 Purdue Boilermakers Stats". www.sports-reference.com. USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ "Tim Salem Bio". www.fightingillini.com. University of Illinois-Champaign. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ Andrew Bagnato (November 5, 1996). "Purdue's Colletto 2nd Coach To Exit Big Ten Within Week". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ Geoff Mosher (August 29, 1996). "Boiling point". ww.collegian.psu.edu. The Daily Collegian. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ "Purdue's offense feels mountain of W. Va. pressure". The Indianapolis Star. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Reeves, Watson key easy Purdue victory". The South Bend Tribune. September 29, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 93. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ "Purdue's Final Two-Deep for 1996". www.purduesports.com. Purdue University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- ^ "Purdue's Final Two-Deep for 1996". www.purduesports.com. Purdue University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- ^ "1996 Purdue football final statistics". Archived from the original on January 5, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
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