1977 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 1977 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by first-year head coach Jim Young, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

1977 Purdue Boilermakers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Young (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	John Mackovic (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Leon Burtnett (1st season)
MVP	Fred Arrington
Captains	Jerome King John Skibinski
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

1977 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 9 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Indiana	4	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 14–19	53,014	[1]
September 17	Ohio*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 44–7	49,354	[2]
September 24	No. 11 Notre Dame*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 24–31	68,966	[3]
October 1	Wake Forest*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 26–17	54,060	[4]
October 8	at No. 4 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 0–46	87,707	[5]
October 15	Illinois	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 22–29	60,242	[6]
October 22	Iowa	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 34–21	62,443	[7]
October 29	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 28–16	17,525	[8]
November 5	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 22–0	73,322	[9]
November 12	No. 6 Michigan	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 7–40	68,003	[10][11]
November 19	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	L 10–21	52,914	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Game summaries

Michigan State

• Ray Smith 6 receptions, 108 yards
• Reggie Arnold 7 receptions, 107 yards
• Mark Herrmann's first start at quarterback

Ohio

• Mark Herrmann 23/36 passing, 339 yards

Notre Dame

• Mark Herrmann 24/51 passing, 351 yards

Northwestern

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Purdue	14	0	14	0	28
Northwestern	10	0	0	6	16

• Date: October 29
• Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois
• Game attendance: 17,525

Scoring summary

1		PUR	Arnold 12 yard pass from Herrmann (Sovereen kick)	Purdue 7–0
1		PUR	Young 25 yard pass from Herrmann (Sovereen kick)	Purdue 14–0
1		NW	Mishler 69 yard run (Poulos kick)	Purdue 14–7
1		NW	Poulos 28 yard field goal	Purdue 14–10
3		PUR	Skibinski 2 yard run (Sovereen kick)	Purdue 21–10
3		PUR	Young 8 yard pass from Herrmann (Sovereen kick)	Purdue 28–10
4		NW	Reltzug 5 yard run (pass failed)	Purdue 28–16

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Personnel

Coaching staff

Head coach: Jim Young

Assistants: Bob Bockrath, Leon Burtnett, Mike Hankwitz, Randy Hart, John Mackovic, Doug Redmann, Larry Thompson, Ed Zaunbrecher

Roster

1977 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 7 Steve Barr Jr WR 87 Bart Burrell Fr QB 9 Mark Herrmann Fr C 63 Peter Quinn So RB 31 John Skibinski Sr RB 44 Wayne Smith So	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 10 Mike Adamle So LB 48 Fred Arrington Sr DE 85 Keena Turner So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 8 Scott Sovereen Jr	Head coach Jim Young Coordinators/assistant coaches Leon Burtnett (defensive coordinator) Mike Hankwitz Randy Hart Ed Zaunbrecher Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Starters

• Offense: QB Mark Herrmann, TB Mike Brown/Robert Williams, FB John Skibinski, SE Reggie Arnold, FL Ray Smith, TE Dave Young/Tim Eubank, LT Mike Barberich, LG John Fincuan/Dale Schwan, C Pete Quinn/Steve Schlundt, RG Steve McKenzie, RT John LeFeber
• Defense: LDE Lee Larkins, LDT Marcus Jackson/Calvin Clark, NG Roger Ruwe, RDT Jeff Senica, RDE Keena Turner, LB Fred Arrington/Kevin Motts, CB Jerome King/Pat Harris, S Willie Harris/Paul Beery/Rock Supan
• Special teams: K Scott Sovereen, P Dave Eagin

Awards

All-Big Ten

• Reggie Arnold (1st)
• Mark Herrmann (2nd)
• John Skibinski (2nd)

Statistics

Passing

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
Mark Herrmann	175	319	2,453	18	27

Rushing

Player	Att	Yards	TD
John Skibinski	147	665	4
Mark Herrmann		-80

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yards	TD
Reggie Arnold	44	840	8
John Skibinski		221