1997 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 1997 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Joe Tiller, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie in the Big Ten. Purdue had its best season since 1980. The team played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

1997 Purdue Boilermakers football
Alamo Bowl champion
Alamo Bowl, W 33–20 vs. Oklahoma State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 15
Record	9–3 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Joe Tiller (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Chaney (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Tim Lappano (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Brock Spack (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Brian Alford Rosevelt Colvin Mark Fischer
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Michigan $		8	–	0					12	–	0
No. 12 Ohio State		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 16 Penn State		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 15 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	3
Wisconsin		5	–	3					8	–	5
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	5
Michigan State		4	–	4					7	–	5
Northwestern		3	–	5					5	–	7
Minnesota		1	–	7					3	–	9
Indiana		1	–	7					2	–	9
Illinois		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	6:00 pm	at Toledo*		Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		L 22–36	27,700
September 13	2:30 pm	No. 12 Notre Dame*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	ABC	W 28–17	68,789
September 20	1:00 pm	Ball State*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 28–14	45,947
September 27	11:30 am	Northwestern		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN	W 21–9	42,112
October 11	6:00 pm	at Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN Plus	W 59–43	37,821
October 18	1:00 pm	No. 24 Wisconsin		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 45–20	54,252
October 25	1:00 pm	at Illinois	No. 22	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)		W 48–3	45,122
November 1	12:30 pm	at No. 15 Iowa	No. 18	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	L 17–35	70,397
November 8	12:30 pm	Michigan State	No. 23	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	W 22–21	55,539
November 15	12:00 pm	No. 6 Penn State	No. 19	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN	L 17–42	52,156
November 22	1:00 pm	at Indiana	No. 23	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)		W 56–7	46,599
December 30	8:00 pm	No. 24 Oklahoma State*	No. 17	Alamodome San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–20	55,552
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	22	18	23	19т	23	18	18	17	15
Coaches	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	23	18	24	20	25	18	17	16	15

Game summaries

Toledo

See also: 1997 Toledo Rockets football team

Purdue at Toledo

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	7	7	0	8	22
• Toledo	21	6	3	6	36

• Date: September 6
• Location: Glass Bowl, Toledo, OH
• Game attendance: 26,700

Scoring summary

1		PUR	Watson 45-yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 7-0
1		TOL	Reynolds 1-yard run (Merrick kick)	Tied 7-7
1		TOL	Harris 5-yard run (Merrick kick)	TOL 14-7
1		TOL	Freeman 29-yard pass from Wallace (Merrick kick)	TOL 21-7
2		TOL	Merrick 25-yard field goal	TOL 24-7
2		TOL	Merrick 37-yard field goal	TOL 27-7
2		PUR	Alford 73-yard pass from Dicken (Ryan kick)	TOL 27-14
3		TOL	Merrick 21-yard field goal	TOL 30-14
4		TOL	Kreitzburg 6-yard pass from Wallace (two-point failed)	TOL 36-14
4		PUR	Sutherland 5-yard run (Watson rund)	TOL 36-22

Joe Tiller's first game as Purdue head coach^[1]

Notre Dame

See also: 1997 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Notre Dame at Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	10	0	7	17
• Purdue	7	7	0	14	28

• Date: September 13
• Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
• Game attendance: 68,789

Scoring summary

1		PUR	Edwin Watson 1-yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 7-0
2		ND	Sanson 34-yard field goal	PUR 7-3
2		PUR	Edwin Watson 1-yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 14-3
2		ND	Autry Denson 16-yard run (Sanson kick)	PUR 14-10
4		PUR	Adrian Beasley 43-yard fumble return (Ryan kick)	PUR 21-10
4		ND	Autry Denson 1-yard pass from Ron Powlus (Sanson kick)	PUR 21-17
4		PUR	Kendall Matthews 3-yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 28-17

In Joe Tiller's first home game, Purdue snapped an 11-game losing streak to Notre Dame as fans tore down the goalposts after the victory. Edwin Watson, who had two touchdown runs, had said earlier in the week that former head coach and new Irish offensive coordinator Jim Colletto "was used to losing here (Purdue), so it would be nothing new for him."^[2]

Ball State

See also: 1997 Ball State Cardinals football team

Ball State at Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Ball State	0	7	0	7	14
• Purdue	3	10	15	0	28

• Date: September 20
• Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
• Game attendance: 45,947

^[3]

Northwestern

See also: 1997 Northwestern Wildcats football team

Northwestern at Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	3	6	0	0	9
• Purdue	7	7	7	0	21

• Date: September 27
• Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
• Game attendance: 42,112

^[4]

• Kendall Matthews 29 rushes, 152 yards ^[5]

Minnesota

See also: 1997 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Purdue at Minnesota

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Purdue	17	21	14	7	59
Minnesota	14	7	7	15	43

• Date: October 11
• Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

Scoring summary

Q1	10:31	MINN	Nelson 31 yard pass from Atwell (Bailey kick)	MINN 7−0
Q1	10:03	PUR	Watson 65 yard pass from Dicken (Ryan kick)	Tie 7–7
Q1	6:30	PUR	Ryan 32 yard field goal	PUR 10–7
Q1	3:21	PUR	Matthews 33 yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 17–7
Q1	0:23	MINN	Duerr 3 yard pass from Sauter (Bailey kick)	PUR 17–14
Q2	8:05	PUR	Watson 21 yard pass from Dicken (Ryan kick)	PUR 24–14
Q2	5:07	MINN	Wyrick 42 yard pass from Rindels (Bailey kick)	PUR 24–21
Q2	4:45	PUR	Alford 93 yard pass from Dicken (Ryan kick)	PUR 31–21
Q2	1:36	PUR	Watson 1 yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 38–21
Q3	13:53	MINN	Evans 45 yard run (Bailey kick)	PUR 38–28
Q3	10:11	PUR	Dicken 11 yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 45–28
Q3	1:33	PUR	Alford 89 yard pass from Dicken (Ryan kick)	PUR 52–28
Q4	9:40	PUR	Jones 4 yard pass from Dicken (Ryan kick)	PUR 59–28
Q4	7:21	MINN	Atwell 46 yard pass from Cockerham (Bailey kick)	PUR 59–35
Q4	0:38	MINN	Bean 1 yard run (Bean run)	PUR 59–43

• Purdue's first win in Minneapolis since 1983.

^[6]

Wisconsin

See also: 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Wisconsin at Purdue
Homecoming

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	0	10	7	3	20
• Purdue	21	7	7	10	45

• Date: October 18
• Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN

With the win over Wisconsin, Purdue is off to its best start since 1978 and produced their first five-game winning streak since 1980.^[7]

Illinois

See also: 1997 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Purdue Cannon

Purdue at Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Purdue	14	20	7	7	48
Illinois	0	3	0	0	3

• Date: October 25
• Location: Memorial Stadium
  Champaign, IL
• Game attendance: 45,122

^[8]

• Kendall Matthews 16 rushes, 177 yards ^[9]

Iowa

See also: 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Purdue at Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	10	7	0	0	17
• Iowa	0	14	21	0	35

• Date: November 1
• Location: Kinnick Stadium
  Iowa City, IA
• Game attendance: 70,397

^[10]

Michigan State

See also: 1997 Michigan State Spartans football team

Michigan State at Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	7	7	0	7	21
• Purdue	0	7	0	15	22

• Date: November 8
• Location: Ross–Ade Stadium
  West Lafayette, IN
• Game attendance: 55,539

^[11]

• Edwin Watson 24 rushes, 115 yards ^[12]

Penn State

See also: 1997 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Penn State at Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Penn State	0	14	14	14	42
Purdue	0	9	0	8	17

• Date: November 15
• Location: Ross–Ade Stadium
  West Lafayette, IN
• Game attendance: 52,156

^[13]

• Edwin Watson 19 rushes, 133 yards ^[14]

Indiana

See also: 1997 Indiana Hoosiers football team and Old Oaken Bucket

Purdue at Indiana

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Purdue	14	7	7	28	56
Indiana	0	7	0	0	7

• Date: November 22
• Location: Memorial Stadium
  Bloomington, IN
• Game attendance: 46,599

Scoring summary

1		PUR	Watson 14 yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 7–0
1		PUR	Dicken 6 yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 14–0
2		IND	Conner 42 yard pass from Rodgers (Payne kick)	PUR 14–7
2		PUR	L. Johnson 35 yard fumble return (Ryan kick)	PUR 21–7
3		PUR	Watson 48 yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 28–7
4		PUR	I. Jones 16 yard pass from Dicken (Ryan kick)	PUR 35–7
4		PUR	Rose 24 yard interception return (Ryan kick)	PUR 42–7
4		PUR	Brees 5 yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 49–7
4		PUR	Graham 49 yard run (Ryan kick)	PUR 56–7

^{[15] [16]}

• Edwin Watson 18 rushes, 163 yards ^[17]

Oklahoma State

See also: 1997 Alamo Bowl

Oklahoma State vs. Purdue
Alamo Bowl

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Purdue	7	3	20	3	33
Oklahoma State	3	3	7	7	20

• Date: December 30
• Location: Alamodome
  San Antonio, TX
• Game attendance: 55,552

^[18]

Personnel

Roster

1997 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Donald Winston So QB 3 John Reeves Sr WR 5 Willie Tillman Sr WR 6 Isaac Jones Sr WR 52 Fahim Chesti So QB 12 Billy Dicken  Sr WR 20 Chris Daniels  So RB 36 Edwin Watson Sr RB 43 Kendall Matthews Sr OT 54 Mark Fischer Sr G 56 Chukky Okobi  Fr OT 76 Dan Maly Sr G 78 Brian Nicely Jr WR 80 Brian Alford  Sr TE 81 Brandon Jewell  Sr TE 84 Jon Blackmon Sr WR 88 Jason Loerzel Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class FS 2 Derrick Brown Sr LB 4 Mike Rose So SS 7 Adrian Beasley So SS 10 Lee Brush Sr CB 11 Michael Hawthorne So CB 14 Jamel Coleman Sr CB 28 Henry Bell Jr DE 49 Chukie Nwokorie Jr DE 58 Warren Moore Fr DE 59 Rosevelt Colvin Jr DT 71 Anthony Gutwein Jr DT 82 David Nugent So DE 87 Rocco Foggio Fr DT 97 Greg Smith Sr DT 98 Leo Perez Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 22 Aaron Bunten Fr P 26 Danny Rogers So LS 60 Andy Standifer So P 92 Brandon Kaser Jr PK 96 Shane Ryan So	Head coach Joe Tiller Coordinators/assistant coaches Tim Burke (defensive backs) Jim Chaney (offensive coordinator) Scott Downing Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 28, 2016

Coaching staff

• Head coach: Joe Tiller
• Assistants: Tim Burke, Jim Chaney, Scott Downing, Gary Emanuel, Danny Hope, Larry Korpitz, Tim Lappano, Randy Melvin, Greg Olson, Brock Spack^[19]

Starters

• Offense: WR Brian Alford, WR Gabe Cox, LT Mark Fischer, WR F Chesti, LG Brian Nicely, C Jim Niedrach, RG Chukky Okobi, RT Dan Maly, TE Jon Blackman, WR Isaac Jones, QB Billy Dicken, RB Edwin Watson, K Shane Ryan
• Defense: LE Chukie Nwokorie, LT Leo Perez, RT Greg Smith, RE Rosevelt Colvin, WLB Willie Burroughs, MLB Willie Fells, SLB Mike Rose, LCB Michael Hawthorne, FS Adrian Beasley, SS Lee Brush, RCB Lamar Conrad, P Brandon Kaser^[20]

Awards

• All-Americans: Brian Alford (Football News)
• All-Big Ten: Brian Alford (1st), Rosevelt Colvin (2nd), Billy Dicken (1st)^[21]