1986 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1986 Purdue Boilermakers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBob Spoo (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorJoe Tiller (4th season)
MVPRod Woodson
Captains
  • Rick Brunner
  • Kevin Holley
  • Rod Woodson
Home stadiumRoss–Ade Stadium
1986 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Michigan + 7 1 0 11 2 0
No. 7 Ohio State + 7 1 0 10 3 0
No. 16 Iowa 5 3 0 9 3 0
Minnesota 5 3 0 6 6 0
Michigan State 4 4 0 6 5 0
Indiana 3 5 0 6 6 0
Illinois 3 5 0 4 7 0
Northwestern 2 6 0 4 7 0
2 6 0 3 8 0
Wisconsin 2 6 0 3 9 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Leon Burtnett in his fifth 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 in a three-way tie for eighth in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 13Ball State*W 20–360,161[1]
September 20Pittsburgh*
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 26–4155,621[2]
September 27at Notre Dame*L 9–4159,075[3]
October 4Minnesota
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 9–3663,067[4]
October 11at IllinoisL 27–3473,720[5]
October 18Ohio State
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 11–3968,737[6]
October 25at Michigan StateL 3–3777,063[7]
November 1at NorthwesternW 17–1625,417[8]
November 8No. 3 Michigan
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 7–3161,323[9]
November 15at IowaL 14–4267,321[10]
November 22Indiana
W 17–1569,784[11][12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13][14]

Game summaries

Ball State

Pittsburgh

At Notre Dame

Purdue at Notre Dame
Team 1 234Total
Boilermakers 0 063 9
Fighting Irish 10 14314 41

Minnesota

At Illinois

Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes (4–2) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–5)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 6 9 17739
Purdue 0 3 0811

at Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: October 18
  • Game time: 6:15 p.m.
  • Game weather: Clear, 53 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 68,737
  • Referee: Otho Kortz
  • Box Score
Game information

At Michigan State

At Northwestern

Purdue at Northwestern
Team 1 234Total
Boilermakers 7 073 17
Wildcats 3 1003 16

[15]

Michigan

#3 Michigan at Purdue
Team 1 234Total
Wolverines 7 1770 31
Boilermakers 0 007 7

At Iowa

Purdue at Iowa
Team 1 234Total
Boilermakers 7 007 14
Hawkeyes 14 7147 42

[16]

Indiana

Indiana Hoosiers (6–4) at Purdue Boilermakers (2–8)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Indiana 0 0 7815
Purdue 10 0 0717

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: November 22
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 69,748
  • [17]
Game information

Purdue wore gold jerseys; In his final collegiate game, Rod Woodson gained over 150 combined rushing and receiving yards, in addition to making ten tackles and forcing a fumble, leading Purdue to a victory over arch-rival Indiana. This 50th victory in the series, kept indiana from receiving a bowl berth and denied anthony thompson the Heisman Trophy.

Personnel

1986 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE Jack Beery
RB Caleb Bonds
OL Keith Brown
WR Rick Brunner
RB Jerry Chaney
OL Mike Connors
OL Bruce Crites
QB Doug Downing
WR Ted Gelov
QB Jeff George
RB Tony Grant
WR Jon Hayes
QB Jeff Huber
QB Shawn McCarthy
RB Lorenzo McCline
RB James Medlock
RB Scott Nelson
TE Dwayne O'Connor
OL DeWayne Penn
OL Jim Richmond
WR Lance Scheib
TE Brad Schumacher
OL Todd Tyrie
WR Calvin Williams
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB Ronnie Beeks
DB 19 Cris Dishman Jr
DB Marc Foster
DL Bill Gildea
DL Bill Hitchcock
DL Kevin Holley
DB Scott Kalinoski
DL Chris Keevers
LB 48 Fred Strickland Jr
LB 44 Kevin Sumlin Sr
DL Tony Visco
DB Mike Weaver
DB 26 Rod Woodson Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Jonathan Briggs
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

1987 NFL draft

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Rod Woodson Cornerback 1 10 Pittsburgh Steelers

[18]

References

  1. ^ "Purdue, by George, flies with freshman in 20–3 opening win". The Courier-Journal. September 14, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Pitt capitalizes on Purdue errors". The Kalamazoo Gazette. September 21, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Irish hand Holtz a win, look to Tide". The Birmingham News. September 28, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "George, Boilers get knocked silly". The Republic. October 5, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Illinois' late TD subdues Boilers". Evansville Courier and Press. October 12, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Buckeyes romp to 39–11 win over Purdue". The Times Recorder. October 19, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Michigan State wallops punchless Purdue, 37–3". The Muncie Star. October 26, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Purdue wins on field goal". The Indianapolis Star. November 2, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Tommy George (November 9, 1986). "U-M rumbles, 31–7: Rose Bowl gets down to Wolverines vs. OSU". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 15E – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Iowa hammers Boilermakers". The Pharos-Tribune. November 16, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Koerner, Dave (November 23, 1986). "Looking as good as gold, the Boilers are spoilers". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. C1. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
  12. ^ Koerner, Dave (November 23, 1986). "A bowl, no Bucket for the Hoosiers (continued)". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. C6. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
  13. ^ College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
  14. ^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 91. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  15. ^ Gainesville November 3, 1986
  16. ^ "Hawkeyes pummel Purdue". Indianapolis Star via newspapers.com. November 16, 1986. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  17. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1986 Nov 23. Retrieved 2022-Oct-03.
  18. ^ "1987 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2019.