American college football season
1976 Purdue Boilermakers football |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
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Record | 5–6 (4–4 Big Ten) |
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Head coach | |
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MVP | Scott Dierking |
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Captain | Scott Dierking, Blane Smith |
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Home stadium | Ross–Ade Stadium |
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Seasons |
The 1976 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an American football team that represented Purdue University in the 1976 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Alex Agase, the Boilermakers compiled a 5–6 record (4–4 against conference opponents) and finished in a four-way tie for third place in the Big Ten standings.[1]
Running back Scott Dierking led the team with 1,000 rushing yards and 66 points scored.[2] He was selected by his teammates as the team's most valuable player and finished second to Rob Lytle in the voting for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, awarded to the Big Ten's most valuable player.[3] Dierking was also named by the Associated Press (AP) as a second-team All-American[4] and by the AP and United Press International (UPI) as a first-team running back on the 1976 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[5][6]
Other statistical leaders included quarterback Mark Vitali with 1,184 passing yards.[2] In addition to Dierking, three other Purdue players received honors on the 1976 All-Big Ten team: offensive guard Connie Zelencik (AP-1, UPI-2); defensive end Blane Smith (AP-1, UPI-2); and defensive back Paul Beery (AP-2, UPI-1).[5][6]
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 11 | Northwestern | | W 31–19 | 46,311 | |
September 18 | at Notre Dame* | | L 0–23 | 59,075 | |
September 25 | No. 19 USC* | - Ross–Ade Stadium
- West Lafayette, IN
| L 13–31 | 65,425 | |
October 2 | Miami (OH)* | - Ross–Ade Stadium
- West Lafayette, IN
| W 42–20 | 55,102 | |
October 9 | at Wisconsin | | W 18–16 | 79,111 | |
October 16 | Illinois | - Ross–Ade Stadium
- West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)
| L 17–21 | 66,716 | |
October 23 | at No. 9 Ohio State | | L 3–24 | 87,898 | |
October 30 | at Michigan State | | L 13–45 | 52,222 | |
November 6 | No. 1 Michigan | - Ross–Ade Stadium
- West Lafayette, IN
| W 16–14 | 57,205 | [7][8] |
November 13 | at Iowa | | W 21–0 | 44,763 | |
November 20 | Indiana | | L 14–20 | 63,220 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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[9]
Personnel
1976 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster |
Players | Coaches |
Offense Pos. | # | Name | Class | WR | 21 | Reggie Arnold | QB | 7 | Steve Barr | RB | 25 | Scott Dierking (C) | Sr | TE | 88 | Tim Eubank | G | 55 | Tom Gibson | OT | 63 | Dave LaFary | Sr | OT | 71 | Jim LeFeber | RB | | Bennie Leverett | RB | | Rick Moss | WR | | Jappy Oliver | FB | 31 | John Skibinski | Jr | WR | | Raymond Smith | RB | 81 | Ricky Smith | WR | 42 | Jesse Townsend | Jr | C | 65 | Jay Venzin | Sr | QB | 18 | Mark Vitali | Sr | C | 51 | Rich Wetendorf | Sr | TE | 80 | Nigel Wirgowski | Sr | G | 50 | Connie Zelencik | Sr | | Defense Pos. | # | Name | Class | LB | 48 | Fred Arrington | DT | 73 | Chris Barr | S | | Paul Beery | DE | 96 | Kim Cripe | DT | | Cleveland Crosby | CB | 46 | Pat Harris | Jr | CB | | Jerome King | MG | | Ken Loushin | LB | 59 | Bob Mannella | LB | | Kevin Motts | CB, RB | 24 | Mike Northington | DE | 91 | Blane Smith (C) | Sr | S, K | 20 | Rock Supan | | Special teams Pos. | # | Name | Class | P | | Dave Eagin | K | | Scott Sovereen | K | | John Turner | | - Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- George Catavolos (DB)
- Fred Conti
- Jack Ellis
- Bob Geiger
- Jerry Hartman
- Pat Naughton
- Tom Roggeman
- Rick Venturi
- Mike Wynn
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
- Injured
- Redshirt
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Game summaries
Northwestern
At Notre Dame
Game information |
First quarter - ND – Dave Reeve 39-yard field goal, 0:47. Notre Dame 3–0. Drive:
Second quarter - ND – Mark McLane 33-yard pass from Al Hunter (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 10–0. Drive:
Third quarter - ND – Rick Slager 1-yard run (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 17–0. Drive:
Fourth quarter - ND – Al Hunter 2-yard run (kick failed). Notre Dame 23–0. Drive: 49 yards.
| - Top passers
- Top rushers
- Top receivers
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[10]
USC
Miami (OH)
- Scott Dierking 28 rushes, 211 yards
- John Skibinski 15 rushes, 121 yards
At Wisconsin
Paul Beery's fourth interception and Rock Supan's 20-yard field goal with a little over two minutes remaining lifted Purdue to victory.[11]
Illinois
At Ohio State
At Michigan State
Michigan
#1 Michigan at Purdue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Michigan | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | • Purdue | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 16 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| 1 | | MICH | Leach 8-yard run (Wood kick) | MICH 7-0 | | 1 | | PUR | Dierking 4-yard run (Supan kick) | Tied 7-7 | | 2 | | PUR | Dierking 25-yard run (kick blocked) | PUR 13-7 | | 3 | | MICH | Smith 65-yard pass from Leach (Wood kick) | MICH 14-13 | | 4 | 4:20 | PUR | Supan 23-yard field goal | PUR 16-14 | |
- PUR: Scott Dierking 38 rushes, 162 yards
At Iowa
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Purdue | 6 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 21 | Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| 1 | | Purdue | Vitali 3-yard run (kick failed) | Purdue 6-0 | | 2 | | Purdue | Vitali 20-yard run (Dierking run) | Purdue 14-0 | | 3 | | Purdue | Vitali 1-yard run (Supan kick) | Purdue 21-0 | |
[12]
Indiana
Statistics
Passing
Player | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT |
Mark Vitali | 73 | 172 | 1,184 | 0 | 16 |
Scott Dierking | | | 92 | | |
Rushing
Player | Att | Yards | TD |
Scott Dierking | 201 | 1,000 | 11 |
John Skibinski | 173 | 871 | |
Mark Vitali | 100 | 317 | |
Receiving
Player | Rec | Yards | TD |
Reggie Arnold | 16 | 287 | |
Raymond Smith | 11 | 233 | |
John Skibinski | 13 | 118 | |
[13]
Awards
Red Mackey Award: Mark Vitali
References
- ^ "1976 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
- ^ a b "1976 Purdue Boilermakers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ^ Roy Damer (December 25, 1975). "Lytle named Big 10 MVP: Purdue's Dierking is runnerup". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
- ^ "Tony Dorsett tops AP All-American Team". Jefferson City Post Tribune. December 2, 1976. p. 13.
- ^ a b "Michigan, Ohio State Pace All-Big Ten Team". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1976. p. 27.
- ^ a b "Illini place two on All-Big 10". The Pantagraph. November 24, 1976. p. A11.
- ^ "Purdue Stuns No. 1 Michigan". The Victoria Advocate (AP story). November 7, 1976.
- ^ "Purdue stuns No. 1 Michigan, Pittsburgh may get top ranking". The Bulletin (AP story). November 8, 1976.
- ^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 89. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 Sept 19. Pg. 14B. Retrieved 2021-Jan-11.
- ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 Oct 09. Retrieved 2018-Dec-30.
- ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 Nov 14.
- ^ Broyles, Bob and Paul Guido. 50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport
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