1917 Purdue

3–⁠4 (0–⁠4 Western Conference), coached by Cleo O’Donnell.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 1917, game by game: won vs. Franklin 54–0; won vs. DePauw 7–6; lost at Chicago 0–27; lost at Illinois 0–27; lost vs. Northwestern 6–12; won vs. Wabash 28–0; lost vs. Indiana 0–37+54−37Won 54–0 vs. Franklin+54FranklinWon 7–6 vs. DePauw+1DePauwLost 0–27 at Chicago-27ChicagoLost 0–27 at Illinois-27IllinoisLost 6–12 vs. Northwestern-6NorthwesternWon 28–0 vs. Wabash+28WabashLost 0–37 vs. Indiana-37Indiana
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 6vsFranklinW 54–⁠087%
Oct 13vsDePauwW 7–⁠687%
Oct 20atChicagoL 0–⁠2731%
Oct 27atIllinoisL 0–⁠2721%
Nov 3vsNorthwesternL 6–⁠1253%
Nov 17vsWabashW 28–⁠082%
Nov 24vsIndianaL 0–⁠3756%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Indiana 37–⁠0; tied for 8th in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 117th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
3–⁠4
Conference
0–⁠4 tied for 8th in Western Conference
AP poll
Began in 1936
Points
95–⁠109
Coach
Cleo O’Donnell
Elo
1381 −72 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−4.0 No. 53 of 88 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
William J. Berns

1917 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State4–⁠08–⁠0–⁠1
Minnesota3–⁠14–⁠1
Northwestern3–⁠25–⁠2
Wisconsin3–⁠24–⁠2–⁠1
Illinois2–⁠2–⁠15–⁠2–⁠1
Chicago2–⁠2–⁠13–⁠2–⁠1
Indiana1–⁠25–⁠2
Michigan0–⁠18–⁠2
Purdue0–⁠43–⁠4
Iowa0–⁠23–⁠5

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.