1976 Purdue
5–6 (4–4 Big Ten), coached by Alex Agase. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 1 Michigan 16–14Nov 6
Michigan was ranked No. 1, above it.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11 | vs Northwestern | W 31–19 | 68% |
| Sep 18 | at Notre Dame | L 0–23 | 30% |
| Sep 25 | vs 19USC | L 13–31 | 38% |
| Oct 2 | vs Miami (OH) | W 42–20 | 46% |
| Oct 9 | at Wisconsin | W 18–16 | 45% |
| Oct 16 | vs Illinois | L 17–21 | 59% |
| Oct 23 | at 9Ohio State | L 3–24 | 15% |
| Oct 30 | at Michigan State | L 13–45 | 35% |
| Nov 6 | vs 1Michigan | W 16–14 | 20% |
| Nov 13 | at Iowa | W 21–0 | 49% |
| Nov 20 | vs Indiana | L 14–20 | 72% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Indiana 20–14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 86th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
Players on this team
Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1976.
- Record
- 5–6
- Conference
- 4–4 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 188–233
- Coach
- Alex Agase
- Elo
- 1465 −7 this season
- SP+ rating
- 2.5 No. 67 of 132; offense No. 76, defense No. 57
- SRS
- 4.5 No. 52 of 137 major-college teams
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captains
- Scott Dierking and Blane Smith
- Most valuable player
- Scott Dierking
Drafted in 1977
The 1977 draft| Rd 4 | Scott Dierking RB | New York Jets |
| Rd 5 | Dave Lafary OT | New Orleans Saints |
| Rd 7 | Blane Smith TE | Cleveland Browns |
All-Big Ten
4 first teamFirst team
Scott DierkingRBAP-1; UPI-1- Connie ZelencikOGAP-1; UPI-2
- Blane SmithFront five
- Paul BeeryDBAP-2; UPI-1
From Wikipedia’s 1976 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
1976 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 7–1 | 10–2 | 3 |
| Ohio State | 7–1 | 9–2–1 | 6 |
 Minnesota | 4–4 | 6–5 | |
| Illinois | 4–4 | 5–6 | |
| Purdue | 4–4 | 5–6 | |
| Indiana | 4–4 | 5–6 | |
| Iowa | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| Wisconsin | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| Michigan State | 3–5 | 4–6–1 | |
| Northwestern | 1–7 | 1–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.