CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 Purdue

3–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Jim Colletto.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 1996, game by game: lost at Michigan State 14–52; lost at No. 9 Notre Dame 0–35; lost vs. West Virginia 6–20; won vs. NC State 42–21; won vs. Minnesota 30–27; lost at No. 10 Penn State 14–31; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 14–42; lost at Wisconsin 25–33; won vs. No. 9 Michigan 9–3; lost at No. 13 Northwestern 24–27; lost vs. Indiana 16–33+21−38Lost 14–52 at Michigan State-38Michigan StateLost 0–35 at No. 9 Notre Dame-35No. 9 Notre DameLost 6–20 vs. West Virginia-14West VirginiaWon 42–21 vs. NC State+21NC StateWon 30–27 vs. Minnesota+3MinnesotaLost 14–31 at No. 10 Penn State-17No. 10 Penn StateLost 14–42 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-28No. 2 Ohio StateLost 25–33 at Wisconsin-8WisconsinWon 9–3 vs. No. 9 Michigan+6No. 9 MichiganLost 24–27 at No. 13 Northwestern-3No. 13 NorthwesternLost 16–33 vs. Indiana-17Indiana
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atMichigan StateL 14–⁠5239%
Sep 14at9Notre DameL 0–⁠3521%
Sep 21vsWest VirginiaL 6–⁠2042%
Sep 28vsNC StateW 42–⁠2161%
Oct 5vsMinnesotaW 30–⁠2757%
Oct 12at10Penn StateL 14–⁠3117%
Oct 19vs2Ohio StateL 14–⁠4221%
Nov 2atWisconsinL 25–⁠3332%
Nov 9vs9MichiganW 9–⁠322%
Nov 16at13NorthwesternL 24–⁠2718%
Nov 23vsIndianaL 16–⁠3368%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Indiana 33–⁠16; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 100th-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 1996.

Record
3–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 8th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
194–⁠324
Coach
Jim Colletto
Elo
1426 −76 this season
SP+ rating
-0.3 No. 59 of 111; offense No. 69, defense No. 51
SRS
−1.7 No. 61 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Tim Salem
Defensive coordinators
Bob Morris and Ty Smith
Captains
Jon Krick and Emmett Zitelli
Most valuable player
Brian Alford
Offense
Pro set
Defense
4–⁠3

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1996 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1996 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠12
Northwestern7–⁠19–⁠315
Penn State6–⁠211–⁠27
Iowa6–⁠29–⁠318
Michigan5–⁠38–⁠420
Michigan State5–⁠36–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue2–⁠63–⁠8
Minnesota1–⁠74–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠8
Illinois1–⁠72–⁠9

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