CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Purdue

9–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Joe Tiller, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 1997, game by game: lost at Toledo 22–36; won vs. No. 12 Notre Dame 28–17; won vs. Ball State 28–14; won vs. Northwestern 21–9; won at Minnesota 59–43; won vs. No. 24 Wisconsin 45–20; won at Illinois 48–3; lost at No. 15 Iowa 17–35; won vs. Michigan State 22–21; lost vs. No. 6 Penn State 17–42; won at Indiana 56–7; won vs. No. 24 Oklahoma State 33–20+49−25Lost 22–36 at Toledo-14ToledoWon 28–17 vs. No. 12 Notre Dame+11No. 12 Notre DameWon 28–14 vs. Ball State+14Ball StateWon 21–9 vs. Northwestern+12NorthwesternWon 59–43 at Minnesota+16MinnesotaWon 45–20 vs. No. 24 Wisconsin+25No. 24 WisconsinWon 48–3 at Illinois+45IllinoisLost 17–35 at No. 15 Iowa-18No. 15 IowaWon 22–21 vs. Michigan State+1Michigan StateLost 17–42 vs. No. 6 Penn State-25No. 6 Penn StateWon 56–7 at Indiana+49IndianaWon 33–20 vs. No. 24 Oklahoma State+13No. 24 Oklahoma State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6atToledoL 22–⁠3635%
Sep 13vs12Notre DameW 28–⁠1731%
Sep 20vsBall StateW 28–⁠1454%
Sep 27vsNorthwesternW 21–⁠948%
Oct 11atMinnesotaW 59–⁠4358%
Oct 18vs24WisconsinW 45–⁠2048%
Oct 25atIllinoisW 48–⁠374%
Nov 1at15IowaL 17–⁠3538%
Nov 8vsMichigan StateW 22–⁠2158%
Nov 15vs6Penn StateL 17–⁠4239%
Nov 22atIndianaW 56–⁠768%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs24Oklahoma StateAlamo BowlW 33–⁠2052%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oklahoma State 33–⁠20 in the Alamo Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 29th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 22
  2. Wk 11: 18
  3. Wk 12: 23
  4. Wk 13: 19
  5. Wk 14: 23
  6. Wk 15: 18
  7. Wk 16: 18
  8. Wk 17: 17
  9. Final: 15

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 1997.

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 15
Points
396–⁠267
Coach
Joe Tiller
Elo
1605 +154 this season
SP+ rating
12.0 No. 31 of 112; offense No. 18, defense No. 50
SRS
9.3 No. 28 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinators
Jim Chaney and Tim Lappano
Defensive coordinator
Brock Spack
Captains
Brian Alford, Rosevelt Colvin and Mark Fischer
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 3Brian Alford WRNew York Giants
Rd 5Mark Fischer CWashington Redskins
Rd 7Edwin Watson RBGreen Bay Packers

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • Billy DickenQBCoaches-1; Media-2
  • Brian AlfordWRCoaches-1; Media-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠012–⁠01
Ohio State6–⁠210–⁠312
Penn State6–⁠29–⁠316
Purdue6–⁠29–⁠315
Wisconsin5–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠47–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠5
Northwestern3–⁠55–⁠7
Minnesota1–⁠73–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠72–⁠9
Illinois0–⁠80–⁠11

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