CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2012 Purdue

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Danny Hope, then Patrick Higgins (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Purdue in 2012, game by game: won vs. Eastern Kentucky 48–6; lost at No. 22 Notre Dame 17–20; won vs. Eastern Michigan 54–16; won vs. Marshall 51–41; lost vs. Michigan 13–44; lost vs. Wisconsin 14–38; lost at No. 7 Ohio State 22–29; lost at Minnesota 28–44; lost vs. Penn State 9–34; won at Iowa 27–24; won at Illinois 20–17; won vs. Indiana 56–35; lost vs. Oklahoma State 14–58+42−44Won 48–6 vs. Eastern Kentucky+42Eastern KentuckyLost 17–20 at No. 22 Notre Dame-3No. 22 Notre DameWon 54–16 vs. Eastern Michigan+38Eastern MichiganWon 51–41 vs. Marshall+10MarshallLost 13–44 vs. Michigan-31MichiganLost 14–38 vs. Wisconsin-24WisconsinLost 22–29 at No. 7 Ohio State-7No. 7 Ohio StateLost 28–44 at Minnesota-16MinnesotaLost 9–34 vs. Penn State-25Penn StateWon 27–24 at Iowa+3IowaWon 20–17 at Illinois+3IllinoisWon 56–35 vs. Indiana+21IndianaLost 14–58 vs. Oklahoma State-44Oklahoma State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsEastern KentuckyW 48–⁠677%
Sep 8at22Notre DameL 17–⁠2028%
Sep 15vsEastern MichiganW 54–⁠1676%
Sep 29vsMarshallW 51–⁠4163%
Oct 6vsMichiganL 13–⁠4447%
Oct 13vsWisconsinL 14–⁠3836%
Oct 20at7Ohio StateL 22–⁠2920%
Oct 27atMinnesotaL 28–⁠4446%
Nov 3vsPenn StateL 9–⁠3433%
Nov 10atIowaW 27–⁠2431%
Nov 17atIllinoisW 20–⁠1756%
Nov 24vsIndianaW 56–⁠3565%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsOklahoma StateHeart of Dallas BowlL 14–⁠5824%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma State 58–⁠14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 87th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 7th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
373–⁠406
Coach
Danny Hope, then Patrick Higgins (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1464 −30 this season
SP+ rating
-1.0 No. 70 of 124; offense No. 67, defense No. 61, special teams No. 104
SRS
−1.4 No. 66 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 49
Offensive coordinator
Gary Nord
Defensive coordinator
Tim Tibesar
Captains
Akeem Shavers, Caleb TerBush, Crosby Wright, Kawann Short, Ricardo Allen and Raheem Mostert
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense97th of 124
  • Defense72nd of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted106th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted82nd of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0138%0.9397th of 124
Defense0.0844%0.9472nd of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.07 def		39% off
43% def		—106th off
82nd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 312% allowed
Defense-0.3own 313% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsRobert Marve QB1,734 yds
Passing touchdownsRobert Marve QB15 TD
Rushing yardsAkeem Shavers RB871 yds
Rushing touchdownsAkeem Shavers RB6 TD
Receiving yardsAntavian Edison WR652 yds
Receiving touchdownsAntavian Edison WR8 TD
InterceptionsLandon Feichter S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Ryan Watson SDE★★★★No. 201
Robert Gregory DUAL★★★★No. 365
Ryan Morris TE★★★No. 588
Jordan Roos OG★★★No. 651
Bilal Marshall DUAL★★★No. 655

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks33.30.875
Receivers43.00.833
Offensive line42.80.814
Defensive line23.50.888
Defensive backs33.00.840
Athletes and specialists52.60.809
Whole class213.00.836

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 2Kawann Short DTCarolina Panthers

Roster 109

The 2012 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2012 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠03
Nebraska7–⁠110–⁠425
Penn State6–⁠28–⁠4
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠524
Northwestern5–⁠310–⁠317
Wisconsin4–⁠48–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠56–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠66–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠64–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠82–⁠10

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