1996 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1996 Purdue Boilermakers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1996 record	3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Colletto (6th year)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Salem (3rd year)
Offensive scheme	Pro Set
Defensive coordinator	Ty Smith (2nd year)
Base defense	4-3
MVP	Brian Alford (junior year)
Captain	Jon Krick (senior year)
Captain	Emmett Zitelli (senior year)
Home stadium	Ross-Ade Stadium (Capacity: 67,861)

1996 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#2 Ohio State +		7	–	1					11	–	1
#15 Northwestern +		7	–	1					9	–	3
#7 Penn State		6	–	2					11	–	2
#18 Iowa		6	–	2					9	–	3
#20 Michigan		5	–	3					8	–	4
Michigan State		5	–	3					6	–	6
Wisconsin		3	–	5					8	–	5
Purdue		2	–	6					3	–	8
Minnesota		1	–	7					4	–	7
Indiana		1	–	7					3	–	8
Illinois		1	–	7					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana and competed in the Big Ten Conference. The team attempted to build from its second best season (win wise) in its 5-year football history under head coach Jim Colletto, and they failed starting the season 0-3 and averaging under 7 points per game. Over the final eight games the Boilermakers went 3-5 however, ending the season with a 3-8 record and failing to qualify for a bowl game for the twelfth straight year. The Boilermakers also failed to win a road game.

However, several individuals excelled. Brian Alford received numerous post-season accolades including First Team All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and the media, as well as breaking Purdue record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season. Senior captain, Emmett Zitelli was selected to the Second Team All-Big team by both the coaches and the media. After the season, non of the Boilermakers were selected in the 1997 NFL Draft but immediately after the draft Zitelli signed as an undrafted free agent.

Preseason preview

In 1995 the Purdue Boilermakers had the second best season in the Colletto era. The team finished with a 4-6-1 regular season record, failing to qualify for a postseason bowl game for the twelfth straight year. The Boilermakers struggled to win games, facing what was rated as the 3rd most difficult schedule in the nation in 1995.^[1] However, Purdue did finish first in the Big Ten in rushing offense.^[2]

Going into 1996, there was doubt that Purdue could replace all-time leading rusher Mike Alstott, and have a winning season.^[3] Entering the season, Colletto thought that each of his quarterbacks would be a contributor on offense, electing Rick Trefzger as the team's starting quarterback, and moving former tailback, Edwin Watson to fullback to replace Alstott.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	12:30 PM	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN	L 14–52	72,511
September 14	2:30 PM	at #9 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Shillelagh Trophy)	NBC	L 0–35	59,075
September 21	7:00 PM	West Virginia*	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN		L 6–20	39,445
September 28	12:00 PM	NC State*	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ESPN+	W 42–21	39,739
October 5	2:00 PM	Minnesota	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN		W 30–27	45,805
October 12	12:30 PM	at #10 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ESPN	L 14–31	96,653
October 19	3:30 PM	#2 Ohio State	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ABC	L 14–42	58,323
November 2	12:30 PM	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN	L 25–33	78,330
November 9	12:30 PM	#9 Michigan	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	W 9–3	39,328
November 16	12:00 PM	at #13 Northwestern	Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL		L 24–27	41,178
November 23	1:00 PM	Indiana	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)		L 16–33	49,197
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[5]

Roster

1996 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Winston, DonaldDonald Winston Fr QB 3 Reeves, JohnJohn Reeves  So WR 5 Tillman, WillieWillie Tillman Jr WR 6 Jones, IsaacIsaac Jones Jr QB 12 Dicken, BillyBilly Dicken  Jr QB 13 Trefzger, RickRick Trefzger Sr FB 16 Haddad, EricEric Haddad Jr WR 20 Daniels, ChrisChris Daniels  Fr WR 24 Olivadotti, KirkKirk Olivadotti Sr RB 25 Taylor, CurtisCurtis Taylor Jr FB 36 Watson, EdwinEdwin Watson Jr FB 37 Sanders, DartanianDartanian Sanders Sr RB 43 Matthews, KendallKendall Matthews Sr FB 45 Bryant Jr., CullenCullen Bryant Jr. Fr OT 52 Sweeney, NickNick Sweeney So OT 54 Fischer, MarkMark Fischer Sr OG 56 Okobi, ChukkyChukky Okobi Fr C 63 Niedrach, JimJim Niedrach So OG 72 Zitelli, EmmettEmmett Zitelli Sr OT 73 Cohen, DavidDavid Cohen So OG 74 Finchum, WayneWayne Finchum So OG 76 Maly, DanDan Maly Sr C 78 Nicley, BrianBrian Nicley Sr OT 79 Manning, ChadChad Manning Sr WR 80 Alford, BrianBrian Alford  Jr TE 81 Jewell, BrandonBrandon Jewell Sr TE 90 VanderWeele, PetePete VanderWeele Jr TE 91 Light, MattMatt Light Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class FS 2 Brown, DerrickDerrick Brown Jr CB 4 Winston, DerrickDerrick Winston Sr SS 7 Beasley, AdrianAdrian Beasley So DB 10 Brush, LeeLee Brush Jr FS 11 Hawthorne, MichaelMichael Hawthorne So CB 14 Coleman, JamelJamel Coleman Jr LB 19 Hagins, JoeJoe Hagins Sr DB 22 Conard, LamarLamar Conard Fr SS 23 Burroughs, WillieWillie Burroughs Jr CB 27 Washington, WillieWillie Washington Fr LB 28 Rose, MikeMike Rose Fr DB 29 Johnson, ReggieReggie Johnson LB 32 Jones, NobleNoble Jones So LB 34 Okeafor, ChikeChike Okeafor Jr CB 38 Gillins, BryceBryce Gillins Fr LB 29 Zitelli, NickNick Zitelli DB 46 Davis, GlennGlenn Davis LB 48 Koeppen, ChrisChris Koeppen Sr DE 49 Nwokorie, ChukieChukie Nwokorie So LB 51 Bacon, TroyTroy Bacon DT 53 Krick, JonJon Krick Sr LB 57 Lee, RayRay Lee So DE 58 Williams, CraigCraig Williams Sr DE 59 Colvin, RoseveltRosevelt Colvin So DT 71 Gutwein, AnthonyAnthony Gutwein Jr DE 82 Nugent, DavidDavid Nugent Fr LB 86 Dobbins, ScottScott Dobbins DT 97 Smith, GregGreg Smith Sr DT 98 Perez, LeoLeo Perez Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 17 Arnce, ChrisChris Arnce Jr P 26 Rogers, DannyDanny Rogers Fr P 29 Kaser, BrandonBrandon Kaser So PK 96 Ryan, ShaneShane Ryan Fr	Head coach Jim Colletto Coordinators/assistant coaches Tim Salem (Offensive Coordinator) Ty Smith (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Chester Caddas (Defensive Line) Randy Fichtner (Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator) Tom Freeman (Offensive Line) Leroy Keyes (Running Backs) Karl Morgan (Defensive Line) Bob Morris (Defensive Backs) Kurt Van Valkenburgh (Defensive Backs Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: December 3, 2013

Depth Chart

Defense [6] FS Derrick Brown Michael Hawthorne WLB MLB SLB ⋅ Chris Koeppen ⋅ Noble Jones Ray Lee ⋅ SS Willie Burroughs Adrian Beasley CB Derrick Winston Willie Washington DE DT DT DE Rosevelt Colvin Jon Krick Leo Perez Craig Williams Chukie Nwokorie Anthony Gutwein Greg Smith David Nugent CB Jamel Coleman Bryce Gillins Offense [7] WR Brian Alford Kirk Olivadotti LT LG C RG RT Mark Fischer Wayne Finchum Brian Nicley Emmett Zitelli Nick Sweeney Chad Manning Dan Maly Jim Niedrach Chukky Okobi David Cohen TE Brandon Jewell Pete Vander Weele WR Willie Tillman Isaac Jones QB Rick Trefzger John Reeves RB Kendall Matthews Curtis Taylor FB Edwin Watson Dartanian Sanders Special Teams PK Shane Ryan PK Chris Arnce P Danny Rogers P Brandon Kaser KR Joe Hagins PR Donald Winston LS Chris Daniels H Rick Trefzger

Results

Michigan

#9 Michigan at Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 0 0 3 0 3 • Purdue 0 3 0 6 9 Date: November 9 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana Game attendance: 40,624

Scoring summary 2 7:22 Purdue Shane Ryan 28 yard field goal Purdue 3-0 3 10:07 Michigan Remy Hamilton 21 yard field goal Tie 3-3 4 7:20 Purdue Brian Alford 5 yard pass from Rick Trefzger (kick failed) Purdue 9-3

Purdue's first win versus Michigan since 1984^[8]

Statistics

Passing

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
Rick Trefzger	96	170	1,158	8	8
John Reeves	51	102	772	6	5
Billy Dicken	40	81	518	1	4

Rushing

Player	Att	Yards	TD
Edwin Watson	194	768	6
Kendall Matthews	123	471	3
John Reeves	52	157
Rick Trefzger	43	56	1
Donald Winston	2	49
Lee Johnson	12	43
Eric Haddad	6	24
Chris Koeppen	1	24
Brian Alford	3	22
Dartanian Sanders	5	18
Billy Dicken	20	-40

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yards	TD
Brian Alford	63	1,057	12
Willie Tillman	40	557	2
Edwin Watson	25	220
Isaac Jones	14	241	1
Kirk Olivadotti	16	171
Brandon Jewell	11	92
Kendall Matthews	9	29
Chris Daniels	1	22
Eric Haddad	2	19
Lee Johnson	2	16
Matt Light	1	16
Reggie Johnson	1	7
Donald Winston	1	5
Dartanian Sanders	1	-4

^[9]

References

1. "1995 Purdue Boilermakers Stats". www.sports-reference.com. USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
2. "Tim Salem Bio". www.fightingillini.com. University of Illinois-Champaign. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
3. Andrew Bagnato (November 5, 1996). "Purdue's Colletto 2nd Coach To Exit Big Ten Within Week". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
4. Geoff Mosher (August 29, 1996). "Boiling point". ww.collegian.psu.edu. The Daily Collegian. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
5. 2010 Purdue football information guide
6. "Purdue's Final Two-Deep for 1996". www.purduesports.com. Purdue University. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
7. "Purdue's Final Two-Deep for 1996". www.purduesports.com. Purdue University. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
8. Recap/Box Score
9. 1996 Purdue football final statistics