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1986 Purdue Boilermakers football
1986 Purdue Boilermakers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Leon Burtnett (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	Bob Spoo (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Tiller (4th season)
MVP	Rod Woodson
Captain	Rick Brunner, Kevin Holley, Rod Woodson
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
	Seasons ← 1985 1987 →

1986 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
No. 16 Iowa	5	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Minnesota	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Illinois	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Purdue	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Leon Burtnett in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for eighth in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	Ball State*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 20–3	60,161
September 20	Pittsburgh*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 26–41	55,621
September 27	at Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 9–41	59,075
October 4	Minnesota	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 9–36	63,067
October 11	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 27–34	73,720
October 18	Ohio State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 11–39	68,737
October 25	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 3–37	77,063
November 1	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 17–16	25,417
November 8	No. 3 Michigan	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 7–31	61,323	^[1]
November 15	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 14–42	67,321
November 22	Indiana	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	W 17–15	69,784	^[2]^[3]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[4]^[5]

Personnel

1986 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE		Jack Beery
RB		Caleb Bonds
OL		Keith Brown
WR		Rick Brunner
RB		Jerry Chaney
OL		Mike Connors
OL		Bruce Crites
QB		Doug Downing
WR		Ted Gelov
QB		Jeff George
RB		Tony Grant
WR		Jon Hayes
QB		Jeff Huber
QB		Shawn McCarthy
RB		Lorenzo McCline
RB		James Medlock
RB		Scott Nelson
TE		Dwayne O'Connor
OL		DeWayne Penn
OL		Jim Richmond
WR		Lance Scheib
TE		Brad Schumacher
OL		Todd Tyrie
WR		Calvin Williams

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB		Ronnie Beeks
DB	`19`	Cris Dishman	Jr
DB		Marc Foster
DL		Bill Gildea
DL		Bill Hitchcock
DL		Kevin Holley
DB		Scott Kalinoski
DL		Chris Keevers
LB	`48`	Fred Strickland	Jr
LB	`44`	Kevin Sumlin	Sr
DL		Tony Visco
DB		Mike Weaver
DB	`26`	Rod Woodson	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Jonathan Briggs

Head coach

Leon Burtnett

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Joe Tiller

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Ball State

Pittsburgh

At Notre Dame

Purdue at Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boilermakers	0	0	6	3	9
• Fighting Irish	10	14	3	14	41

Date: Saturday, September 27
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
Game attendance: 59,075

Minnesota

At Illinois

Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes (4–2) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–5)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	6	9	17	7	39
Purdue	0	3	0	8	11

at Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: October 18
Game time: 6:15 p.m.
Game weather: Clear, 53 °F (12 °C)
Game attendance: 68,737
Referee: Otho Kortz
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

OSU – Matt Frantz 21-yard field goal, 8:04. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards.
OSU – Matt Frantz 22-yard field goal, 1:55. Ohio St 6–0. Drive: 11 plays, 32 yards.

Second quarter

OSU – Cris Carter 3-yard pass from Jim Karsatos (pass failed), 10:36. Ohio St 12–0. Drive: 12 plays, 92 yards.
OSU – Matt Frantz 22-yard field goal, 1:05. Ohio St 15–0. Drive: 11 plays, 50 yards.
PUR – Jonathan Briggs 23-yard field goal, 0:02. Ohio St 15–3. Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards.

Third quarter

OSU – Nate Harris 37-yard pass from Jim Karsatos (Matt Frantz kick), 13:00. Ohio St 22–3. Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards.
OSU – Dave Brown 100-yard interception return (Matt Frantz kick), 9:11. Ohio St 29–3.
OSU – Matt Frantz 21-yard field goal, 1:03. Ohio St 32–3. Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards.

Fourth quarter

PUR – Caleb Bonds 3-yard pass from Doug Downing (run good), 11:59. Ohio St 32–11. Drive: 12 plays, 77 yards.
OSU – Jamie Holland 23-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 10:11. Ohio St 39–11. Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards.

Top passers

OSU – Jim Karsatos – 11/17, 190 yards, 2 TD
PUR – Doug Downing – 23/48, 289 yards, TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

OSU – James Bryant – 24 rushes, 129 yards
PUR – James Medlock – 9 rushes, 33 yards

Top receivers

OSU – Cris Carter – 7 receptions, 118 yards, TD
PUR – Rick Brunner – 5 receptions, 93 yards

At Michigan State

At Northwestern

Purdue at Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Boilermakers	7	0	7	3	17
Wildcats	3	10	0	3	16

Date: November 1
Location: Dyche Stadium • Evanston, Illinois

^[6]

Michigan

#3 Michigan at Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Wolverines	7	17	7	0	31
Boilermakers	0	0	0	7	7

Date: November 9
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
Game attendance: 61,323

At Iowa

Purdue at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boilermakers	7	0	0	7	14
• Hawkeyes	14	7	14	7	42

Date: November 15
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 67,321

^[7]

Indiana

Indiana Hoosiers (6–4) at Purdue Boilermakers (2–8)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana	0	0	7	8	15
Purdue	10	0	0	7	17

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: November 22
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 69,748
^[8]

Game information

First quarter

PUR – James Medlock 1-yard run (Jonathan Briggs kick). Purdue 7–0.
PUR – Jonathan Briggs 43-yard field goal. Purdue 10–0.

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

IND – Anthony Thompson 2-yard run (Pete Stoyanovich kick). Purdue 10–7.

Fourth quarter

PUR – Calvin Williams 4-yard run (Jonathan Briggs kick). Purdue 17–7.
IND – Stacy Dawsey 45-yard pass from Dave Kramme (pass good). Purdue 17–15.

Top passers

IND – Dave Kramme – 12/24, 213 yards, TD, INT
PUR – Jeff George – 8/20, 139 yards

Top rushers

IND – Anthony Thompson – 31 rushes, 131 yards, TD
PUR – Rod Woodson – 15 rushes, 93 yards

Top receivers

IND – Tony Buford – 4 receptions, 58 yards
PUR – Rod Woodson – 3 receptions, 67 yards

Purdue wore gold jerseys; In his final collegiate game, Rod Woodson gained over 150 combined rushing and receiving yards, in addition to making ten tackles and forcing a fumble, leading Purdue to a victory over arch-rival Indiana. This 50th victory in the series, kept indiana from receiving a bowl berth and denied anthony thompson the Heisman Trophy.

1987 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Rod Woodson	Cornerback	1	10	Pittsburgh Steelers

^[9]

References

^ Tommy George (November 9, 1986). "U-M rumbles, 31-7: Rose Bowl gets down to Wolverines vs. OSU". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 15E – via Newspapers.com.
^ Koerner, Dave (November 23, 1986). "Looking as good as gold, the Boilers are spoilers". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. C1. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Koerner, Dave (November 23, 1986). "A bowl, no Bucket for the Hoosiers (continued)". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. C6. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 91. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
^ Gainesville November 3, 1986
^ "Hawkeyes pummel Purdue". Indianapolis Star via newspapers.com. November 16, 1986. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1986 Nov 23. Retrieved 2022-Oct-03.
^ "1987 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2019.

[1] Tommy George (November 9, 1986). "U-M rumbles, 31-7: Rose Bowl gets down to Wolverines vs. OSU". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 15E – via Newspapers.com.

[2] Koerner, Dave (November 23, 1986). "Looking as good as gold, the Boilers are spoilers". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. C1. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .

[3] Koerner, Dave (November 23, 1986). "A bowl, no Bucket for the Hoosiers (continued)". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. C6. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .

[4] College Football @ Sports-Reference.com

[5] "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 91. Retrieved January 30, 2023.

[6] Gainesville November 3, 1986

[7] "Hawkeyes pummel Purdue". Indianapolis Star via newspapers.com. November 16, 1986. Retrieved November 9, 2019.

[8] Gainesville Sun. 1986 Nov 23. Retrieved 2022-Oct-03.

[9] "1987 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2019.

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Purdue Boilermakers football
Venues	Stuart Field (1892–1924) Ross–Ade Stadium (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Chicago (defunct) Illinois Indiana: Old Oaken Bucket Notre Dame
Culture & lore	Boilermaker Special Cradle of Quarterbacks Purdue Pete Purdue Wreck "Hail Purdue!" All-American Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025