The 1976 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

in the 1976 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth season under head coach

Alex Agase Alexander Arrasi Agase (March 27, 1922 – May 3, 2007) was an American football guard and linebacker who was named an All-American three times in college and played on three Cleveland Browns championship teams before becoming head football coac ...

, the Boilermakers compiled a 5–6 record (4–4 against conference opponents) and finished in a four-way tie for third place in the Big Ten standings. Running back

Scott Dierking Scott Dierking (born May 24, 1955) is a former running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New York Jets from 1977-1983 after being drafted in Round 4 of the 1977 NFL Draft. College career Before his NFL career, he pl ...

led the team with 1,000 rushing yards and 66 points scored. He was selected by his teammates as the team's most valuable player and finished second to

Rob Lytle Robert William Lytle (November 12, 1954 – November 20, 2010) was an American football player. Lytle played college football at the University of Michigan from 1973 to 1976. A running back, he broke Michigan's career record with 3,317 rushing ...

in the voting for the ''Chicago Tribune'' Silver Football, awarded to the Big Ten's most valuable player. Dierking was also named by the

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(AP) as a second-team All-American and by the AP and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

(UPI) as a first-team running back on the

1976 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1976 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Big Ten Conference teams for the 1976 Big Ten Conference football season. Seven players were unanimously selected as first ...

. Other statistical leaders included quarterback Mark Vitali with 1,184 passing yards. In addition to Dierking, three other Purdue players received honors on the 1976 All-Big Ten team: offensive guard

Connie Zelencik Conrad James "Connie" Zelencik (May 13, 1955 – May 22, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a center for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional ...

(AP-1, UPI-2); defensive end Blane Smith (AP-1, UPI-2); and defensive back Paul Beery (AP-2, UPI-1).

Schedule

2010 Purdue football information guide

Personnel

Game summaries

Northwestern

27 rushes, 151 yards

at Notre Dame

USC

Miami (OH)

28 rushes, 211 yards *John Skibinski 15 rushes, 121 yards

at Wisconsin

Paul Beery's fourth interception and Rock Supan's 20-yard field goal with a little over two minutes remaining lifted Purdue to victory.

Illinois

at Ohio State

at Michigan State

Michigan

*Source:''
Palm Beach Post
*PUR: Scott Dierking 38 Rush, 162 Yds

at Iowa

Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 Nov 14.

Indiana

Statistics

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Broyles, Bob and Paul Guido. ''50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport''

Awards

Red Mackey Award: Mark Vitali

References

{{Purdue Boilermakers football navbox

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Purdue Boilermakers football seasons

Purdue Boilermakers football The Purdue Boilermakers football team represents Purdue University in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Purdue plays its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. ...