The 1996 Purdue Boilermakers football team 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 mone ...

in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at

Ross–Ade Stadium Ross–Ade Stadium is a stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, on the campus of Purdue University. It is the home field of Purdue Boilermakers football. The stadium was dedicated on November 22, 1924, and named in honor of Purdue alumni George Ade ...

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister cit ...

and competed in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The team attempted to build from its second best season (win wise) in its 5-year football history under head coach

Jim Colletto Jim Colletto (born October 4, 1944) is a former American football player and coach. He attended Monterey High School (1958–1962) where he was an all conference baseball and football player and starter on the varsity basketball team. At UCLA Col ...

, 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 In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

for the twelfth straight year. The Boilermakers also failed to win a road game. However, several individuals excelled.

Brian Alford Brian Wayne Alford (born June 7, 1975) is a former American football wide receiver. During his National Football League career, he played for the New York Giants. Early life A 1993 graduate of Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Michigan, Alfor ...

received numerous post-season accolades including First Team All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and the media, as well as breaking the 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, none of the Boilermakers were selected in the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

, but immediately after the draft Zitelli signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Preseason preview

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

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

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. However, Purdue did finish first in the Big Ten in rushing offense. Going into 1996, there was doubt that Purdue could successfully replace all-time leading rusher

Mike Alstott Michael Joseph Alstott (born December 21, 1973), is a former American football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nicknamed "A-Train", he played college football at Purdue an ...

and have a winning season. 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.

Schedule

2010 Purdue football information guide

Roster

Depth chart

Results

NC State

*Edwin Watson 29 rushes, 227 yards

Minnesota

*Kendall Matthews 30 rushes, 131 yards

Michigan

Purdue's first win versus Michigan since 1984Recap/Box Score
/ref>

Statistics

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

/ref>

References

{{Purdue Boilermakers football navbox Purdue 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. ...