The 2000 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 money ...

in the

2000 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners claiming their seventh national championship and their thirty-seventh conference championship, the first of each since the departure of head coach Barry Switzer. Oklahoma ...

. 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 city, ...

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 ...

. In its fourth year under head coach

Joe Tiller Joseph Henry Tiller (December 7, 1942 – September 30, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1991 to 1996 and Purdue University from 1997 to 2008, with a career record of know ...

, Purdue compiled an 8–4 record, won the conference championship, but was defeated by

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the 2001 Rose Bowl. Purdue's offense was led by

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

-finalist

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is the NFL leader in ...

. Brees led the Big Ten in completions, attempts, passing yards and passing touchdowns, setting the Big Ten career record for career passing yards with 11,517 passing former Purdue player,

Mark Herrmann Mark Donald Herrmann (born January 8, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Herrmann played college football for the ...

who had set the mark with 9,946 in 1980. The team had neither a 1,000-yard rusher nor a 1,000-yard receiver.

Vinny Sutherland Vincent Joseph Sutherland (born April 22, 1978) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for two seasons in the National Football League for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears. He was a sta ...

was the leading receiver with 926 receiving yards, and Montrell Lowe led the team in

rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

ing with 919 rushing yards. Drew Brees and

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Matt Light Matthew Charles Light (born June 23, 1978) is a former American football offensive tackle who spent his entire 11-year career playing for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Purdue ...

were the only players on the offensive unit selected as an All-American by ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...

''. On defense, the 2000 Purdue team had true freshman safety Stuart Schweigert, who intercepted five passes and also led the team in tackles with 85. Other standouts on defense included

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Akin Ayodele Akinola James Ayodele (; born September 17, 1979) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills. He was drafted by the Jacksonville J ...

with 9.0

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

s, and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Landon Johnson Landon Tremone Johnson (born March 13, 1981) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue. Johnson also played for the Carolina ...

with 71

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and two sacks, and safety Ralph Turner with 65 tackles, four sacks and an interception. Ten members of the team were honored as All-Big Ten Conference selections, quarterback Drew Brees was named the Big Ten Offensive of the Year and the

Chicago Tribune Silver Football The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois wa ...

, while safety Stuart Schweigert was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Nineteen members of the 2000 Boilermakers football team went on to play in the NFL. Prior to 2000, the Boilermakers had compiled three consecutive winning seasons and had not won a Big Ten Championship since the 1967 Purdue team. The 2000 team, which boasted two future

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

winners, was featured in the 2013

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs, ...

documentary series ''Big Ten Elite'' and is still widely regarded by Purdue fans as one of the greatest Boilermakers football teams of all time. The Boilermakers have yet to win the Big Ten championship or reach the Rose Bowl since then.

Season

The season was

's final year with the Boilermakers. He left Purdue with

records in passing yards (11,792), touchdown passes (90), total offensive yards (12,693), completions (1,026), and attempts (1,678). Brees won the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

as the nation's outstanding player of 2000 and won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Today's Top VIII Award The Today's Top 10 Award is given each year by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to honor ten former outstanding senior student-athletes. The award was previously known by three different names, each reflecting the number of rec ...

as a member of the Class of 2001. Brees was third in balloting for the

in 2000. The Boilermakers won all 8 of their games when they scored 30 points or more in 2000.

Schedule

Roster

Depth chart

Game summaries

Central Michigan

Kent State

at Notre Dame

Minnesota

at Penn State

Michigan

*References

at Northwestern

*Montrell Lowe 26 Rush, 174 Yds

at Wisconsin

becomes the career passing yardage leader in Big Ten history.

Ohio State

*References

at Michigan State

Indiana

vs. Washington (Rose Bowl)

Rankings

Rivalries

*In the battle for the

Old Oaken Bucket The Old Oaken Bucket is a traveling trophy awarded in American college football as part of the rivalry between the Indiana Hoosiers football team of Indiana University and Purdue Boilermakers football team of Purdue University. It was first awa ...

, Purdue beat Indiana. *In the battle for the Shillelagh Trophy, Notre Dame beat Purdue.

Awards and honors

*Drew Brees,

* Tim Stratton,

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

Seniors drafted by the NFL

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions

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 Big Ten Conference football champion 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. ...