1975 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1975 Purdue Boilermakers football
1975 Purdue Boilermakers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–7 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Alex Agase (3rd season);
MVP	Mike Pruitt
Captain	Ken Long, Ken Novak, Mike Pruitt
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
	Seasons ← 1974 1976 →

1975 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Ohio State $	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Michigan	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	2
Michigan State	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Indiana	1	–	6	–	1	2	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1975 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 1975 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by third-year head coach Alex Agase, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third 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	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 25–31	22,000
September 20	No. 9 Notre Dame*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 0–17	69,795
September 27	at No. 3 USC*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 6–19	56,170
October 4	Miami (OH)*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 3–14	52,309
October 11	Wisconsin	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 14–17	62,406
October 18	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 26–24	61,204
October 25	No. 1 Ohio State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 6–35	69,405
November 1	Michigan State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 20–10	57,104
November 8	at No. 6 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 0–28	102,415	^[1]^[2]
November 15	Iowa	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 19–18	45,549
November 22	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	W 9–7	43,455
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[3]

Roster

1975 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`25`	Scott Dierking (C)	Jr
TE	`88`	Tim Eubank	So
G	`55`	Tom Gibson	Jr
OT	`63`	Dave LaFary	Jr
RB	`22`	Bennie Leverett	Fr
G	`77`	Ken Long	Sr
FB	`38`	Mike Pruitt	Sr
FB	`31`	John Skibinski	So
WR	`42`	Jesse Townsend	So
C	`65`	Jay Venzin	Jr
QB	`18`	Mark Vitali	Jr
C	`51`	Rich Wetendorf	Jr
TE	`80`	Nigel Wirgowski	Jr
G	`50`	Connie Zelencik	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`48`	Fred Arrington
DT	`71`	Jim LeFeber	So
DT	`74`	Ken Novak	Sr
DE	`91`	Blane Smith	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Alex Agase

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Rick Venturi

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Starters

Offense: se Arnold, ot^{[clarification needed]} Stapleton, og Gibson, c Polak, sg Zelencik, st Long, te Wirgowski, qb Vitali, fl Beery, fb Pruitt, tb Dierking, k Schmidt

Defense: le Smith, lt Novak, mg Gorgal/Ruwe, rt Parker, re Hardy, lb Sullivan, lb Mannella, cb DiMarzio/Harris, cb Cooper, s Wood/Lewis, s Andres/Thompson, p Vitali

Coaching staff

HC: Alex Agase

Ast: George Catavolos, Fred Conti, Jack Ellis, Bob Geiger, Jerry Hartman, Pat Naughton, Tom Roggeman, Rick Venturi, Mike Wynn

Game summaries

Northwestern

Notre Dame

USC

Paul Beery 6 receptions, 101 yards

Miami (OH)

Wisconsin

Mike Pruitt 31 carries, 162 yards
Scott Dierking 20 carries, 139 yards

Illinois

Mike Pruitt 29 carries, 115 yards

Ohio State

Mike Pruitt 24 carries, 127 yards

Michigan State

Scott Dierking 24 carries, 149 yards
Mike Pruitt 28 carries, 120 yards

Michigan

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa	0	15	0	3	18
• Purdue	7	0	0	12	19

Date: November 15
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium
Game attendance: 45,549

^[4]

Scott Dierking 30 carries, 107 yards

Indiana

References

^ Curt Sylvester (November 9, 1975). "U-M Powders Purdue, 28-0: Leach Hurls 83-Yd TD Pass". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Calvin tops again". The Michigan Daily. November 11, 1975. p. 9 – via Bentley Historical Library.
^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 89. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
^ Palm Beach Post. 1975 Nov 16.

[1] Curt Sylvester (November 9, 1975). "U-M Powders Purdue, 28-0: Leach Hurls 83-Yd TD Pass". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Calvin tops again". The Michigan Daily. November 11, 1975. p. 9 – via Bentley Historical Library.

[3] "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 89. Retrieved January 29, 2023.

[4] Palm Beach Post. 1975 Nov 16.

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v t e 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