1997 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Michigan $		8	–	0					12	–	0
No. 12 Ohio State		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 16 Penn State		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 15 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	3
Wisconsin		5	–	3					8	–	5
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	5
Michigan State		4	–	4					7	–	5
Northwestern		3	–	5					5	–	7
Minnesota		1	–	7					3	–	9
Indiana		1	–	7					2	–	9
Illinois		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Joe Tiller, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie in the Big Ten. Purdue had its best season since 1980. The team played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	6:00 pm	at Toledo*		Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		L 22–36	27,700
September 13	2:30 pm	No. 12 Notre Dame*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	ABC	W 28–17	68,789
September 20	1:00 pm	Ball State*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 28–14	45,947
September 27	11:30 am	Northwestern		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN	W 21–9	42,112
October 11	6:00 pm	at Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN Plus	W 59–43	37,821
October 18	1:00 pm	No. 24 Wisconsin		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 45–20	54,252
October 25	1:00 pm	at Illinois	No. 22	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)		W 48–3	45,122
November 1	12:30 pm	at No. 15 Iowa	No. 18	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	L 17–35	70,397
November 8	12:30 pm	Michigan State	No. 23	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	W 22–21	55,539
November 15	12:00 pm	No. 6 Penn State	No. 19	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN	L 17–42	52,156
November 22	1:00 pm	at Indiana	No. 23	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)		W 56–7	46,599
December 30	8:00 pm	No. 24 Oklahoma State*	No. 17	Alamodome San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–20	55,552
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	22	18	23	19т	23	18	18	17	15
Coaches	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	23	18	24	20	25	18	17	16	15

• Head coach: Joe Tiller
• Assistants: Tim Burke, Jim Chaney, Scott Downing, Gary Emanuel, Danny Hope, Larry Korpitz, Tim Lappano, Randy Melvin, Greg Olson, Brock Spack^[1]

• Offense: WR Brian Alford, WR Gabe Cox, LT Mark Fischer, WR F Chesti, LG Brian Nicely, C Jim Niedrach, RG Chukky Okobi, RT Dan Maly, TE Jon Blackman, WR Isaac Jones, QB Billy Dicken, RB Edwin Watson, K Shane Ryan
• Defense: LE Chukie Nwokorie, LT Leo Perez, RT Greg Smith, RE Rosevelt Colvin, WLB Willie Burroughs, MLB Willie Fells, SLB Mike Rose, LCB Michael Hawthorne, FS Adrian Beasley, SS Lee Brush, RCB Lamar Conrad, P Brandon Kaser^[2]

Purdue at Toledo

1 2 3 4 Total Purdue 7 7 0 8 22 • Toledo 21 6 3 6 36 Date: September 6 Location: Glass Bowl, Toledo, OH Game attendance: 26,700

Joe Tiller's first game as Purdue head coach^[3]

Notre Dame at Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Notre Dame 0 10 0 7 17 • Purdue 7 7 0 14 28 Date: September 13 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN Game attendance: 68,789

In Joe Tiller's first home game, Purdue snapped an 11-game losing streak to Notre Dame as fans tore down the goalposts after the victory. Edwin Watson, who had two touchdown runs, had said earlier in the week that former head coach and new Irish offensive coordinator Jim Colletto "was used to losing here (Purdue), so it would be nothing new for him."^[4]

Ball State at Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Ball State 0 7 0 7 14 • Purdue 3 10 15 0 28 Date: September 20 Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN Game attendance: 45,947

^[5]

Northwestern at Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 3 6 0 0 9 • Purdue 7 7 7 0 21 Date: September 27 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN Game attendance: 42,112

^[6]

• Kendall Matthews 29 rushes, 152 yards ^[7]

Purdue at Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total • Purdue 17 21 14 7 59 Minnesota 14 7 7 15 43 Date: October 11 Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

• Purdue's first win in Minneapolis since 1983.

^[8]

Wisconsin at Purdue
Homecoming

1 2 3 4 Total Wisconsin 0 10 7 3 20 • Purdue 21 7 7 10 45 Date: October 18 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN

With the win over Wisconsin, Purdue is off to its best start since 1978 and produced their first five-game winning streak since 1980.^[9]

Purdue at Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total • Purdue 14 20 7 7 48 Illinois 0 3 0 0 3 Date: October 25 Location: Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL Game attendance: 45,122

^[10]

• Kendall Matthews 16 rushes, 177 yards ^[11]

Purdue at Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Purdue 10 7 0 0 17 • Iowa 0 14 21 0 35 Date: November 1 Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 70,397

^[12]

Michigan State at Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan State 7 7 0 7 21 • Purdue 0 7 0 15 22 Date: November 8 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN Game attendance: 55,539

^[13]

• Edwin Watson 24 rushes, 115 yards ^[14]

Penn State at Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total • Penn State 0 14 14 14 42 Purdue 0 9 0 8 17 Date: November 15 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN Game attendance: 52,156

^[15]

• Edwin Watson 19 rushes, 133 yards ^[16]

Purdue at Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total • Purdue 14 7 7 28 56 Indiana 0 7 0 0 7 Date: November 22 Location: Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN Game attendance: 46,599

^{[17] [18]}

• Edwin Watson 18 rushes, 163 yards ^[19]

Oklahoma State vs. Purdue
Alamo Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • Purdue 7 3 20 3 33 Oklahoma State 3 3 7 7 20 Date: December 30 Location: Alamodome San Antonio, TX Game attendance: 55,552

^[20]

1997 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Donald Winston So QB 3 John Reeves Sr WR 5 Willie Tillman Sr WR 6 Isaac Jones Sr WR 52 Fahim Chesti So QB 12 Billy Dicken  Sr WR 20 Chris Daniels  So RB 36 Edwin Watson Sr RB 43 Kendall Matthews Sr OT 54 Mark Fischer Sr G 56 Chukky Okobi  Fr OT 76 Dan Maly Sr G 78 Brian Nicely Jr WR 80 Brian Alford  Sr TE 81 Brandon Jewell  Sr TE 84 Jon Blackmon Sr WR 88 Jason Loerzel Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class FS 2 Derrick Brown Sr LB 4 Mike Rose So SS 7 Adrian Beasley So SS 10 Lee Brush Sr CB 11 Michael Hawthorne So CB 14 Jamel Coleman Sr CB 28 Henry Bell Jr DE 49 Chukie Nwokorie Jr DE 58 Warren Moore Fr DE 59 Rosevelt Colvin Jr DT 71 Anthony Gutwein Jr DT 82 David Nugent So DE 87 Rocco Foggio Fr DT 97 Greg Smith Sr DT 98 Leo Perez Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 22 Aaron Bunten Fr P 26 Danny Rogers So LS 60 Andy Standifer So P 92 Brandon Kaser Jr PK 96 Shane Ryan So	Head coach Joe Tiller Coordinators/assistant coaches Tim Burke (defensive backs) Jim Chaney (offensive coordinator) Scott Downing Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 28, 2016

• All-Americans: Brian Alford (Football News)
• All-Big Ten: Brian Alford (1st), Rosevelt Colvin (2nd), Billy Dicken (1st)^[21]