Except for one year of pee-wee football, I never played organized football. I remember growing up seeing the exhaustive list of all these college football scores on Saturdays and never got it. Then I went to Purdue and got hooked on Purdue football. I graduated in 1982 and attended during one of the periods that may be called the golden years. With Coach Brohm announcing he will be returning to Purdue, it got me thinking when was/is/will be the best years of Purdue football. Thought I would put it up for a vote. I looked back and found three 3-season periods that I think are arguably the best times of our program. Of course I want people to consider these past three periods with some future 3-season period in a to-be-determined time under Brohm. I have listed some information on the past periods below including a comparison of Purdue’s record with OSU and MI. I’m interested to see what people think and what criteria they use (Conference/overall record, ranking, bowl appearances/wins, how did we fare against our rivals, etc..). I am a second generation Boilermaker and I remember my Dad saying while he was there, the team only won two games one season and the coach got a raise because they beat ND and IU. [The year was 1950. The coach was Stuart Holcomb who went on to coach five more seasons at Purdue.]
1. 1966 – 1968
Coach: Jack Mollenkopf
Quarterbacks: Bob Griese (’66) & Mike Phipps (’67, ’68)
Bowl: Rose ’66 season (W)
Overall records:
Purdue: 25-6
OSU: 20-8
MI: 18-12
Coach: Jack Mollenkopf
Quarterbacks: Bob Griese (’66) & Mike Phipps (’67, ’68)
Bowl: Rose ’66 season (W)
Overall records:
Purdue: 25-6
OSU: 20-8
MI: 18-12
2. 1978 – 1980
Coach: Jim Young
Quarterback: Mark Herrmann (’78 – ‘80)
Bowls: Peach ’78 (W); Bluebonnet ’79 (W); Liberty; ‘80 (W)
Overall records:
Purdue: 28-7-1
OSU: 27-8-1
MI: 28-8
Coach: Jim Young
Quarterback: Mark Herrmann (’78 – ‘80)
Bowls: Peach ’78 (W); Bluebonnet ’79 (W); Liberty; ‘80 (W)
Overall records:
Purdue: 28-7-1
OSU: 27-8-1
MI: 28-8
3. 1998 – 2000
Coach: Joe Tiller
Quarterback: Drew Brees (’97 – ‘00)
Bowls: Alamo ’98 (W); Outback ’99 (L); Rose – ‘00 (L)
Overall records:
Purdue: 24-13
OSU: 25-11
MI: 29-8
Coach: Joe Tiller
Quarterback: Drew Brees (’97 – ‘00)
Bowls: Alamo ’98 (W); Outback ’99 (L); Rose – ‘00 (L)
Overall records:
Purdue: 24-13
OSU: 25-11
MI: 29-8
4. Sometime in the future
Coach: Jeff Brohm
Quarterback: ??
Bowls: ??
Overall records: ??
Note: I'm new at this, so hopefully I'm getting this voting thing set up correctly.
Coach: Jeff Brohm
Quarterback: ??
Bowls: ??
Overall records: ??
Note: I'm new at this, so hopefully I'm getting this voting thing set up correctly.
