1960 Purdue Football

[MisterBlack7]

Not my write up. Figured some would enjoy this.

How can a team with a 4-4-1 record finish #19 in the AP and #15 in the Coaches Poll while finishing 8th in their conference?

• Purdue started the year unranked, but tied #8 UCLA to start the season. UCLA finished 7-2-1 and unranked, but it was respectable at the time.
  
  
• They followed this strong performance up by smashing #12 Notre Dame 51-19, launching Purdue to #7 at 1-0-1. However, this ND team was a paper tiger and ended the year a dismal 2-8.
  
  
• Purdue followed this up with a close loss @Wisconsin 13-24, which dropped them out of the rankings. Wisconsin ended unranked at 4-5, 2-5 in B1G play and 9th in the conference.
  
  
• They beat OSU in West Lafayette (go figure) 24-21. OSU finished 7-2 and #8 overall, so this was overall a really marquee win. This launched Purdue back to #10 in the AP.
  
  
• The next week, they lost to #1 Iowa 14-21 on the road. Iowa finished 8-1 and #3 overall, with only a loss to eventual national champion Minnesota. Purdue drops out of the rankings again despite the quality loss.
  
  
• Purdue then loses two straight. A home loss to Illinois (12-14) and a road loss to #17 MSU (13-17). Illinois finished 5-4 and unranked, and MSU finished 6-2-1 and ranked #15. So a mediocre loss and a respectable loss.
  
  
• Then Purdue continues their streak of inconsistency by beating (eventual) national champion Minnesota 23-14 on the road. This didn't impress voters, who still left Purdue unranked.
  
  
• Purdue capped off this weird year with a 35-6 drubbing of hapless Indiana (ended the year 1-8 and last in B1G play) to win the Old Oaken Bucket, finishing at #15 in the Coaches Poll and #19 in the AP.
  

Their 4 losses came by a total of 24 points, and two of those losses were to ranked teams. They also had 2 wins over top 10 teams.

This was an Auburn-esque level of inconsistency. They could clearly compete with top teams, but somehow found ways to lose against middling teams. Definitely living up to their moniker of Spoilermakers...

 

[Matt Tiger]

Not my write up. Figured some would enjoy this.

How can a team with a 4-4-1 record finish #19 in the AP and #15 in the Coaches Poll while finishing 8th in their conference?

• Purdue started the year unranked, but tied #8 UCLA to start the season. UCLA finished 7-2-1 and unranked, but it was respectable at the time.
  
  
• They followed this strong performance up by smashing #12 Notre Dame 51-19, launching Purdue to #7 at 1-0-1. However, this ND team was a paper tiger and ended the year a dismal 2-8.
  
  
• Purdue followed this up with a close loss @Wisconsin 13-24, which dropped them out of the rankings. Wisconsin ended unranked at 4-5, 2-5 in B1G play and 9th in the conference.
  
  
• They beat OSU in West Lafayette (go figure) 24-21. OSU finished 7-2 and #8 overall, so this was overall a really marquee win. This launched Purdue back to #10 in the AP.
  
  
• The next week, they lost to #1 Iowa 14-21 on the road. Iowa finished 8-1 and #3 overall, with only a loss to eventual national champion Minnesota. Purdue drops out of the rankings again despite the quality loss.
  
  
• Purdue then loses two straight. A home loss to Illinois (12-14) and a road loss to #17 MSU (13-17). Illinois finished 5-4 and unranked, and MSU finished 6-2-1 and ranked #15. So a mediocre loss and a respectable loss.
  
  
• Then Purdue continues their streak of inconsistency by beating (eventual) national champion Minnesota 23-14 on the road. This didn't impress voters, who still left Purdue unranked.
  
  
• Purdue capped off this weird year with a 35-6 drubbing of hapless Indiana (ended the year 1-8 and last in B1G play) to win the Old Oaken Bucket, finishing at #15 in the Coaches Poll and #19 in the AP.

Their 4 losses came by a total of 24 points, and two of those losses were to ranked teams. They also had 2 wins over top 10 teams.

This was an Auburn-esque level of inconsistency. They could clearly compete with top teams, but somehow found ways to lose against middling teams. Definitely living up to their moniker of Spoilermakers...

Purdue followed the 1960 season by losing three games by just seven points in 1961 and four games by 13 in 1962.So in three years they dropped eleven contests by 44 total points!