ADVERTISEMENT

Was Saturday Purdue's greatest win ever?

Alan_GoldandBlack.com

All-American
Jun 18, 2003
6,542
7,246
113
West Lafayette
Talk about it with Purdue fans only by becoming a member of GoldandBlack.com.

Deadline for 50% off special is midnight tonight. Here's the link....

Purdue800x400PostOSU-2.jpg
 
1950 PU 24 #1ND 14-Defending National Champs
1965 PU 25 #1ND 21
1967 PU 28 #1ND 21-Defending National Champs
1968 #1(UPI)PU 37-#1(AP) ND 22
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Born Boiler
No, the timing isn’t right. I can think of several wins in my time that were greater. Two in particular in recent history:

1. Purdue over a BCS #3 Kansas State team in a bowl game. - This win kicked off the Tiller bowl era.
2. Purdue over OSU (the Holy Toledo Game, Brees to Morales) - This game got us to the Rose Bowl.
 
It's clearly in the top 10 or even top 5, and you could logically make an argument for it being #1, but I wouldn't put it #1.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JHetfield99
Purdue beat Michigan at home 16-14 or 14-13 in the late 70's . They were highly ranked and we were nothing. I still have that Exponent pack away somewhere.
 
96 Boilers upset #9 UM by the score of 9-3.

That was totally not expected in the era of no man's football team.
That was a good one as well.

Boiler Up!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: PU52Chevy
Purdue beat Michigan at home 16-14 or 14-13 in the late 70's . They were highly ranked and we were nothing. I still have that Exponent pack away somewhere.

That was the "Scott Dierking game".

I think Michigan was #1. We drove down from Downers Grove that morning.

Michigan drove right down the field and scored. I looked at my friend and we both agreed that we might be leaving at half time. Dierking had a great game. We held on till the end. Michigan lined up for the winning field goal with about a minute to go. It seemed like it was about a 35 yard attempt, and obviously they missed.
 
I has to be...in my life anyway. That wasn't a just a "Win". It was a beatdown of Ohio State. We didn't eek out a win. We rolled them. We stomped a mud hole in their asses and then stomped it dry. LOL. #1 in my book.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ChoiceBeef
That was the "Scott Dierking game".

I think Michigan was #1. We drove down from Downers Grove that morning.

Michigan drove right down the field and scored. I looked at my friend and we both agreed that we might be leaving at half time. Dierking had a great game. We held on till the end. Michigan lined up for the winning field goal with about a minute to go. It seemed like it was about a 35 yard attempt, and obviously they missed.

Student section was loud that game. When Michigan was in the north end, they couldn't hear themselves think. Loudest I ever remember as a student.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Born Boiler
No, the timing isn’t right. I can think of several wins in my time that were greater. Two in particular in recent history:

1. Purdue over a BCS #3 Kansas State team in a bowl game. - This win kicked off the Tiller bowl era.
2. Purdue over OSU (the Holy Toledo Game, Brees to Morales) - This game got us to the Rose Bowl.

These would be my top two, although I would probably reverse the order.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Abugabby
Student section was loud that game. When Michigan was in the north end, they couldn't hear themselves think. Loudest I ever remember as a student.
Schembechler claimed after that game that we piped in music and artificial noise when MI got inside the 20 yd line. He also complained that the field was in bad condition because the grounds crew spread sand onto the muddy sections to slow down his team. UM has a history of poor sportsmanship......
 
Schembechler claimed after that game that we piped in music and artificial noise when MI got inside the 20 yd line. He also complained that the field was in bad condition because the grounds crew spread sand onto the muddy sections to slow down his team. UM has a history of poor sportsmanship......

On a slightly different twist, I was watching CF pregame, Lou Holtz was on. He was still complaining that Purdue's grounds crew is still letting the grass grow 6" long against good running teams. He's such an idiot.

Everyone knows the whole reason PU developed PAT surface was so they could let the grass grow 6" for all teams....
 
1976 PU 16 #1 MU 14. Alex Agony was the coach. I was in the stands my Jr. year...
I remember that season well. The Glee Club wrote a song about it to the popular hee haw tune:
Gloom , Despair, Agassi on me.
Deep dark depression, excessive Vitali.
If it weren't for Dierking, we'd have no wins at all.
Gloom , despair, and Agassi on me.
 
I remember that season well. The Glee Club wrote a song about it to the popular hee haw tune:
Gloom , Despair, Agassi on me.
Deep dark depression, excessive Vitali.
If it weren't for Dierking, we'd have no wins at all.
Gloom , despair, and Agassi on me.
That's pretty good, Woleg. Pete Quinn references this game from time to time. (He may have been a redshirt frosh on that team.) He says Michigan's 2nd string D was the 2nd best D in the country, and Dierking "rushed over and around it for 162 yds and 2 TD's". (That's from SI at the time.) As I recall, Rock Supan, a DB learning kicking on the job, kicked the game winner, and, as has been mentioned, UW missed a relative chippy at the end. Agase may not have been our best coach, but he got off 2 monumental upsets in 3 years: this game plus blowing out nd in South Bend 2 years earlier. Had we beaten IU in '76, we probably would have broken our bowl streak, as that was near the year they started allowing more than 1 Big 10 team to go bowling per year. (Of course, we coulda/shoulda beat IU in '77 to go abowlin anyway.)
 
16-14 was the final score, Purdue over Michigan. It was 1976 and I was a Purdue freshman. We rushed the field after beating the Number 1 team in the country. So this one would need to be up there in terms of biggest wins.
Didn't save Alex Agase's job, though. Purdue lost to Indiana 2-3 Saturdays later, Alex was gone, and the Jim Young era began.
 
No, the timing isn’t right. I can think of several wins in my time that were greater. Two in particular in recent history:

1. Purdue over a BCS #3 Kansas State team in a bowl game. - This win kicked off the Tiller bowl era.
2. Purdue over OSU (the Holy Toledo Game, Brees to Morales) - This game got us to the Rose Bowl.
I agree with you. I was about to mention the Alamo Bowl. That was as exciting as it gets. I still remember KSU fans coming over to our side to taunt us after they took the late lead.....and boom.....Brees to Jones
 
  • Like
Reactions: Abugabby
That was the "Scott Dierking game".

I think Michigan was #1. We drove down from Downers Grove that morning.

Ironically, I was probably IN Downers Grove that morning. Probably didn't care about the game though as I may have been in diapers.
 
On a slightly different twist, I was watching CF pregame, Lou Holtz was on. He was still complaining that Purdue's grounds crew is still letting the grass grow 6" long against good running teams. He's such an idiot.

Everyone knows the whole reason PU developed PAT surface was so they could let the grass grow 6" for all teams....

Lee Corso did that on Gameday Saturday. Then Herbie pretty much corrected him like he has to with everything that comes out of Corso's mouth.
 
Ironically, I was probably IN Downers Grove that morning. Probably didn't care about the game though as I may have been in diapers.

Lived in a bungalow across from Hummer park on Fairview. Was supposed to put down new kitchen linoleum on Saturday, when my friend offered tickets. He helped me till midnight with the floor, then we got up early to go to the game. Thought it was going to be a total waste, but it turned into a great trip!
 
I, too, was among the roaring 20,000 students at the 1976 Michigan game. I recall looking down in the third quarter while puffing a cigar after yet another sip from my stadium Coke, greatly enhanced by our gang’s flask, and remarking, “Hey, we’re still in this game.” Then we won. Can’t remember if the goalposts made it into the Wabash or not.

My parents both still talk about streak-snappers at home against No. 1 Notre Dame in 1950 and No. 1 Michigan State in 1953. They closed classes.

There’s dozens more significant, but I’m still laughing about seeing Alstott and Watson run for a million yards down at the frozen Concrete Quarry.

Sure is nice to have so many greatest wins ever to pick from.
 
Lived in a bungalow across from Hummer park on Fairview. Was supposed to put down new kitchen linoleum on Saturday, when my friend offered tickets. He helped me till midnight with the floor, then we got up early to go to the game. Thought it was going to be a total waste, but it turned into a great trip!

I went to St. Mary's down the street. Lived off of Fairview and 38th.
 
I, too, was among the roaring 20,000 students at the 1976 Michigan game. I recall looking down in the third quarter while puffing a cigar after yet another sip from my stadium Coke, greatly enhanced by our gang’s flask, and remarking, “Hey, we’re still in this game.” Then we won. Can’t remember if the goalposts made it into the Wabash or not.

My parents both still talk about streak-snappers at home against No. 1 Notre Dame in 1950 and No. 1 Michigan State in 1953. They closed classes.

There’s dozens more significant, but I’m still laughing about seeing Alstott and Watson run for a million yards down at the frozen Concrete Quarry.

Sure is nice to have so many greatest wins ever to pick from.
That was definitely a different time. Purdue's Prez Arthur Hansen had announced his intention to close school for an extra week during 76-78 time frame due to a coal shortage. The Saturday before the extra week was supposed to start, an unexpected coal shipment came through. He announced the change at the Bball game in Mackey. Classes were back on. Nevermind that students had changed their spring break plans. Parents had paid for their kids to go to class, not spring break...
 
It's clearly in the top 10 or even top 5, and you could logically make an argument for it being #1, but I wouldn't put it #1.

Huh? No way.

Was it one of our bigger upsets? Sure. Was it one of our bigger wins? Eh.

On paper, I guess you can make an argument. A big win, to me at least, is a win that's part of a bigger picture. When Purdue and turns around and plays like they did against MSU - and if we lose our next couple - it's simply a random upset in a season that will be forgotten. And quite frankly, an Ohio State team that was probably overrated.

You look at a game like the one against K-State.....or Ohio State in 2000....those are iconic, "next level" statement wins. K-State really put Purdue on the map after 2 solid seasons. Ohio State win was not only an iconic game with a dramatic finish, but helped propel Purdue to the Rose Bowl.

This win comes nowhere near that level of impact. Big upset? Sure. Big win? Eh.
 
Huh? No way.

You look at a game like the one against K-State.....or Ohio State in 2000....those are iconic, "next level" statement wins. K-State really put Purdue on the map after 2 solid seasons. Ohio State win was not only an iconic game with a dramatic finish, but helped propel Purdue to the Rose Bowl.

That night-time win over Ohio State in 2000 was immediately followed by Drew Brees' worst game in a 30-10 loss at Michigan State ... which should seem a bit familiar right now. Purdue had to get help to go to Pasadena and did.
 
That night-time win over Ohio State in 2000 was immediately followed by Drew Brees' worst game in a 30-10 loss at Michigan State ... which should seem a bit familiar right now. Purdue had to get help to go to Pasadena and did.

But that's what I'm saying - we're looking at the Ohio State game this year in "real time". If we looked back at the 2000 Ohio State game a week later - yeah, there was a disappointing loss but it all was forgotten by the conclusion of the season.

Looking back on the Ohio State game that year after the season, it's truly considered the game of the season on the road to a historic appearance at the Rose Bowl - there's a reason it's still talked about.

Looking back at the Ohio State game this year, we're not likely looking back at some monumental season and I don't think it will be a game that really "sticks out".

In 1999, for example, we blew out I think #5 Michigan State at home - but the season kinda ended on a not as memorable note with some losses. It was still a good season - but we don't talk about it today, let alone nearly as much as the 2000 Ohio State win a year later against a lower-ranked team.
 
In 1999, for example, we blew out I think #5 Michigan State at home - but the season kinda ended on a not as memorable note with some losses. It was still a good season - but we don't talk about it today, let alone nearly as much as the 2000 Ohio State win a year later against a lower-ranked team.[/QUOTE]
Purdue earned a trip to the Outback Bowl against uga, and if replay was in use, the outcome would have likely been different (Chris Daniels caught Drew's 3rd quarter TDs pass, but was ruled incomplete) and still talked about by Boilermakers. At the time, it was the largest come from behind loss in college football history, which is why we don't remember it as fondly as we should.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT