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
WR		Reggie Arnold
WR		Paul Beery
RB		Tim Boykin
RB		Mike Brown
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
TE		Ron Likar
G	`77`	Ken Long	Sr
QB		Craig Nagel
WR		Jappy Oliver
OL		Jim Polak
FB	`38`	Mike Pruitt	Sr
FB	`31`	John Skibinski	So
OL		Jeff Stapleton
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
LB		Mike Burgamy
DL		Kim Cripe
DL		Mark Gorgal
DB		Pat Harris
DB		Jerome King
DT	`71`	Jim LeFeber	So
LB		Bob Mannella
DB		Mike Northington
DT	`74`	Ken Novak	Sr
DB		John Riester
DL		Roger Ruwe
DE	`91`	Blane Smith	Jr
LB		Joe Sullivan
DB		Mark Travline
DL		Jon Zwitt

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Manuel Gentry

Head coach

Alex Agase

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

^[4]

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

^[5]

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.
^ "1975 Purdue Boilermakers Roster". Retrieved January 15, 2025.
^ 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] "1975 Purdue Boilermakers Roster". Retrieved January 15, 2025.

[5] Palm Beach Post. 1975 Nov 16.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]