# 1976 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 1976 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an American football team that represented Purdue University in the 1976 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Alex Agase, the Boilermakers compiled a 5–6 record (4–4 against conference opponents) and finished in a four-way tie for third place in the Big Ten standings.
Running back Scott Dierking led the team with 1,000 rushing yards and 66 points scored. He was selected by his teammates as the team's most valuable player and finished second to Rob Lytle in the voting for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, awarded to the Big Ten's most valuable player. Dierking was also named by the Associated Press (AP) as a second-team All-American and by the AP and United Press International (UPI) as a first-team running back on the 1976 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
Other statistical leaders included quarterback Mark Vitali with 1,184 passing yards. In addition to Dierking, three other Purdue players received honors on the 1976 All-Big Ten team: offensive guard Connie Zelencik (AP-1, UPI-2); defensive end Blane Smith (AP-1, UPI-2); and defensive back Paul Beery (AP-2, UPI-1).

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 11 | Northwestern | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | W 31–19 | 46,311 |
| September 18 | at Notre Dame* | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | L 0–23 | 59,075 |
| September 25 | No. 19 USC* | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | L 13–31 | 65,425 |
| October 2 | Miami (OH)* | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | W 42–20 | 55,102 |
| October 9 | at Wisconsin | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | W 18–16 | 79,111 |
| October 16 | Illinois | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (rivalry) | L 17–21 | 66,716 |
| October 23 | at No. 9 Ohio State | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | L 3–24 | 87,898 |
| October 30 | at Michigan State | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | L 13–45 | 52,222 |
| November 6 | No. 1 Michigan | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | W 16–14 | 57,205 |
| November 13 | at Iowa | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | W 21–0 | 44,763 |
| November 20 | Indiana | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket) | L 14–20 | 63,220 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||

## Game summaries
### Northwestern

* Scott Dierking 27 rushes, 151 yards

### At Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Purdue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Notre Dame | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
at Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
* Date: September 18
* Game attendance: 59,075
* Recap/Box
Game information :
First quarter
ND – Dave Reeve 39-yard field goal, 0:47. Notre Dame 3–0. Drive:
Second quarter
ND – Mark McLane 33-yard pass from Al Hunter (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 10–0. Drive:
Third quarter
ND – Rick Slager 1-yard run (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 17–0. Drive:
Fourth quarter
ND – Al Hunter 2-yard run (kick failed). Notre Dame 23–0. Drive: 49 yards.
Top passers
PUR
ND
Top rushers
PUR
ND
Top receivers
PUR
ND :

### Miami (OH)

* Scott Dierking 28 rushes, 211 yards
* John Skibinski 15 rushes, 121 yards

### At Wisconsin

Paul Beery's fourth interception and Rock Supan's 20-yard field goal with a little over two minutes remaining lifted Purdue to victory.

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Purdue | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
* PUR: Scott Dierking 38 rushes, 162 yards

### At Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Purdue | 6 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Indiana
## Statistics
### Passing

| Player | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT |
| Mark Vitali | 73 | 172 | 1,184 | 0 | 16 |
| Scott Dierking | | | 92 | | |

### Rushing

| Player | Att | Yards | TD |
| Scott Dierking | 201 | 1,000 | 11 |
| John Skibinski | 173 | 871 | |
| Mark Vitali | 100 | 317 | |

### Receiving

| Player | Rec | Yards |
| Reggie Arnold | 16 | 287 |
| Raymond Smith | 11 | 233 |
| John Skibinski | 13 | 118 |

## Awards

Red Mackey Award: Mark Vitali