# 1986 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 1986 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Leon Burtnett in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for eighth in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 13 | Ball State* | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | W 20–3 | 60,161 |
| September 20 | Pittsburgh* | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | L 26–41 | 55,621 |
| September 27 | at Notre Dame* | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | L 9–41 | 59,075 |
| October 4 | Minnesota | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | L 9–36 | 63,067 |
| October 11 | at Illinois | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (rivalry) | L 27–34 | 73,720 |
| October 18 | Ohio State | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | L 11–39 | 68,737 |
| October 25 | at Michigan State | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | L 3–37 | 77,063 |
| November 1 | at Northwestern | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | W 17–16 | 25,417 |
| November 8 | No. 3 Michigan | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | L 7–31 | 61,323 |
| November 15 | at Iowa | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | L 14–42 | 67,321 |
| November 22 | Indiana | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket) | W 17–15 | 69,784 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||

## Game summaries
### Ball State
### At Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boilermakers | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| • Fighting Irish | 10 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 41 |

### Ohio State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 6 | 9 | 17 | 7 | 39 |
| Purdue | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
at Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: October 18
* Game time: 6:15 p.m.
* Game weather: Clear, 53 °F (12 °C)
* Game attendance: 68,737
* Referee: Otho Kortz
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Matt Frantz 21-yard field goal, 8:04. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards.
OSU – Matt Frantz 22-yard field goal, 1:55. Ohio St 6–0. Drive: 11 plays, 32 yards.
Second quarter
OSU – Cris Carter 3-yard pass from Jim Karsatos (pass failed), 10:36. Ohio St 12–0. Drive: 12 plays, 92 yards.
OSU – Matt Frantz 22-yard field goal, 1:05. Ohio St 15–0. Drive: 11 plays, 50 yards.
PUR – Jonathan Briggs 23-yard field goal, 0:02. Ohio St 15–3. Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards.
Third quarter
OSU – Nate Harris 37-yard pass from Jim Karsatos (Matt Frantz kick), 13:00. Ohio St 22–3. Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards.
OSU – Dave Brown 100-yard interception return (Matt Frantz kick), 9:11. Ohio St 29–3.
OSU – Matt Frantz 21-yard field goal, 1:03. Ohio St 32–3. Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards.
Fourth quarter
PUR – Caleb Bonds 3-yard pass from Doug Downing (run good), 11:59. Ohio St 32–11. Drive: 12 plays, 77 yards.
OSU – Jamie Holland 23-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 10:11. Ohio St 39–11. Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards.
Top passers
OSU – Jim Karsatos – 11/17, 190 yards, 2 TD
PUR – Doug Downing – 23/48, 289 yards, TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
OSU – James Bryant – 24 rushes, 129 yards
PUR – James Medlock – 9 rushes, 33 yards
Top receivers
OSU – Cris Carter – 7 receptions, 118 yards, TD
PUR – Rick Brunner – 5 receptions, 93 yards :

### At Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Boilermakers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| Wildcats | 3 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 16 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wolverines | 7 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Boilermakers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

### At Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boilermakers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Hawkeyes | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |

### Indiana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indiana | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| Purdue | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: November 22
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game attendance: 69,748
Game information :
First quarter
PUR – James Medlock 1-yard run (Jonathan Briggs kick). Purdue 7–0.
PUR – Jonathan Briggs 43-yard field goal. Purdue 10–0.
Second quarter
No scoring
Third quarter
IND – Anthony Thompson 2-yard run (Pete Stoyanovich kick). Purdue 10–7.
Fourth quarter
PUR – Calvin Williams 4-yard run (Jonathan Briggs kick). Purdue 17–7.
IND – Stacy Dawsey 45-yard pass from Dave Kramme (pass good). Purdue 17–15.
Top passers
IND – Dave Kramme – 12/24, 213 yards, TD, INT
PUR – Jeff George – 8/20, 139 yards
Top rushers
IND – Anthony Thompson – 31 rushes, 131 yards, TD
PUR – Rod Woodson – 15 rushes, 93 yards
Top receivers
IND – Tony Buford – 4 receptions, 58 yards
PUR – Rod Woodson – 3 receptions, 67 yards :
Purdue wore gold jerseys; In his final collegiate game, Rod Woodson gained over 150 combined rushing and receiving yards, in addition to making ten tackles and forcing a fumble, leading Purdue to a victory over arch-rival Indiana. This 50th victory in the series, kept indiana from receiving a bowl berth and denied anthony thompson the Heisman Trophy.

## 1987 NFL Draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Rod Woodson | Cornerback | 1 | 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers |