2003 Purdue Boilermakers football team The 2003 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 2003 NCAA Division I - A football season . The team was coached by Joe Tiller and played its home games at Ross - Ade Stadium . Purdue played thirteen games in the 2003 season , finishing with a 9 – 4 record and a loss in the Capital One Bowl to Georgia . Game notes . Bowling Green State . The senior - laden Boilermakers ( 8 senior starters on defense ) entered the year with high expectations ( # 18 preseason ranking ) , but suffered an opening day stunner at the hands of the MAC ' s Bowling Green Falcons in a 27 – 26 upset . After Purdue took the season ' s opening drive for a TD ( a jump - ball TD catch by 6 ' 9 " freshman WR Kyle Ingraham ) , Bowling Green ' s senior QB Josh Harris responded with outstanding clutch play , throwing for 350 yards and 3 TDs in the see - saw contest . Late in the game with Purdue leading 24 – 20 , the Purdue offense could not take advantage of a DE Shaun Phillips interception . With under 3 minutes remaining , Harris drove the Falcons down the field to a 4th and 14 situation at the Purdue 32 yard line . In a play eerily similar to the 2002 " Holy Buckeye " play , Harris evaded a heavy rush to deliver a deep pass to WR Charles Sharon , who outfought 2 Purdue defenders to make the winning TD catch . Purdue WR Taylor Stubblefield had 16 catches for 139 yards and caught his first - ever regular season TD in defeat , but had an unfortunate drop on the final drive that could have set up a game - tying FG attempt . Falcons WR Cole Magner ran out the last 8 seconds of the game clock on a 4th down play by running into and then out of the end zone for a safety , bringing the score to its final tally . Bowling Green would go on to have one of its best football seasons ever , finishing 11 – 3 in 2003 with a Motor City Bowl win over Northwestern . Purdue would emerge from this loss with a new determination in the weeks ahead that would bring success . . . Wake Forest . Purdue rebounded from their opening day loss with a close win at Wake Forest - which was nationally - ranked for the first time in 16 years after starting the season with wins over two ranked opponents . Late in the game with Purdue clinging to a 16 – 10 lead , the Deacons created an opportunity for victory by forcing a turnover on an ill - advised punt return by Anthony Chambers . But the Purdue defense held Wake Forest short on a 4th down running play thanks to a well - timed run blitz by All - American free safety Stuart Schweigert , who made a game - clinching tackle for loss . " Stu " earlier had set up a FG with an interception and long return on the game ' s first play from scrimmage . Purdue kicker Ben Jones , a recent transfer from Butler University , made three important FGs to provide the final margin . Arizona . After sporting Gold unis at home in 2002 , the Boilermakers were " Back in Black " uniforms for the first of a four game homestand beginning with the struggling Arizona Wildcats of the PAC - 10 . The Boilermakers dominated Arizona by a then - Ross - Ade Stadium record margin of 59 – 7 . The offense outgained Arizona 580 – 174 , achieving near perfect balance with 288 rushing and 292 passing yards . Redshirt freshman RB Jerome Brooks paced Purdue with 122 yards on the ground , and the Purdue defense sacked Arizona QBs 5 times ; fifth - year senior LB Landon Johnson recovered a fumble and had an interception . Notre Dame . The Boilermakers improved to 3 – 1 and returned to the Top 25 with a win over their rival Notre Dame . Purdue ' s senior - laden defense battered freshman QB Brady Quinn in his first college start with many QB ppressures , knockdowns , and forcing 4 interceptions ( FS Stuart Schweigert had 2 picks ) . Still , Quinn managed to throw for 297 yards , but the Boilermaker defense has made the Irish offense one - dimensional by bottling up Julius Jones and the Irish running game . The Irish defense played very well in defeat , limiting Purdue to 223 yards of offense , but they could not force any Purdue turnovers . The Boilermakers struck on their first drive with QB Kyle Orton ' s 36 yard TD pass to Ray Williams on a missed coverage assignment , then they turned LB Niko Koutouvides ' interception into a FG for a 10 – 0 first quarter lead . The Irish pulled to 13 – 10 before the half on WR Maurice Stovall ' s 85 yard TD catch - and - run . But the Irish did not score again . Quinn ' s third interception early in the 4th quarter was turned into a goal - line TD pass from Orton to DE Shaun Phillips , who lined up at TE on the play to provide the final 23 – 10 margin . It was Phillips ' second career TD catch , repeating his feat vs . Minnesota in 2002 . WR John Standeford became Purdue ' s all - time leader in receptions with 2 catches on the early TD drive . The record was short - lived however , as his teammate WR Taylor Stubblefield would shatter this mark in 2004 . Illinois . In their Big Ten opener on homecoming , Purdue jumped all over Illinois early and often in a 43 – 10 win that brought them to a 4 – 1 mark . Purdue scored TDs on 4 of their first 5 drives for a 27 – 0 lead by early in the 2nd quarter . Terrific protection by C Nick Hardwick and the rest of the offensive line helped sophomore RB Jerod Void rush for 119 yards and 4 TDs . RB Jerome Brooks added 82 yards on the way to 300 + yards team rushing . Purdue ' s veteran defense shined once again , limiting QB Jon Beutjer and the Illinois offense to 191 total yards and no TDs . The Illini ' s lone TD came on a late punt return by RB E . B . Halsey . Penn State . Purdue improved to 5 – 1 largely thanks to a terrific day of punt returns from Anthony Chambers , who returned one for a TD and set up 2 other TDs with long returns . Penn State sophomore QB Michael Robinson , filling in for injured QB Zach Mills , endured a difficult day ( 10 – 32 ; 98 yards , 2 interceptions ) at the hands of the Purdue defense , who limited PSU to 204 total yards . After Chambers ' punt return TD made the score 17 - 7 , Purdue ' s promising late first half drive was thwarted by CB Alan Zemaitis ' 90 yard interception return , setting up a Robinson TD pass to cut Purdue ' s lead to 3 . But the Nittany Lions would not score again . Fresh off a 4 TD performance vs . Illinois , starting RB Jerod Void was injured on his first run of the day on a tackle from LB Gino Capone . But Sophomore RB Brandon Jones was terrific in relief , physically pounding a young PSU defense to the tune of 149 yards on 29 carries , and scoring 2 goal - line TDs . Kicker Ben Jones missed his first FG of the season , but made his other 2 attempts , improving his early season tally to 9 FGs in 10 attempts . Wisconsin . In a Big Ten classic hosted by ESPN College Football Gameday , the Boilermakers became bowl - eligible for the seventh year in a row under Joe Tiller by prevailing over # 14 Wisconsin , which had ended Ohio State ' s 19 game winning streak the previous week . Though the Boilermakers played conservatively on offense most of 2003 , this game was an exception to that as Purdue ' s offense reverted to a Drew Brees - era offensive style by leading with their passing game . QB Kyle Orton masterfully engineered TD drives on Purdue ' s first 2 possessions for an early 14 – 0 lead . But Wisconsin rallied with an Anthony Davis TD run and LB Jeff Mack ' s fumble return for TD to close the margin to 14 – 13 early in the second quarter ( the Badgers missed an extra point ) . The Badgers kept Purdue out of the end zone the rest of the game , but Purdue did add 3 field goals to produce a 23 – 16 lead . With less than 3 minutes left , Wisconsin safety Jim Leonhard made a spectacular punt return TD to tie the game . But that ' s when Orton guided the Purdue offense for the win , setting up Ben Jones 18 yard FG with 3 seconds left . Orton converted 2 3rd down and long passes on the winning drive , and burned Wisconsin on a deep completion to WR Ray Williams to set up the winning kick . In defeat , Wisconsin LB Alex Lewis recorded an amazing 5 sacks and forced the fumble that Mack returned for a TD . In victory , the Purdue defense continued its terrific 2003 season by sacking Badger QBs 9 times , yielding only 12 first downs on less than 300 yards , and forcing 2 turnovers ( including an interception by senior CB Jacques Reeves on Wisconsin ' s first offensive play ) . Kyle Orton completed his first 15 passes on the way to a 38 – 55 ; 411 yard performance . Senior WR John Standeford and junior WR Taylor Stubblefield combined to catch 30 of Orton ' s completions for 314 yards . It was Stubblefield ' s second 16 - catch performance of the season . Michigan . In a Top 15 showdown , Purdue ' s long winning streak came to an abrupt end in Ann Arbor , dropping to 6 – 2 against the supremely talented and eventual Big Ten champion # 13 Michigan Wolverines . From start to finish , the entire Purdue offense was bullied , harassed and roughed - up by an ultra - aggressive Michigan defense that employed numerous blitzing schemes ( 7 sacks ) and press " bump and run " coverage to limit the Boilermakers to only 242 yards of offense . Despite being dominated , Purdue had a chance to seize momentum late in the first half when the Boilers recovered a fumble from a Shaun Phillips sack of Michigan QB John Navarre . QB Kyle Orton quickly moved the Purdue offense to a first and goal , but was intercepted in the end zone by CB Leon Hall , the first of 2 picks for the freshman playing for an injured Marlin Jackson . The Michigan offense had a solid ( but not dominant ) day against the stout Purdue defense , as senior RB Chris Perry grinded out 95 yards on 28 carries . The terrific trio of Michigan WRs ( Braylon Edwards , Jason Avant and Steve Breaston ) each made valuable contributions . Avant had 5 catches for 90 yards , Breaston took an end - around 21 yards for a score , and Edwards had 6 catches for 86 yards and 2 scores , including a highlight - reel third quarter TD catch over CB Jacques Reeves that put the game out of reach . Purdue coach Joe Tiller praised the Michigan receiving corps before and after the game as " the best . . . ( he had ) ever seen . " He also expressed a respect for what he referred to as the " creatures " on the Wolverine defense . Northwestern . After the nightmare in Ann Arbor , Purdue returned home and to their winning 2003 formula - turnover - producing defense , running game , play - action passing – against the solid Northwestern Wildcats in a 34 – 14 win that improved Purdue to 7 – 2 and kept them in the hunt for a share of the Big Ten title . The Wildcats had excelled at ball security with an NCAA - low 2 lost fumbles lost coming in , but they came apart by losing 4 fumbles to the Boilermaker defense . Two of these were turned into first quarter TDs by the Purdue offense , led by an efficient Kyle Orton ( 14 - 24 ; 212 yards , 1 rushing TD ) . Late in the 3rd quarter , after the Purdue defense had stopped Northwestern short of the end zone , the Boilermakers embarked on a 98 yard TD drive that ended with RB Jerod Void ' s 2nd TD run , which put the game away . Senior WR John Standeford set the Big Ten career receiving yards record in this game , getting a brief ovation after catching a long pass in the 4th quarter . Iowa . On a Senior Day clash with a defense every bit as strong as their own , # 14 Purdue scored a surprisingly decisive 27 – 14 win over # 10 Iowa to improve to 8 – 2 – Purdue ' s best record this late into the season since 1979 . Boilermaker sophomore RB Jerod Void had his best game of the season to date with 34 carries for 120 yards and 2 TDs against the NCAA top 10 ranked Iowa run defense . For the 8th time in 10 games , the Boilers took their opening drive for a score , as Void took advantage of terrific blocking by his offensive line and junior FB Jon Goldsberry for 22 and 9 yard runs , the latter going for a TD . Purdue then added 2 field goals before halftime , while Iowa miscues kept them scoreless . On two different occasions Iowa QB Nathan Chandler missed open receivers for TDs . On another drive a Chandler TD pass to WR Mo Brown was called back by penalty , and then the Hawkeyes came up empty when kicker Nate Kaeding missed his first FG of the year . On the opening drive of the 2nd half , Purdue started with a kickoff return to midfield , and then converted a 3rd and 5 situation with QB Kyle Orton ' s 45 yard TD pass to WR Anthony Chambers for a 20 – 0 lead . On the Boilers ' next possession , Orton ' s efficient passing and nifty bootleg runs set up Void ' s second TD for a 27 – 0 advantage with 7 : 30 left in the 3rd quarter . After Iowa drove for TDs on their next 2 possessions to narrow the score to 27 – 14 with 9 : 56 left in the game , Orton directed the Purdue offense on a ball - control 8 minute drive that featured numerous 3rd down conversions to bring the clock down to 2 : 09 to go , but Purdue came up empty when kicker Ben Jones missed a FG attempt . The Iowa offense then made the game interesting by moving into scoring position on a couple of brilliant Mo Brown receptions . But Purdue free safety Stuart Schweigert – playing in his last home game – put an end to the Hawkeye rally with an end zone interception . Notwithstanding the late rally , Purdue ' s defense had another fine performance , as it held terrific Iowa RB Fred Russell to 35 yards rushing on 18 carries , and sacked Chandler 4 times . Ohio State . For the second time this year , ESPN College Gameday visited a contest involving Purdue , and with a chance to qualify for a share of the Big Ten title or an at - large BCS bowl game , the Boilermakers suffered a heartbreaking loss for the 2nd straight year to the # 4 Ohio State Buckeyes , falling 16 – 13 to the Buckeyes in overtime . As expected , the defenses largely controlled the game by keeping it low in points and high in punts . Purdue took its opening offensive drive 53 yards before settling for a Ben Jones FG . Late in the first quarter , the Buckeyes struck on a 58 yard pass from QB Craig Krenzel to WR Michael Jenkins to set up a 1st and goal . A controversial pass interference no - call resulted in a short FG for Buckeyes ' all - time great kicker Mike Nugent to tie the game at 3 . Purdue RB Jerod Void returned the ensuing kickoff near midfield , resulting in a short drive that ended with a long Jones FG to put Purdue back up 6 – 3 . The Buckeyes slowly gained an edge in field position for the rest of the half , as they turned a short drive into a 52 yard Nugent FG to send the teams into the locker room tied at 6 . The game remained a field position battle for the better part of the 2nd half , as neither team ' s offense turned the ball over or scored any points . However , Purdue came up empty on an 86 yard drive when Ben Jones ' FG attempt missed badly wide left . Early in the 4th quarter Purdue faced a 3rd and long deep in their own territory . OSU defensive linemen Will Smith and Tim Anderson converged on QB Kyle Orton , forcing a fumble that DE Mike Kudla recovered for a TD that gave OSU a 13 – 6 lead . After a punt exchange , Purdue started a drive from their own 8 yard line with 6 : 36 to go and quickly faced another 3rd down and long yardage situation . Starting with a third down conversion pass to Anthony Chambers , Orton moved the Purdue offense over the next 5 plays to the OSU 11 yard line and then capped the impressive game - tying 92 yard drive with a well - executed Statue of Liberty TD run by RB Jerod Void . After the Buckeyes ' next drive ended just outside of FG range , the OSU punt by B . J . Sander pinned Purdue inside their own 20 yard line for the seventh time in the game . With under 2 minutes left , the Boilermakers moved the ball to their 32 yard line , but then Orton mishandled the QB snap , resulting in a fumble that the Buckeyes recovered . OSU proceeded to run the clock down to 4 seconds on three running plays to set up Nugent ' s winning FG attempt . However , on the last play of regulation reserve LB Bobby Iwuchukwu ( playing for the injured Gilbert Gardner ) blocked the FG , keeping Purdue alive and sending the game to Overtime . On Ohio State ' s overtime possession , the offense could not get a first down , but Nugent kicked a FG ( partially blocked again by Iwuchukwu ) to put the Buckeyes ahead 16 – 13 . Needing a FG to tie or TD to win , Purdue gained a first down on an amazing effort by WR Taylor Stubblefield but could not advance further , bringing in Jones for a game - tying FG attempt . Unfortunately for Purdue , Jones missed the FG wide left , ending the game . In defeat , Senior captain LB Niko Koutouvides had 15 tackles and 2 pass defenses in a truly valiant effort by Purdue against the eventual 2004 Fiesta Bowl champions . Indiana . Purdue finished a highly successful regular season at 9 – 3 to qualify for a New Year ' s Day bowl , but it was not without struggle against the lowly 2 – 10 Indiana Hoosiers . The Boilermakers made some uncharacteristic mistakes that turned a comfortable margin into a 5 - point game , but then held on to get the 24 – 16 win . Two of Purdue ' s senior stars - WR John Standeford ( 6 - 151 , 2 TDs ) and LB Landon Johnson – had big days and made key plays . The Hoosiers had turned a 21 – 3 deficit late in the 3rd quarter into a 21 - 16 margin early in the 4th quarter with a chance to take the lead by intercepting Kyle Orton twice . On the ensuing Hoosier drive after Orton ' s 2nd interception , LB Landon Johnson picked off Matt Lovecchio to end the IU threat . Purdue later added a Ben Jones FG , and then ran out the rest of the clock with the help of RB Jerod Void ' s best game of the season ( 31 carries , 141 yards ) . In defeat , IU ( and future Ole Miss and New England Patriot ) freshman RB BenJarvus Green - Ellis had a terrific day with 155 yards on the ground , becoming the first RB to gain over 100 yards on Purdue ' s stout 2003 defense . Georgia . In a game that mostly reversed the script of their previous meeting in the 2000 Outback Bowl , Purdue and Georgia played a game that featured a big early lead ( Georgia 24 – 0 ) and a late rally to force overtime ( tied at 27 ) . However , like their 2000 meeting , Georgia emerged as the winner in a truly entertaining 34 – 27 game . Needless to say , Purdue had a rough start . First , as was not typical in 2003 , the Purdue defense - which was playing without seniors Jacques Reeves and Gilbert Gardner – got picked apart for the better part of the first half , as Georgia rolled up 24 points and almost 300 yards of offense led by the effective passing of QB David Greene to a talented receiving corps ( that included WR Reggie Brown and TE Ben Watson ) . Meanwhile , the Purdue offense could not move against the ultra - athletic Georgia defense ( 30 total yards deep into the 2nd quarter ) . Making matters worse , Boilers starting QB Kyle Orton dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand on a David Pollack sack , removing him from the game as Purdue fell further behind . In an amazing display of toughness and courage , Orton returned after only a few series , sparking the Purdue rally with 10 points late in the 2nd quarter . First , Orton capped a no - huddle drive with a 20 yard TD run to put Purdue on the board . Then on the first play of the ensuing UGA drive , Purdue forced and recovered a fumble , resulting in a Ben Jones FG . The third quarter was mostly a field position battle with both defenses firmly in control , keeping the score 24 – 10 . Early in the fourth quarter , Orton completed passes on 4 consecutive plays to WR Taylor Stubblefield to move Purdue 60 yards to a first and goal situation . Orton ended the drive with his second TD run to make it a one possession game . But Greene and the Georgia offense responded with an efficient time - consuming drive that ended with a Billy Bennett FG for a 27 – 17 advantage with less than 5 minutes to go . But the Boilers were far from finished . After an exchange of punts , Purdue started a drive with just over 2 minutes left with a terrific 60 yard pass from Orton to WR John Standeford , and then finished it with an Anthony Chambers TD catch to make the score 27 – 24 . Georgia recovered the ensuing onside kick , but then Bulldogs freshman RB Kregg Lumpkin marred an otherwise solid day ( over 100 yards rushing ) with a critical mistake on a clock - killing run : trying to make a cutback for more yardage , Lumpkin was stripped of the ball from behind by DE Shaun Phillips . Amidst a mad mob of players , LB Niko Koutouvides recovered the fumble at the UGA 35 to give Purdue new life . Although the Boilermakers could not score a TD , they did tie on a clutch 44 yard FG from Ben Jones to send the game to overtime . Purdue won the OT coin toss and elected to go on defense first . Helped by a questionable end zone pass interference call , Georgia got a TD run from Lumpkin on a 4th and goal from the 1 – a gutsy call by UGA coach Mark Richt . Then Purdue could not score the necessary TD on their OT possession , which ended with an end zone interception on 4th down and goal . Considering the combination of offense , defense , and special team talent , the 2003 Purdue Boilermakers were arguably Joe Tiller ' s best overall team in his tenure at Purdue , having concluded a highly successful campaign with a 9 – 4 record . 2004 NFL Draft . Purdue set a team record with 9 NFL Draft picks , breaking the school record of 8 in 1973 .