The 2000 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana and competed in the Big Ten Conference. In its fourth year under head coach Joe Tiller, Purdue compiled an 8–4 record, won the Big Ten Conference championship, but was defeated by Washington in the 2001 Rose Bowl.
Purdue's offense was led by quarterback and Heisman Trophy-finalist Drew Brees. Brees led the Big Ten in completions, attempts, passing yards and passing touchdowns, setting the Big Ten career record for career passing yards with 11,517 passing former Purdue player, Mark Herrmann who had set the mark with 9,946 in 1980. The team had neither a 1,000-yard rusher nor a 1,000-yard receiver. Vinny Sutherland was the leading receiver with 926 receiving yards, and Montrell Lowe led the team in rushing with 919 rushing yards. Drew Brees and Offensive Tackle Matt Light were the only players on the offensive unit selected as an All-American, being selected by Pro Football Weekly.
On defense, the 2000 Purdue team had true freshman safety Stuart Schweigert, who intercepted five passes and also lead the team in tackles with 85. Other standouts on defense included defensive end Akin Ayodele with 9.0 quarterback sacks, and linebacker Landon Johnson with 71 tackles and two sacks, and safety Ralph Turner with 65 tackles, four sacks and an interception.
Ten members of the team were honored as All-Big Ten Conference selections, quarterback Drew Brees was named the Big Ten Offensive of the Year and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, while safety Stuart Schweigert was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Nineteen members of the 2000 Boilermakers football team went on to play in the NFL. Prior to 2000, the Boilermakers had compiled three consecutive winning seasons and had not won a Big Ten Championship since the 1966 Purdue team.
The 2000 team, which boasted two future Super Bowl winners, was featured in the 2013 Big Ten Network documentary series Big Ten Elite[1] and is still widely regarded by Purdue fans as one of the greatest Boilermakers football teams of all time.[2] The Boilermakers have yet to win the Big Ten championship or reach the Rose Bowl since then.
Season
The season was Drew Brees's final year with the Boilermakers. He left Purdue with Big Ten Conference records in passing yards (11,792), touchdown passes (90), total offensive yards (12,693), completions (1,026), and attempts (1,678). Brees won the Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player of 2000 and won the NCAA's Today's Top VIII Award as a member of the Class of 2001. Brees was third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy in 2000. The Boilermakers won all 8 of their games when they scored 30 points or more in 2000.
Schedule
| Date |
Time |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
|---|
| September 2 |
1:00 PM |
Central Michigan* |
No. 15 |
Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN |
|
W 48–0 |
56,197 |
| September 9 |
1:00 PM |
Kent State* |
No. 14 |
Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN |
|
W 45–10 |
62,181 |
| September 16 |
12:00 PM |
at No. 21 Notre Dame* |
No. 13 |
Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Shillelagh Trophy) |
NBC |
L 21–23 |
80,232 |
| September 23 |
11:00 AM |
Minnesota |
No. 21 |
Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN |
ESPN |
W 38–24 |
67,425 |
| September 30 |
2:30 PM |
at Penn State |
No. 22 |
Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA |
ABC |
L 20–22 |
96,023 |
| October 7 |
11:00 AM |
No. 6 Michigan |
|
Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN |
ABC |
W 32–31 |
68,340 |
| October 14 |
11:00 AM |
at No. 17 Northwestern |
No. 21 |
Ryan Field • Evanston, IL |
ESPN |
W 41–28 |
41,053 |
| October 21 |
11:00 AM |
at Wisconsin |
No. 17 |
Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI |
ESPN |
W 30–24 OT |
79,048 |
| October 28 |
2:30 PM |
No. 12 Ohio State |
No. 16 |
Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN |
ABC |
W 31–27 |
68,666 |
| November 11 |
1:00 PM |
at Michigan State |
No. 9 |
Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI |
ABC |
L 10–30 |
74,624 |
| November 18 |
3:30 PM |
Indiana |
No. 17 |
Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket) |
ABC |
W 41–13 |
69,104 |
| January 1 |
5:00 PM |
vs. No. 4 Washington |
No. 14 |
Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) |
ABC |
L 24–34 |
94,392 |
*Non-conference game.  Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. |
Depth Chart
Defense [3]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| CB |
|---|
| Ashante Woodyard |
| R'Kes Starling |
|
Offense [4] |
|
|
|
|
|
| WR |
|---|
| Seth Morales |
| A. T. Simpson |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| RB |
|---|
| Montrell Lowe |
| Sedrick Brown |
|
|
|
Game summaries
Michigan
| |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|
| Michigan |
7 |
21 | 0 | 3 |
31 |
| • Purdue |
3 |
7 | 13 | 9 |
32 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|---|
| | 1 | 9:17 | MICH | Marquise Walker 7 yard pass from Drew Henson (Jeff Del Verne kick) | MICH 7–0 |
| | 1 | 3:03 | PUR | Travis Dorsch 24 yard field goal | MICH 7–3 |
| | 2 | 11:02 | MICH | B.J. Askew 4 yard pass from Drew Henson (Jeff Del Verne kick) | MICH 14–3 |
| | 2 | 6:25 | MICH | Anthony Thomas 61 yard run (Jeff Del Verne kick) | MICH 21–3 |
| | 2 | 1:50 | PUR | Vinny Sutherland 25 yard pass from Drew Brees (Travis Dorsch kick) | MICH 21–10 |
| | 2 | 0:13 | MICH | David Terrell 15 yard pass from Drew Henson (Jeff Del Verne kick) | MICH 28–10 |
| | 3 | 11:03 | PUR | Steve Ennis 1 yard run (pass failed) | MICH 28–16 |
| | 3 | 4:12 | PUR | Montrell Lowe 16 yard run (Travis Dorsch kick) | MICH 28–23 |
| | 4 | 11:55 | MICH | Jeff Del Verne 34 yard field goal | MICH 31–23 |
| | 4 | 6:45 | PUR | John Standeford 10 yard pass from Drew Brees (pass failed) | MICH 31–29 |
| | 4 | 0:04 | PUR | Travis Dorsch 33 yard field goal | PUR 32–31 |
|
Northwestern
| |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|
| • Purdue |
7 |
7 | 20 | 7 |
41 |
| Northwestern |
14 |
0 | 0 | 14 |
28 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|---|
| | Q1 | 12:06 | NW | Anderson 1 yard run (Long kick) | NW 7–0 |
| | Q1 | 10:26 | PUR | Sutherland 10 yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) | Tie 7–7 |
| | Q1 | 7:27 | NW | Johnson 7 yard pass from Kustok (Long kick) | NW 14–7 |
| | Q2 | 3:51 | PUR | Standeford 7 yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) | Tie 14–14 |
| | Q3 | 11:20 | PUR | Standeford 5 yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) | PUR 21–14 |
| | Q3 | 7:53 | PUR | Sutherland 26 yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) | PUR 28–14 |
| | Q3 | 4:51 | PUR | Ennis 1 yard run (kick failed) | PUR 34–14 |
| | Q4 | 6:45 | NW | Johnson 41 yard pass from Kustok (Long kick) | PUR 34–21 |
| | Q4 | 4:48 | PUR | Standeford 43 yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) | PUR 41–21 |
| | Q4 | 1:16 | NW | Ayeni 35 yard pass from Danielson (Long kick) | PUR 41–28 |
|
- Montrell Lowe 26 Rush, 174 Yds
[5]
Wisconsin
| |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|
| • Purdue |
0 |
7 | 14 | 3 | 6 |
30 |
| Wisconsin |
0 |
14 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
24 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|---|
| | Q2 | 14:34 | WIS | Chambers 28 yard pass from Sorgi (Pisetsky kick) | WIS 7–0 |
| | Q2 | 9:37 | PUR | Simpson 30 yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) | Tie 7–7 |
| | Q2 | 8:29 | WIS | Bennett 33 yard run (Pisetsky kick) | WIS 14–7 |
| | Q3 | 12:33 | PUR | Brees 6 yard run (Dorsch kick) | Tie 14–14 |
| | Q3 | 6:37 | WIS | Pisetsky 35 yard field goal | WIS 17–14 |
| | Q3 | 5:40 | PUR | Morales 78 yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) | PUR 21–17 |
| | Q4 | 7:56 | PUR | Dorsch 44 yard field goal | PUR 24–17 |
| | Q4 | 3:50 | WIS | Sigmund 5 yard pass from Sorgi (Pisetsky kick) | Tie 24–24 |
| | OT | | PUR | Woodyard 36 yard blocked field goal return | PUR 30–24 |
|
Drew Brees becomes the career passing yardage leader in Big Ten history.[6][7]
Seniors drafted by the NFL
[8]
References
- ↑ "Next on Big Ten Elite: 2000 Purdue football". Big Ten Network. October 11, 2013.
- ↑ Baugh, Travis (April 18, 2013). "Big Ten Network to Feature 2001 Rose Bowl Squad". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ↑ "2000–01 Statistics Purdue". Purdue University Department of Athletics. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- ↑ "2000–01 Statistics Purdue". Purdue University Department of Athletics. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Purdue vs. Northwestern". USA Today. October 14, 2000. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
- ↑ "Purdue vs. Wisconsin". USA Today. October 21, 2000. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Purdue 30, Wisconsin 24". Purdue University Department of Athletics. October 21, 2000. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- ↑ "2001 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ↑ Alder, James. "Maxwell Award Winners". About.com. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ↑ Hyland, Tim. "The John Mackey Award". About.com. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
|
|---|
| Venues | |
|---|
| Bowls & rivalries | |
|---|
| Culture & lore | |
|---|
| People | |
|---|
| Seasons | |
|---|
|
|---|
| Western Conference | |
|---|
| Big Ten | |
|---|
| Big Nine | |
|---|
| Big Ten | |
|---|
National championships in bold |
