1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1966 Purdue Boilermakers football
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 14–13 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 7
Record	9–2 (6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jack Mollenkopf (11th season)
MVP	Bob Griese
Captain	Bob Griese, George Catavolos
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
Seasons ←  1965 1967  →

1966 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Michigan State $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	1
No. 7 Purdue	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Michigan	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	3	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Ohio State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	4	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Wisconsin	2	–	4	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Indiana	1	–	5	–	1			1	–	8	–	1
Iowa	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 1966 Big Ten Conference football season. The Boilermakers, led by future National Football League (NFL) quarterback Bob Griese, won the 1967 Rose Bowl. Griese led Purdue to a second-place finish in the Big Ten Conference and the school's first appearance in the Rose Bowl Game. The Boilermakers were the runner-up in the Big Ten behind Michigan State, but received the conference's Rose Bowl berth because of the Big Ten's "no-repeat" rule at the time. Griese was a two-time All-American at Purdue and was the runner-up to Steve Spurrier for the Heisman Trophy in 1966.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	Ohio *	No. 8	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 42–3	47,172
September 24	at No. 8 Notre Dame *	No. 7	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–26	59,075
October 1	SMU *		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 35–23	46,116	[1]
October 8	Iowa		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 35–0	52,715
October 15	at Michigan	No. 9	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		W 22–21	79,642
October 22	at No. 2 Michigan State	No. 9	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	L 20–41	78,014	[2]
October 29	Illinois		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		W 25–21	61,643
November 5	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 23–0	56,475
November 12	at Minnesota		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN		W 16–0	49,085
November 19	Indiana	No. 10	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)		W 51–6	62,197
January 1	vs. USC *	No. 7	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	W 14–13	101,438
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Roster

1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Bob Baltzell OL Mike Barnes WR 81 Jim Beirne Jr OL Jim Bonk OL Jack Calcaterra WR Bob Dillingham QB Mike Engelbrecht OL Charles Erlenbaugh WR Jim Finley QB 12 Bob Griese  (C) Sr TE Marion Griffin RB Dave Herrick RB Bob Hurst RB 23 Leroy Keyes So OL Chuck Kuzneski OL Pat Labus TE Rich Ruble G 65 Bob Sebeck Jr RB Lou Sims RB 47 Perry Williams So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Francis Burke DB 86 George Catavolos  (C) Sr DB 25 John Charles Sr DB Dennis Cirbes LB Pat Conley DB 45 Bob Corby Jr DL Robert Holmes DL Chuck Kyle DL George Olion DL Lance Olssen DL Fred Rafa LB Bob Yunaska	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Jack Mollenkopf Coordinators/assistant coaches Bob DeMoss Len Jardine Ned Maloney Ron Meyer Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Ohio

See also: 1966 Ohio Bobcats football team

At Notre Dame

Purdue at Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total No. 8 Boilermakers 7 0 0 7 14 •No. 6 Fighting Irish 7 7 0 12 26 Date: September 24 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN Game attendance: 59,075 Television network: ABC (national)

Scoring summary 1 PUR Leroy Keyes 94-yard fumble return (kick good) PUR 7-0 1 ND Nick Eddy 96-yard kickoff return (kick good) Tied 7-7 2 ND Jim Seymour 84-yard pass from Terry Hanratty (kick good) ND 14-7 4 ND Jim Seymour 39-yard pass from Terry Hanratty ND 20-7 4 PUR Perry Williams 1-yard run (kick good) ND 20-14 4 ND Jim Seymour 7-yard pass from Terry Hanratty ND 26-14

See also: 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

SMU

See also: 1966 SMU Mustangs football team

Iowa

See also: 1966 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

At Michigan

Purdue at Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 9 Boilermakers 7 7 2 6 22 Wolverines 0 14 7 0 21 Date: October 15 Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI Game attendance: 79,642

See also: 1966 Michigan Wolverines football team

At Michigan State

Purdue at Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 9 Boilermakers 0 0 7 13 20 •No. 2 Spartans 7 14 14 6 41 Date: October 22 Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan Game attendance: 70,014

Scoring summary Q1 MSU Lee 3-yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 7–0 Q2 MSU Raye 16-yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 14–0 Q2 MSU Apisa 6-yard pass from Raye (Kenney kick) MSU 21–0 Q3 MSU Apisa 2-yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 28–0 Q3 PUR Griese 6-yard run (Griese kick) MSU 28–7 Q3 MSU Apisa 10-yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 35–7 Q4 PUR Hurst 2-yard run (kick failed) MSU 35–13 Q4 MSU Cavender 2-yard run (pass failed) MSU 41–13 Q4 PUR Griese 2-yard run (Griese kick) MSU 41–20

See also: 1966 Michigan State Spartans football team

Illinois

See also: 1966 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois–Purdue football rivalry

At Wisconsin

See also: 1966 Wisconsin Badgers football team

At Minnesota

See also: 1966 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Indiana

See also: 1966 Indiana Hoosiers football team and Old Oaken Bucket

• Purdue clinches Rose Bowl berth
• Bob Griese 11/21, 255 Yds, 3 TD, 1 FG, 6/7 XP
• Leroy Keyes Rush TD, Pass TD, INT
• Jim Beirne 2 TD Rec
• Biggest margin in rivalry since 1893 ^[4]

USC (Rose Bowl)

Purdue vs. USC

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 7 Boilermakers 0 7 7 0 14 Trojans 0 7 0 6 13 Date: January 2 Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA Game attendance: 101,438 TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy

Scoring summary Q2 PUR Perry Williams 1-yard run (Griese kick) PUR 7–0 Q2 USC McCall 1-yard run (Rossovich kick) Tied 7–7 Q3 PUR Perry Williams 1-yard run (Griese kick) PUR 14–7 Q4 USC Rod Sherman 19-yard pass from Troy Winslow (pass failed) PUR 14–13

Main article: 1967 Rose Bowl

See also: 1966 USC Trojans football team

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Bob Griese	Quarterback	1	4	Miami Dolphins
John Charles	Defensive back	6	145	New England Patriots
Mike Barnes	Defensive back	8	194	Pittsburgh Steelers
Pat Conley	Linebacker	14	359	Baltimore Colts
George Catavolos	Defensive back	17	437	Philadelphia Eagles

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Awards and honors

• Bob Griese, Sammy Baugh Trophy ^[6]
• Bob Griese, second in Heisman Trophy voting

References

1. "Purdue smothers Mustangs, 35–23". The Kilgore News Herald. October 2, 1966. Retrieved March 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. Bob Hoerner (October 23, 1966). "Spartans' Balance Overcomes Griese: State Runs, Passes Over Purdue, 41-20". Lansing State Journal. pp. G1, G2 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 88. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
4. "Purdue Official Big 10 Rose Bowl Rep". Palm Beach Post. 1966 Nov 20. 2014-Sep-20.
5. "1967 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
6. "Awards". www.touchdownclubofcolumbus.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.