| Year: | 1996 |
| Team: | Purdue Boilermakers |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 3–8 |
| Conf Record: | 2–6 |
| Head Coach: | Jim Colletto |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Off Coach: | Tim Salem |
| Oc Year: | 2nd |
| Off Scheme: | Pro set |
| Codef Coach1: | Bob Morris |
| Codc1 Year: | 2nd |
| Codef Coach2: | Ty Smith |
| Codc2 Year: | 1st |
| Def Scheme: | 4–3 |
| Mvp: | Brian Alford |
| Captain: | Jon Krick, Emmett Zitelli |
| Stadium: | Ross–Ade Stadium |
The 1996 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Jim Colletto in his sixth 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 eighth in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Purdue started the season 0–3, averaging under seven points per game. Over the final eight games the Boilermakers went 3–5, failing to qualify for a bowl game for the 12 straight season. The Boilermakers also failed to win a road game.
Brian Alford received numerous postseason accolades, including First Team All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and the media, and broke the Purdue record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season. Senior captain Emmett Zitelli was selected to the Second Team All-Big team by both the coaches and the media. After the season, none of the Boilermakers were selected in the 1997 NFL draft, Zitelli signed as an undrafted free agent.
In 1995 the Purdue Boilermakers had the second best season in the Colletto era. The team finished with a 4–6–1 regular season record, failing to qualify for a postseason bowl game for the 11th straight year. The Boilermakers struggled to win games, facing what was rated as the third most difficult schedule in the nation in 1995.[1] However, Purdue did finish first in the Big Ten in rushing offense.[2]
Going into 1996, there was doubt that Purdue could successfully replace all-time leading rusher Mike Alstott and have a winning season.[3] Entering the season, Colletto thought that each of his quarterbacks would be a contributor on offense, electing Rick Trefzger as the team's starting quarterback, and moving former tailback, Edwin Watson to fullback to replace Alstott.[4]
See also: 1996 Michigan Wolverines football team.
Purdue's first win versus Michigan since 1984
| Player | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Trefzger | 96 | 170 | 1,158 | 8 | 8 | |
| John Reeves | 51 | 102 | 772 | 6 | 5 | |
| Billy Dicken | 40 | 81 | 518 | 1 | 4 |
| Player | Att | Yards | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin Watson | 194 | 768 | 6 | |
| Kendall Matthews | 123 | 471 | 3 | |
| John Reeves | 52 | 157 | ||
| Rick Trefzger | 43 | 56 | 1 | |
| Donald Winston | 2 | 49 | ||
| Lee Johnson | 12 | 43 | ||
| Eric Haddad | 6 | 24 | ||
| Chris Koeppen | 1 | 24 | ||
| 3 | 22 | |||
| Dartanian Sanders | 5 | 18 | ||
| Billy Dicken | 20 | -40 |
| Player | Rec | Yards | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Alford | 63 | 1,057 | 12 | |
| Willie Tillman | 40 | 557 | 2 | |
| Edwin Watson | 25 | 220 | ||
| Isaac Jones | 14 | 241 | 1 | |
| Kirk Olivadotti | 16 | 171 | ||
| Brandon Jewell | 11 | 92 | ||
| Kendall Matthews | 9 | 29 | ||
| Chris Daniels | 1 | 22 | ||
| Eric Haddad | 2 | 19 | ||
| Lee Johnson | 2 | 16 | ||
| 1 | 16 | |||
| Reggie Johnson | 1 | 7 | ||
| Donald Winston | 1 | 5 | ||
| Dartanian Sanders | 1 | -4 |