2007 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 2007 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Joe Tiller, in his 11th season at Purdue, was the team's head coach. The Boilermakers' home games were played at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue began the 2007 season unranked in preseason polls. Purdue played twelve regular season games during the 2007 season, including seven in West Lafayette. They played in the Motor City Bowl, where they defeated Central Michigan.

2007 Purdue Boilermakers football
Motor City Bowl champion
Motor City Bowl, W 51–48 vs. Central Michigan
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	8–5 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Joe Tiller (11th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Bill Legg (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Ed Zaunbrecher (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	One-back shotgun spread
Defensive coordinator	Brock Spack (11th season)
Base defense	4–3
MVP	Dustin Keller
Captains	Cliff Avril Dan Bick Stanford Keglar Curtis Painter
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
Seasons ← 2006 2008 →

2007 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 5 Ohio State $		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 18 Michigan		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 20 Illinois %		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 24 Wisconsin		5	–	3					9	–	4
Penn State		4	–	4					9	–	4
Iowa		4	–	4					6	–	6
Purdue		3	–	5					8	–	5
Indiana		3	–	5					7	–	6
Michigan State		3	–	5					7	–	6
Northwestern		3	–	5					6	–	6
Minnesota		0	–	8					1	–	11
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	7:00 pm	at Toledo*		Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPNU	W 52–24	26,100
September 8	12:00 pm	Eastern Illinois*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	BTN	W 52–6	52,504	[1]
September 15	12:00 pm	Central Michigan*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	W 45–22	60,038
September 22	9:00 pm	Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 45–31	47,483
September 29	12:00 pm	Notre Dame*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	W 33–19	65,250
October 6	8:00 pm	No. 4 Ohio State	No. 23	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ABC	L 7–23	65,497
October 13	12:00 pm	at Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	L 21–48	110,888
October 20	12:00 pm	Iowa		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	W 31–6	58,123
October 27	12:00 pm	Northwestern		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	BTN	W 35–17	58,237
November 3	12:00 pm	at Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN	L 19–26	108,318
November 10	12:00 pm	Michigan State		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	BTN	L 31–48	55,630
November 17	3:30 pm	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	BTN	L 24–27	50,741
December 26	7:30 pm	vs. Central Michigan*		Ford Field Detroit, MI (Motor City Bowl)	ESPN	W 51–48	60,624
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Toledo

1 2 3 4 Total • Purdue 14 14 9 15 52 Toledo 7 7 0 10 24 Date: September 1 Location: Glass Bowl, Toledo, Ohio

Eastern Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total Eastern Illinois 3 0 3 0 6 • Purdue 17 14 7 14 52 Date: September 8 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Central Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Central Michigan 0 0 14 8 22 • Purdue 24 7 7 7 45 Date: September 15 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total • Purdue 17 7 14 7 45 Minnesota 3 0 14 14 31 Date: September 22 Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: indoors (dome) Source: ESPN[dead link]

Scoring summary 1 14:46 PUR Desmond Tardy 95-yard kickoff return (Chris Summers kick) PUR 7-0 1 4:46 PUR Kory Sheets 16-yard pass from Curtis Painter (Chris Summers kick) PUR 14-0 1 2:25 PUR Chris Summers 24-yard field goal PUR 17-0 1 1:14 MINN Joel Monroe 34-yard field goal PUR 17-3 2 14:51 PUR Cliff Avril 43-yard interception return (Chris Summers kick) PUR 24-3 3 13:18 MINN Duane Bennett 4-yard run (Joel Monroe kick) PUR 24-10 3 9:37 PUR Dorien Bryant 4-yard pass from Curtis Painter (Chris Summers kick) PUR 31-10 3 7:10 MINN Jay Thomas 1-yard run (Joel Monroe kick) PUR 31-17 3 3:27 PUR Kory Sheets 3-yard run (Chris Summers kick) PUR 38-17 4 14:09 MINN Eric Decker 15-yard pass from Adam Weber (Joel Monroe kick) PUR 38-24 4 12:53 PUR Dorien Bryant 16-yard pass from Curtis Painter (Chris Summers kick) PUR 45-24 4 8:50 MINN Adam Weber 2-yard run (Joel Monroe kick) PUR 45-31

Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Notre Dame 0 0 6 13 19 • Purdue 10 13 3 7 33 Date: September 29 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Television network: ESPN

Scoring summary Q1 10:45 PUR Summers 27 yard field goal PUR 3–0 Q1 5:49 PUR Sheets 1 yard run (Summers kick) PUR 10–0 Q2 11:54 PUR Summers 34 yard field goal PUR 13–0 Q2 4:46 PUR Bryant 11 yard pass from Painter (Summers kick) PUR 20–0 Q2 2:50 PUR Summers 26 yard field goal PUR 23–0 Q3 7:55 ND Carlson 5 yard pass from Clausen (kick failed) PUR 23–6 Q3 :28 PUR Summers 29 yard field goal PUR 26–6 Q4 12:43 ND Kamara 7 yard pass from Sharpley (kick failed) PUR 26–12 Q4 7:58 ND Tate 25 yard pass from Sharpley (Whitaker kick) PUR 26–19 Q4 5:33 PUR Keller 14 yard pass from Painter (Summers kick) PUR 33–19

• PUR: Kory Sheets 27 Rush, 141 Yds

^[2]

Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 14 3 3 3 23 Purdue 0 0 0 7 7 Date: October 6 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Purdue 7 0 0 14 21 • Michigan 17 14 3 14 48 Date: October 13 Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 3 0 3 0 6 • Purdue 7 7 7 10 31 Date: October 20 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 14 3 0 17 • Purdue 14 0 0 21 35 Date: October 27 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Penn State

1 2 3 4 Total Purdue 10 0 6 3 19 • Penn St 3 10 0 13 26 Date: November 3 Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania

Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total • Michigan St 7 24 0 17 48 Purdue 0 21 3 7 31 Date: November 10 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total Purdue 0 3 7 14 24 • Indiana 7 10 7 3 27 Date: November 17 Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

Motor City Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • Purdue 21 13 7 10 51 Central Michigan 6 7 28 7 48 Date: December 26 Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Boilermaker kicker Chris Summers hit a 40-yard field goal as time expired to defeat the Central Michigan Chippewas 51–48. Purdue Quarterback Curtis Painter passed for a Motor City Bowl record 546 yards, going 35–54 with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Kory Sheets led the Boilermakers in rushing with 12 attempts for 27 yards and 2 touchdowns. Painter's favorite target was Greg Orton who caught 9 passes for 136 yards and 1 touchdown. For Central Michigan, QB Dan LeFevour went 17–34 with 292 yards and 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also led the Chippewas in rushing with 33 attempts for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. LeFevour's favorite target was Bryan Anderson who caught 7 passes for 129 yards and 3 touchdowns. During the 1st half it was all Boilermakers, with Purdue leading 34–13 at the break. In the 2nd half the Chippewas started their comeback. It started with a 76-yard pass from LeFevour to Antonio Brown to make it 34–20. The Boilermakers then scored again on a 19-yard pass from Painter to Jake Standeford to make it 41–20. The Chippewas then proceeded to score three unanswered touchdowns, a 10-yard pass to Anderson, and the two rushing touchdowns by LeFevour to tie the game. With 8:19 left in the 4th quarter, Purdue retook the lead on a 13-yard run by Jaycen Taylor. With 1:09 left, LeFevour hit Anderson for 19 yards and a touchdown to tie it at 48. It would turn out that the Chippewas scored too quickly. Painter then led a drive full of short first down passes to the Chippewa 23, where Summers would kick his 40-yard walk-off field goal.

Roster

(as of 07/10/2007)
Wide receivers  1 Selwyn Lymon – junior  3 Waynelle Gravesande – freshman  6 Desmond Tardy – junior  9 Dorien Bryant – senior 18 Roberto McBean – junior 21 Greg Orton – junior 22 Dray Mason – sophomore 82 Derek Benson – sophomore 83 Joe Whitest – junior 84 Byron Williams – RS senior 86 Derrick Sherman – freshman 87 Kris Staats – freshman 88 Jake Standeford – RS senior 80 James Garcia - "Freshman" Offensive line 50 Eric Hedstrom – sophomore 51 Garrett Miller – junior 55 Elliot Hood – RS senior 56 Jonathan Patton Junior 60 Zach Smith – junior 61 Zach Jones – sophomore 61 Chris Mattson – senior 62 Andy Huffman – sophomore 63 James Shepherd – freshman 66 Jordan Grimes – senior 68 Robbie Powell – RS senior 69 Neal Tull – RS senior 72 Justin Pierce – freshman 73 Dan Zaleski – junior 74 Sean Sester – junior 75 Zach Reckman – sophomore 77 Ryan Prater – freshman 78 Cory Benton – junior Tight ends 28 Dustin Keller – senior 80 Jerry Wasikowski – junior 46 Matthew Kern – junior 85 Kyle Adams – sophomore 89 Colton McKey – freshman Fullbacks 44 Frank Halliburton – sophomore		Quarterbacks  5 Justin Siller – freshman 12 Curtis Painter – RS junior 14 Joey Elliott – sophomore 16 Jeff Panfil – freshman 17 Chris Bennett – junior Running backs 23 Joe Williams – junior 24 Kory Sheets – RS junior 25 Dan Dierking – freshman 33 Jaycen Taylor – junior 34 Malcolm Harris – freshman Defensive line 32 Cliff Avril – senior 45 Eugene Bright – senior 49 Nickcaro Golding – freshman 54 Jared Zwilling – sophomore 70 Andrew Quintana – freshman 71 Alex Magee – junior 79 Jermaine Guynn – junior 87 Mike McDonald – senior 90 Ryan Baker – junior 91 Preston Numa – freshman 92 Mike Neal – sophomore 93 Jeff Benjamin – RS senior 94 Ryan Kerrigan – freshman 95 Keyon Brown – sophomore 97 Gerald Gooden – freshman 98 Corey Chapman – freshman 99 Nick Mondek – freshman Linebackers 17 Josh Ferguson – RS senior 22 Delos Bhatti – senior 27 Kevin Green – freshman 29 Jason Werner – sophomore 36 Dan Bick – senior 39 John Humphrey – freshman 41 Brian Ellis – junior 42 Anthony Heygood – junior 46 Jeff Lindsay – freshman 47 Mike Durrett – RS senior 57 Tyler Haston – freshman 59 Stanford Keglar – RS senior 81 DeVarro Greaves – freshman		Defensive backs  2 Torri Williams – junior  3 Frank Duong – junior  4 Fabian Martin – junior  5 Terrell Vinson – senior  7 Brandon King– sophomore  8 Keith Smith – sophomore 10 Royce Adams – sophomore 15 Charlton Williams – freshman 19 Brandon Whittington – junior 20 Brandon Erwin – sophomore 23 Justin Scott – senior 27 Jerad Grey – junior 26 Aaron Lane – senior 30 Joe Holland – freshman 31 Josh McKinley – freshman 35 David Pender – sophomore 40 Jonte Lindsey – senior 43 Adam Wolf – sophomore Punters 11 Jared Armstrong – senior Kickers 13 Chris Summers – sophomore 8 Brody McKnight - Freshman

2008 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Dustin Keller	Tight End	1	30	New York Jets
Cliff Avril	Defensive End	3	92	Detroit Lions
Stanford Keglar	Linebacker	4	134	Tennessee Titans

References

1. Kubat, Tom (September 9, 2007). "Lightning strikes". Journal & Courier. p. C1. Retrieved December 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. ESPN^{[dead link]}. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.