1989 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 1989 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Fred Akers, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing eighth in the Big Ten. It was Purdue's fifth straight losing season. The team played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

1989 Purdue Boilermakers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBob Stanley (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorPhil Bennett (3rd season)
MVPCalvin Williams
CaptainDennis Dotson, Bill Hitchcock, Calvin Williams
Home stadiumRoss–Ade Stadium
(capacity: 67,861)
1989 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Michigan $ 8 –0 –010 –2 –0
No. 10 Illinois 7 –1 –010 –2 –0
No. 16 Michigan State 6 –2 –08 –4 –0
No. 24 Ohio State 6 –2 –08 –4 –0
Minnesota 4 –4 –06 –5 –0
Indiana 3 –5 –05 –6 –0
Iowa 3 –5 –05 –6 –0
Purdue 2 –6 –03 –8 –0
Wisconsin 1 –7 –02 –9 –0
Northwestern 0 –8 –00 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 9Miami (OH)*
W 27–1038,840
September 16at No. 15 Washington*
L 9–3866,392
September 3012:00 p.m.No. 1 Notre Dame*
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)
ABCL 7–4067,861
October 7at Minnesota
L 15–3536,621
October 14No. 16 Illinois
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)
L 2–1441,101
October 21at Ohio State
L 3–2189,091
October 28Michigan Statedagger
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 21–2841,402
November 41:00 p.m.at No. 4 Michigan
L 27–42105,128
November 11Northwestern
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 46–1531,470
November 18Iowa
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 0–2431,863
November 25at Indiana
W 15–1451,502
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1][2]

Personnel
1989 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
OL Bruce Brinerman
OL Jason Cegielski
FB 34 Earl Coleman Fr
OL Scott Conover
RB Don Delvy
WR Rodney Dennis Fr
OL Bob Dressel
RB Adoaf Harris
OL Bill Hitchcock
WR Abe Hoskins Fr
QB 9 Eric Hunter Fr
WR Kipp Koonce
QB Jeff Lesniewicz RFr
QB 14 Steve Letnich
WR Danny Lounsbury
TE Dwayne O'Connor
WR Robert Oglesby
TE Andy Ozlowski
OL Derick Schmidt
RB Jerome Sparkman
OL Larry Taylor
TE Kelly Turner
RB Tony Vinson Fr
WR Jim Wallace
WR Calvin Williams Sr
OL Jeff Wormsley
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB Eric Beatty
DL Kris Burns
OL Dennis Dotson
CB Steve Jackson Jr
DB Terry Johnson
CB Derrick Kelson Sr
DL Frank Kmet
DL Ken Kushner
DL Donzel Leggett
DB Nat Martin
DL Peyton Minter
S Jarrett Scales
OLB Jim Schwantz So
ILB Darren Trieb Jr
DB Sean Washington Fr
DL Jeff Zgonina
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P, QB Shawn McCarthy Sr
K Larry Sullivan
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt

    Preseason

    Brian Fox transferred after spring practice to Florida, citing a desire to be closer to home and head coach Fred Akers' adjustment of the offensive scheme.[3]

    Game summaries

    Miami (OH)

    Notre Dame
    #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3–0) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–1)
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Notre Dame 14 20 0640
    Purdue 0 0 077

    at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

    Game information

    At Minnesota
    Purdue Boilermakers (1–2) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (2–1)
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Purdue 0 3 01215
    Minnesota 7 7 14735

    at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    • Date: October 7, 1989
    • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
    • Game attendance: 36,621
    • [4]
    • Larry Sullivan tied a school record with 51-yard field goal
    • Darren Trieb was suspended for the game for violation of team rules[5]
    TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
    Purdue PassingJeff Lesniewicz13/19, 191 Yds, TD, INT
    Rushing
    Receiving
    Minnesota PassingScott Schaffner9/19, 144 Yds, 2 TD
    RushingMarcus Evans102 Yds, TD
    Receiving

    Illinois
    See also: Purdue Cannon
    #16 Illinois Fighting Illini (3–1) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–3)
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Illinois 7 0 0714
    Purdue 0 0 022

    at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

    • Date: October 14, 1989
    • Game attendance: 41,101

    Jeff Lesniewicz made his first career start for Purdue[6][7][8]

    We feel real good about ourselves. All we did was read in the paper all week was that we were going to lose by 32 points, and Jeff George was going to come in and do his thing.

    Darrin Trieb

    TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
    Illinois PassingJeff George24/42, 254 Yds, TD
    RushingHoward Griffith24 Rush, 94 Yds, TD
    Receiving
    Purdue PassingJeff Lesniewicz9/22, 82 Yds
    Rushing
    Receiving

    At Ohio State
    Purdue Boilermakers (1–4) at Ohio State Buckeyes (3–2)
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Purdue 0 0 303
    Ohio St 14 0 7021

    at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

    • Date: October 21
    • Game time: 1:30 p.m.
    • Game weather: Overcast, 44 °F (7 °C)
    • Game attendance: 89,091
    • Referee: Jim Kemerling
    • Box Score
    Game information

    Michigan State
    Michigan State Spartans (2–4) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–5)
    Period 1 2 Total
    Michigan St 0 28 28
    Purdue 0 21 21

    at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

    • Date: October 28, 1989
    • Game attendance: 41,402
    • [9]

    Homecoming
    Jeff Lesniewicz knocked out of game with concussion[10]

    TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
    Michigan St Passing
    Rushing
    ReceivingCourtney Hawkins7 Rec, 193 Yds, TD
    Purdue PassingEric Hunter18/26, 253 Yds, 3 TD, INT
    Rushing
    Receiving

    At Michigan
    Purdue Boilermakers (1–6) at #4 Michigan Wolverines (6–1)
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Purdue 0 7 02027
    Michigan 7 21 7742

    at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

    • Date: November 4, 1989
    • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
    • Game weather: Overcast, 44 °F (7 °C)
    • Game attendance: 105, 126
    • Box Score

    [11]

    External video
    video icon Game highlights
    TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
    Purdue PassingEric Hunter27/42, 344 Yds, 4 TD, 2 INT
    RushingJerome Sparkman11 Rush, 50 Yds
    ReceivingCalvin Williams13 Rec, 156 Yds, 3 TD
    Michigan PassingMichael Taylor8/13, 124 Yds, TD
    RushingTony Boles13 Rush, 80 Yds, 2 TD
    ReceivingChris Calloway3 Rec, 68 Yds, TD

    Northwestern
    Northwestern Wildcats (0–8) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–7)
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Northwestern 0 7 8015
    Purdue 32 0 01446

    at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

    • Date: November 11, 1989
    • Game attendance: 31,470
    • [12]

    Purdue snapped a streak of 10 straight games without a first quarter point.[13]

    TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
    Northwestern PassingTim O'Brien15/40, 213 Yds, 2 TD
    RushingBob Christian21 Rush, 59 Yds
    Receiving
    Purdue PassingEric Hunter11/24, 263 Yds, 3 TD
    RushingEric Hunter9 Rush, 55 Yds
    ReceivingRod Dennis4 Rec, 146 Yds, 3 TD

    At Indiana
    See also: Old Oaken Bucket
    Purdue Boilermakers (2–8) at Indiana Hoosiers (5–5)
    Period 1 2 Total
    Purdue 3 12 15
    Indiana 11 3 14

    at Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

    • Date: November 25, 1989
    • Game attendance: 51,502
    • [14]

    Larry Sullivan kicked a 32-yard field goal with 2:51 left and Scott Bonnell missed a 26-yard field goal for Indiana with 1:29 remaining. [15] Fred Akers was carried off the field by his players.[16]

    TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
    Purdue PassingEric Hunter15/24, 184 Yds, TD
    RushingTony Vinson9 Rush, 28 Yds
    ReceivingRod Dennis4 Rec, 81 Yds
    Indiana PassingDave Schnell11/21, 99 Yds
    RushingAnthony Thompson28 Rush, 97 Yds
    ReceivingAnthony Thompson4 Rec, 28 Yds

    Awards

    Eric Hunter

    • Big Ten Freshman of the Year[17]

    References
    1. 1989 Purdue Football Schedule
    2. "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 91. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
    3. "QB Fox Leaving Purdue for Florida". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. June 14, 1989. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
    4. "Minnesota 35, Purdue 15". UPI Archives. October 7, 1989. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
    5. Matt Youmans (October 11, 1989). "Loss to Minnesota sidelines key PU starters". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
    6. Slater, Jim (October 14, 1989). "Illinois 14, Purdue 2". UPI Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
    7. Tatlock, David (October 16, 1989). "Purdue Defense Shines in Loss". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
    8. Youmans, Matt (October 16, 1989). "Boiler Defense Goes to Waste as Illinois Wins". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
    9. Bedics, Mark (October 30, 1989). "Rally Leaves Spartans Grateful". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
    10. Bedics, Mark (October 30, 1989). "Rally Leaves Spartans Grateful". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
    11. Gainesville Sun. 1989 Nov 5.
    12. Tatlock, David (November 13, 1989). "Purdue Collects First Big Ten Win, 46-15". Purdue University Archives & Special Editions. The Purdue Exponent. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
    13. Cook, Bob (November 11, 1989). "Purdue 46, Northwestern 15". UPI Archives. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
    14. Slater, Jim (November 25, 1989). "Purdue 15, Indiana 14". UPI Archives. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
    15. "Upset of IU in 1989 Bucket game shows anything is possible". Rivals.com. December 8, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
    16. Youmans, Matt (November 27, 1989). "PU Plays 'Spoilermaker' in 15-14 Win Over IU". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
    17. Daily Press. 1990 Oct 24. Archived 2014-04-04 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2014-Oct-20.
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