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
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

The 2007 Purdue Boilermakers football 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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

v t e Purdue Boilermakers football
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