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1943 Purdue Boilermakers football team

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1943 Purdue Boilermakers football
Big Ten co-champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 5
Record9–0 (6–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPDick Barwegen
Home stadiumRoss–Ade Stadium
Seasons
← 1942
1944 →
1943 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Purdue + 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0
No. 3 Michigan + 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
No. 9 Northwestern 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Indiana 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 2
Minnesota 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Ohio State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
Iowa 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1943 Purdue Boilermaker football team represented Purdue University in the 1943 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Elmer Burnham, the Boilermakers compiled an undefeated 9–0 record (6–0 Big Ten), outscored their opponents by a combined total of 214 to 55, and finished the season ranked #5 in the final AP Poll.[1]

The 1943 squad was the only undefeated team playing a full schedule in major college football, but finished third in the country per the AP Poll. This would seemingly be sufficient grounds for Purdue to claim a 1943 National Championship as the NCAA itself did not recognize champions in the era. However, Purdue has never pursued this claim.

The 1942 Purdue team had won only one game, but the 1943 team was bolstered with several new players who had been transferred to Purdue as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program.[2]

Purdue guard Alex Agase was selected as a consensus first-team player on the 1943 All-America Team,[3] and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Fullback Tony Butkovich was also selected as a first-team All-American by The Sporting News, the United Press, the Central Press, and Stars and Stripes newspaper. Butkovich led the Big Ten in scoring with 14 touchdowns despite missing the last two games after being called to active duty by the Marines; he was killed in action at the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 18at Great Lakes Navy*
W 23–1322,000
September 25at Marquette*
W 21–0
October 2Illinois
W 40–21
October 9Camp Grant*No. 7
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 19–0
October 16vs. Ohio StateNo. 5
W 30–740,000
October 23IowaNo. 4
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 28–7
October 30at WisconsinNo. 4
W 32–0
November 6at MinnesotaNo. 2
W 14–7
November 20IndianaNo. 3
W 7–0
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Players

  • Alex Agase, guard #95
  • Dick Barwegen, guard #21
  • Frank Bauman, end #74
  • Joe Buscemi #50
  • Dick Bushnell #29
  • Jack Butt #40
  • Tony Butkovich, #25, fullback
  • Jim Darr #70
  • Boris Dimancheff #87
  • Stan Dubicki, #22
  • Bump Elliott#18
  • John Genis, tackle #69
  • Herbert Hoffman, end #99
  • Tom Hughes #44
  • Mike Kasap, tackle #64
  • Bill Newell #96
  • Bill O'Keefe #34
  • Keith Parker #88
  • Bill Stuart #89
  • Sam Vacanti #33
  • John Staak, tackle #32
  • Lewis Rose, Halfback #36

Coaches and administrators

References

  1. ^ "Purdue Yearly Results (1940-1944)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  2. ^ "1943 Purdue Marines" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter.
  3. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  4. ^ 1944 Purdue yearbook, p. 217.
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