| 1943Purdue Boilermakers football | |
|---|---|
Big Ten co-champion | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 5 |
| Record | 9–0 (6–0 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Dick Barwegen |
| Captain | None |
| Home stadium | Ross–Ade Stadium |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5Purdue + | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3Michigan + | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9Northwestern | 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1943 Purdue Boilermaker football team was anAmerican football team that representedPurdue University during the1943 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coachElmer Burnham, the Boilermakers compiled an undefeated 9–0 record (6–0 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, outscored their opponents by a total of 214 to 55, and were ranked No. 5 in the finalAP poll.
The 1943 squad was the only undefeated team playing a full schedule in major college football, but finished fifth in the AP Poll.
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 theV-12 Navy College Training Program.[1]
Purdue guardAlex Agase was selected as a consensus first-team player on the1943 All-America Team,[2] and was later inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame. FullbackTony Butkovich was also selected as a first-team All-American byThe Sporting News, theUnited Press, theCentral Press, andStars 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 theBattle of Okinawa in April 1945.
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 18 | atGreat Lakes Navy* |
| W 23–13 | 22,000 | ||
| September 25 | atMarquette* | W 21–0 | 22,000 | [3] | ||
| October 2 | Illinois | W 40–21 | 15,000 | |||
| October 9 | Camp Grant* | No. 7 |
| W 19–0 | 13,000 | |
| October 16 | vs.Ohio State | No. 5 | W 30–7 | 41,509 | ||
| October 23 | Iowa | No. 4 |
| W 28–7 | 15,000 | |
| October 30 | atWisconsin | No. 4 | W 32–0 | 10,000 | ||
| November 6 | atMinnesota | No. 2 | W 14–7 | 43,000 | ||
| November 20 | Indiana | No. 3 |
| W 7–0 | 15,000 | |
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 7(2) | 5 | 4(1) | 4(1) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5(12) |