2004 Purdue Boilermakers football team

American college football season August 2023 February 2026 2004 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Boilermakers workmark.svg 150px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 7–5 4–4 Joe Tiller 8th Jim Chaney 8th Brock Spack 8th Spread 4–3 Jon Goldsberry Taylor Stubblefield Antwaun Rogers Kyle Orton Ross–Ade Stadium Sun Bowl L 23–27 vs. Arizona State The 2004 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Tiller and played its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium. Purdue played twelve games in the 2004 season, finishing with a 7–5 record and a loss in the Sun Bowl to Arizona State. The season was Kyle Orton's senior year at Purdue. Schedule 2004 AP Eastern September 5 1:30 pm w y 24 Syracuse Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN ABC 51–0 56,827 September 11 1:00 pm w y 25 Ball State Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN 59–7 64,323 September 25 12:00 pm w y 15 Illinois Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL rivalry ESPN Plus 38–30 50,532 October 2 2:30 pm w y y 15 Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry NBC 41–16 80,795 October 9 4:30 pm w y 9 Penn State Beaver Stadium University Park, PA ESPN 20–13 108,183 October 16 5:30 pm l 5 Wisconsin 10 Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN College GameDay ESPN2 17–20 65,196 October 23 3:30 pm l 12 Michigan 13 Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN ABC 14–16 65,170 October 30 12:00 pm l y 17 Northwestern Ryan Field Evanston, IL ESPN 10–13 30,312 November 6 3:30 pm l y Iowa 20 Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA ESPN 21–23 70,397 November 13 3:30 pm w Ohio State Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN ESPN 24–17 64,639 November 20 12:00 pm w Indiana Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN Old Oaken Bucket ESPN Plus 63–24 65,137 December 31 2:00 pm l y y Arizona State 21 Sun Bowl El Paso, TX Sun Bowl CBS 23–27 51,288 Game summaries Syracuse 2004 Syracuse Orange football team Syracuse at #25 Purdue Orange 0 0 0 0 No. 25 Boilermakers 14 6 17 14 Sunday, September 5 Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN 1:30 p.m. EST 56,827 Source: ESPN yes 1 4:01 PUR Jerod Void 1-yard run (Ben Jones kick) PUR 7-0 1 1:10 PUR Brian Hare 75-yard pass from Kyle Orton (Ben Jones kick) PUR 14-0 2 6:15 PUR Taylor Stubblefield 23-yard pass from Kyle Orton (kick blocked) PUR 20-0 3 6:09 PUR Taylor Stubblefield 67-yard pass from Kyle Orton (Ben Jones kick) PUR 27-0 3 2:04 PUR Brandon Jones 32-yard pass from Kyle Orton (Ben Jones kick) PUR 34-0 3 0:32 PUR Ben Jones 34-yard field goal PUR 37-0 4 9:39 PUR Jerome Brooks 44-yard run (Ben Jones kick) PUR 44-0 4 2:11 PUR Dustin Keller 47-yard pass from Brandon Kirsch (Ben Jones kick) PUR 51-0 yes Optimism abounded toward the Purdue football program coached by Joe Tiller after a terrific '03 season. Although the Boilermakers had 8 defensive starters to replace in 2004 (6 of whom were NFL draft picks), they returned most of their productive offense - including solid Seniors in QB Kyle Orton and catch-machine WR Taylor Stubblefield. In the first Sunday game played at Ross Ade Stadium, Purdue hosted the Syracuse Orange of the Big East. Despite the hot conditions, the Boilermakers controlled the game on both sides of the ball, defeating Syracuse 51–0. Orton and the Purdue offense shook off a slow start (and a missed Ben Jones FG) to compile 571 yards of turnover-free offense, highlighted by 4 long Orton TD passes in a 16–30; 287 yard performance. Even reserve QB Brandon Kirsch - playing for the first time since 2002 - got in on the rout by engineering 2 4th-quarter TD drives including a 47-yard TD pass to freshman TE Dustin Keller. On the flipside, the new-look Purdue defense was terrific in holding first-time starting QB Joe Fields and the Syracuse offense to 197 total yards, 3 turnovers, and most impressively - 0 points. Fields also got no help from his running game, as acclaimed RBs Walter Reyes and Damien Rhodes combined for only 36 yards on 17 carries. Ball State Cardinals 0 0 0 7 7 Boilermakers 21 24 7 7 59 Purdue continued its outstanding start to 2004, improving to 2–0 by blasting the MAC's Ball State Cardinals 59–7. The Boilermakers did the majority of the damage in an incredible first half that sent them to the locker room with a 45–0 advantage. Kyle Orton performed phenomenally – 23–26; 329 yards and 5 TDs – in guiding the Purdue offense to 599 yards, 34 first downs and no turnovers. WR Taylor Stubblefield had 3 TD catches. And the Purdue defense had another superb game, holding the Cardinals' offense to 197 total yards and nearly pitching another shutout until Ball State got on the board midway through the 4th quarter. Illinois Purdue Cannon Boilermakers 10 14 7 7 38 Fighting Illini 10 10 3 7 30 The Boilermakers began Big Ten play by improving to 3–0 with a hard-earned road win over the Fighting Illini, 38–30. Purdue took a lead it wouldn't relinquish early in the 2nd quarter on a short TD run by Orton, 17–10. Late in the first half with the score 17–13, Orton noticed an oncoming 3rd down Illini blitz and audibled to flip a soft pass over the charging defense to RB Brandon Jones, who had snuck past the blitz. Jones then ran untouched for a 49-yard TD and an 11-point advantage. Illinois would get no closer than 4 points down the rest of the game, as the Illini defense couldn't give their offense a chance to tie until less than a minute remained in the game. On the second play of Illinois' last-chance drive, DE Anthony Spencer forced a fumble on a sack of Illini QB Jon Beutjer that Purdue recovered to essentially end the game. The Purdue offense – especially QB Kyle Orton – continued to excel by rolling up 515 total yards without committing a turnover. Orton threw for 366 yards and 4 TDs (plus the rushing TD). Two of his TD passes came on 3rd down audibles – one of them to his top receiving target WR Taylor Stubblefield, who caught 11 passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns which increased his early season total to 8 TD catches. While Purdue played near-perfect on offense, the young defense encountered its first struggles of the season with an Illinois offense that was able to effectively move via the run and pass for 390 yards. In defeat, Illini RBs E. B. Halsey, Pierre Thomas and Jason Davis combined for 208 yards rushing. It was at this point that Orton began to be mentioned as a top Heisman Trophy candidate. Notre Dame 2004 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team Shillelagh Trophy (Notre Dame–Purdue) #15 Purdue at Notre Dame No. 15 Boilermakers 10 10 21 0 Fighting Irish 3 0 13 0 Saturday, October 2 Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana 2:30 p.m. EST 80,795 NBC Source: ESPN yes 1 10:49 PUR Ben Jones 31-yard field goal PUR 3-0 1 6:30 ND D.J. Fitzpatrick 26-yard field goal Tied 3-3 1 6:16 PUR Jerome Brooks 100-yard kickoff return (Ben Jones kick) PUR 10-3 2 11:24 PUR Ben Jones 39-yard field goal PUR 13-3 2 1:03 PUR Rob Ninkovich 2-yard pass from Kyle Orton (Ben Jones kick) PUR 20-3 3 11:51 PUR Taylor Stubblefield 97-yard pass from Kyle Orton (Ben Jones kick) PUR 27-3 3 8:54 ND Rhema McKnight 40-yard pass from Brady Quinn (D.J. Fitzpatrick kick) PUR 27-10 3 6:40 PUR Kyle Ingraham 9-yard pass from Kyle Orton (Ben Jones kick) PUR 34-10 3 4:17 ND Rashaun Powers-Neal 1-yard run (pass failed) PUR 34-16 3 0:45 PUR Taylor Stubblefield 12-yard pass from Kyle Orton (Ben Jones kick) PUR 41-16 yes With another outstanding performance from QB Kyle Orton, the Boilermakers improved to 4–0 with a surprisingly decisive 41–16 victory over 3–1 Notre Dame. This was the program's first win in South Bend since 1974 (in 13 tries). After both teams' first drives ended in field goals, the game began to turn when Purdue kick returner Jerome Brooks returned an Irish kickoff 100 yards for a TD and a 10–3 lead. Later in the 2nd quarter with Purdue holding a 13–3 lead and the Irish threatening to score, Purdue took control when DE Anthony Spencer forced a fumble from freshman RB Darius Walker that Purdue recovered. Orton then led the Purdue offense 97 yards on a drive that culminated in a short TD toss to DE-turned-TE Rob Ninkovich, for a 20–3 halftime lead. Early in the 3rd quarter, after a Notre Dame punt pinned Purdue at their 3-yard line, WR Taylor Stubblefield beat tight man coverage to catch a 97-yard TD pass for a backbreaking score and 27–3 lead. The teams exchanged touchdowns for the rest of the 3rd quarter before a scoreless 4th quarter. If not points, the Irish certainly rolled up yards (536) on the Purdue defense, as Quinn threw for a then-career-high 432 yards. But some timely stops (including 7 sacks) by the Purdue defense, the untimely Walker fumble, and the defense's inability to stop Orton and the Purdue offense proved too much to overcome. Meanwhile, Orton completed 21 of 31 passes for 385 yards and 4 touchdowns; two of his TD throws were to Stubblefield in a 7 catch, 181 yard performance. It was at this point in the season that Kyle Orton was considered a Heisman Trophy front-runner, as he had 17 TD passes and no interceptions. In fact, the Purdue offense still had yet to commit their first turnover of the season! Penn State 2004 Penn State Nittany Lions football team Boilermakers 3 7 7 3 20 Nittany Lions 0 10 3 0 13 Purdue improved to 5–0 for the first time since 1945 by overcoming a fired-up Penn State team in a 20–13 win, their first ever in Happy Valley in what was the very first "Penn State Whiteout". Purdue gained an early 10–0 advantage with a 50-yard FG by Ben Jones followed by a short Brandon Jones TD run. The key play of the TD drive was a 55-yard completion to TE Charles Davis. But Senior QB Zack Mills, who had a fine day, led PSU back to tie the game at the half. First, they answered Purdue's TD drive with a TD of their own – a 37-yard TD pass to a diving WR Terrell Golden. Then, the Nittany Lions capped their next drive with a FG by K Robbie Gould. Purdue took a 17–10 lead on their first drive of the 2nd half with a 40-yard TD pass from Kyle Orton to Taylor Stubblefield. The Nittany Lions later drove deep into Purdue territory but had to settle for a short FG and still trailed 17–13 after 3 quarters. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Orton (and Purdue) committed their first turnover of the season with a Calvin Lowry interception. But PSU came up empty when Zack Mills was tackled short of the first down on a fake FG attempt. After a second Orton interception resulted in a missed PSU field goal, Purdue embarked on a gritty, time-consuming drive that ended with a long Ben Jones FG to regain a 7-point lead with less than 3 minutes left. The drive was kept alive with a terrific individual effort by freshman WR Dorien Bryant on a 3rd and long play. Rodney Kinlaw gave the Lions a great opportunity to tie on the ensuing kickoff with a 64-yard return, but Mills and the PSU offense came up empty with 4 incomplete passes. Finally, on the last play, QB Anthony Morelli's desperation pass also fell incomplete. In what became the 2004 theme for PSU, their defense endured against the high-powered Purdue offense by limiting it to 348 yards and sacking Orton 3 times. The young Purdue defense held up well against the run by limiting PSU to 18 yards on 17 carries, and put a good pass-rush on Mills by sacking him 3 times. In addition to catching his 11th TD pass of the season, Taylor Stubblefield set the Big Ten record for catches, surpassing former teammate John Standeford. Wisconsin 2004 Wisconsin Badgers football team Badgers 0 7 0 13 20 Boilermakers 0 0 7 10 17 In a wild game between two ranked opponents in West Lafayette, the Badgers handed #5 Purdue its first loss of the season. In the 4th Quarter Boilermaker QB Kyle Orton fumbled the ball and Badger DB Scott Starks returned the fumble for the go-ahead score. Within Purdue football fandom, this play is sometimes referred to as "The Fumble". With the crushing loss, Purdue fell to 5–1 on the season. Michigan 2004 Michigan Wolverines football team Wolverines 7 3 3 3 16 Boilermakers 7 0 7 0 14 The 2-point loss to Michigan at home was the 2nd in a row for the Boilermakers. Northwestern Boilermakers 10 0 0 0 10 Wildcats 7 0 0 6 13 Purdue fell to 5–3 on the season with a 3rd consecutive loss. Iowa 2004 Iowa Hawkeyes football team Boilermakers 0 7 7 7 21 Hawkeyes 17 0 0 6 23 With the loss, their fourth in a row, the Boilermakers fell to 5–4 on the season. Ohio State 2004 Ohio State Buckeyes football team Buckeyes 3 0 7 7 17 Boilermakers 3 14 0 7 24 Purdue snapped their losing streak to the Buckeyes and their overall 4-game losing streak with a 24–17 win in West Lafayette, improving to 6–4 on the year. The Purdue win made it impossible for the Buckeyes to finish with a winning conference record in 2004. Indiana Old Oaken Bucket Indiana 3 7 7 7 Purdue 21 21 7 14 November 20 Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN 12:00 p.m. EST yes Q1 PUR Ingraham 52 yard pass from Orton (Jones kick) PUR 7–0 Q1 IND Robertson 31 yard field goal PUR 7–3 Q1 PUR Stubblefield 23 yard pass from Orton (Jones kick) PUR 14–3 Q1 PUR Jones 4 yard run (Jones kick) PUR 21–3 Q2 IND Lumpkin 74 yard fumble return (Robertson kick) PUR 21–10 Q2 PUR Bryant 21 yard pass from Orton (Jones kick) PUR 28–10 Q2 PUR Stubblefield 17 yard pass from Orton (Jones kick) PUR 35–10 Q2 PUR Ingraham 26 yard pass from Orton (Jones kick) PUR 42–10 Q3 PUR Stubblefield 12 yard pass from Orton (Jones kick) PUR 49–10 Q3 IND Taylor 22 yard run (Robertson kick) PUR 49–17 Q4 PUR Bryant 62 yard run (Jones kick) PUR 56–17 Q4 PUR Davis 61 yard pass from Kirsch (Jones kick) PUR 63–17 Q4 IND Roby 19 yard pass from LoVecchio (Robertson kick) PUR 63–24 yes With the win (in the highest scoring game in series history), the Boilermakers finished 4–4 in Big Ten conference play. Purdue extended their home winning streak over the Hoosiers to 4 games (their last loss to the Hoosiers in Ross–Ade Stadium coming in the 1996 season). Joe Tiller and the Boilermakers finished the regular season with a 7–4 record. Arizona State 2004 Sun Bowl 2004 Arizona State Sun Devils football team Sun Devils 3 0 7 17 27 Boilermakers 0 2 7 14 23 Roster 2004 Purdue Boilermakers y 2 Ray Williams WR JR 3 Garret Bushong TE SO 3 Jason Renn QB FR y 4 Fabian Martin WR FR 6 Desmond Tardy WR FR 9 Dorien Bryant WR FR y 11 Brandon Kirsch QB JR y 14 Scott Carroll QB FR y y 15 Bruce Gordon WR JR 16 David Ramirez QB FR 17 Curtis Painter QB FR y 18 Kyle Orton QB SR y 19 Brandon Whittington WR FR 20 Andre Chattams WR SO 21 Taylor Stubblefield WR SR y y C 22 Jerome Brooks RB SO y 23 Kevin Noel WR SR 25 Jake Standeford WR FR y 26 Chris Haslon RB FR 27 Brandon Jones RB JR y 28 Dustin Keller TE FR y 46 Matthew Kern TE FR y 40 Kory Sheets RB FR y 42 Anthony Heygood RB FR y 43 Jeff Bennett TE JR y 50 Tyler Moore G SR y 51 Garret Miller T FR 53 Nick Fincher G FR y 56 Matt Turner G C JR y 60 Zach Smith T FR 63 David Owen T SR y 64 Danny May G SR y 65 Mike Otto T SO y y Mike Otto (American football) 66 Jordan Grimes G FR 67 Uche Nwaneri G SO y y 68 Robbie Powell C FR y 70 Pat Oxley T FR y 74 Sean Sester T FR 75 Brian Wang T JR y 76 Willie Bach G SR y 77 Ryan Noblet T FR y 80 Brandon Hare WR JR 83 Jake Cunningham WR FR y 84 Byron Williams WR FR y 86 Chase Lecklider WR SO y 87 Charles Davis TE JR y y Charles Davis (tight end) 89 Kyle Ingraham WR SO 90 Ryan Baker TE FR y 96 Nick Raben TE SO y 5 Zach Logan CB FR 7 Kyle Smith SS JR y 8 Grant Walker FS FR y 10 Ray Edwards DE SO y Ray Edwards (American football) 12 Antwaun Rogers CB SR y C 13 Torri Williams S FR y 17 Josh Ferguson LB FR y 19 Christian Graham SS FR 22 Delos Bhatti LB FR 24 Sean Petty CB JR y 25 Paul Long FS SO y 26 Lance Melvin FS FR 30 George Hall LB SO y y George Hall (American football) 31 Bernard Pollard SS SO y 33 Brian Hickman CB JR y 34 Jimmy Ladd LB FR 36 Dan Bick LB FR 37 Rafael Price FS FR y 38 Brian Mattaway SS SO y 39 Bobby Iwuchukwu LB JR y 41 John Lampert LB SO y 44 Jon Goldsberry LB SR y y C 45 Eugene Bright DE FR y y 46 Luis Vasquez Luis Vasquez (linebacker) LB FR y 47 Paul Dubler CB JR 48 Pat Kohtz SS SO y 49 Anthony Spencer DE SO y y Anthony Spencer (American football) 52 Mike Durrett LB FR y 54 Adam Huebner DE SO y 55 Brandon Villarreal DT JR y 57 Jeremy Coley DE JR 58 Brent Grover DT JR y 59 Stanford Keglar LB FR y y 69 Neal Tull DT FR y 81 Al Royal LB SO y 85 Cliff Avril LB FR y 88 Drew Rucks LB SO 91 Nick Cavallo DE SO y 92 Josh O'Brien DT FR y 93 Rob Ninkovich DE JR y 97 Jamaal Jones DT FR 98 Dan McGowen DT SO y 99 Jonathan Patton DT FR 16 Dave Brytus P K FR 29 Aaron Levin P K SR y 35 Ben Jones K JR y 36 Casey Welch K SO y 72 Chris Mattson LS FR y http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pur/sports/m-footbl/04-media-guide/04mg-2.pdf November 21, 2016 Joe Tiller Jim Chaney (offensive coordinator / tight ends) Brock Spack (defensive coordinator / linebackers) Gary Emanuel (assistant head coach / defensive ends) Lou Anarumo (defensive backs) Blaine Bennett (quarterbacks) Bob DeBesse (wide receivers / recruiting coordinator) Mark Hagen (defensive tackles / special teams) Bill Legg (offensive line) David Mitchell (running backs) Chris Clopton (offensive graduate assistant) Burt Thornton (defensive graduate assistant) Don Coller (Director of football operations) Jim Lathrop (strength and conditioning coordinator) 2005 NFL draft Player Position Round Pick NFL club Kyle Orton Quarterback 4 106 Chicago Bears References Purdue Category:Purdue Boilermakers football seasons Purdue Boilermakers football