Purdue entered 2005 highly ranked and as a dark horse candidate to win the Big 10 before losing six straight and falling to 2–6 after a blowout loss to Penn State. While the Boilermakers finished the 2005 season 5–6, the team closed out the year on a three-game winning streak. Purdue's coaching staff experienced several changes in the off-season. Jim Chaney, the offensive coordinator, left for a position with the St. Louis Rams of the NFL. Bill Legg and Ed Zaunbrecher succeeded Chaney as dual offensive coordinators. The Boilermakers returned seven starters on offense and four on defense. The condition of Ross–Ade Stadium's turf became a major issue in the 2005 season. A permanent sod of Bermuda grass was laid down in the off-season to replace the old turf.
Purdue opened up the 2006 campaign with a win over Division I-AA opponent Indiana State Purdue paid tribute to the 1966 Rose Bowl championship team by wearing throwback jerseys. The Boilermakers dominated the first quarter with touchdown runs by Kory Sheets and Curtis Painter and a safety sandwiched in between the running scores. The Sycamores of Indiana State then got on the board with a touchdown run by quarterback Reilly Murphy. Painter then completed a touchdown pass to Dorien Bryant to close out the first quarter scoring. Indiana St. took advantage of a special teams miscue by Purdue when they returned a punt for a touchdown. Purdue got a field goal from Chris Summers before the blocked punt in the second quarter. Indiana State also scored a rushing touchdown right before halftime. Painter and Sheets both scored rushing touchdowns in the third quarter, while Sycamores running back Tony West scored his second rushing touchdown of the day. Purdue blew open the game in the fourth quarter with three straight touchdowns. Kory Sheets scored his third rushing touchdown and Bryant caught two more TD passes from Painter. Indiana State capped off the scoring with two seconds left in the game when Murphy tossed a touchdown pass to receiver Brian Jackson.
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
Purdue took on the Redhawks in their second home game of the 2006 season. The first quarter ended with neither team scoring any points. Kory Sheets scored on a short touchdown run early in the second quarter. This was followed by a Nathan Parseghian field goal to get Miami on the board. Chris Summers connected from 43 yards out to give Purdue a 10–3 halftime lead. Mike Kokal threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to Jake O'Connell and Dustin Woods for the Redhawks. Sheets added his second rushing touchdown of the game between the Miami scores, as the quarter ended in a 17–17 tie. Kokal threw two more touchdown passes, both to Ryne Robinson, the last coming with around 6 minutes remaining to tie the game at 31–31. Kory Sheets had opened the quarter with his third touchdown run. Curtis Painter tossed a touchdown pass Greg Orton before Robinson's second touchdown. Purdue had a chance to drive for the possible win in the fourth quarter but Painter was intercepted. Miami's last second field goal was blocked by Boilermaker defender Anthony Spencer. In overtime, Kory Sheets scored his fourth touchdown of the game and the Boilers' defense held for the 38–31 victory.
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
In the third game of the season, Purdue took on the Cardinals from Ball State. Ball State opened up the scoring with a touchdown pass from Joey Lynch to Louis Johnson. The Boilermakers responded with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Curtis Painter to tight end Dustin Keller. The Cardinals took a 10–7 lead at the end of the first quarter after a field goal. The only second-quarter scoring came from Purdue as Painter ran for a short touchdown and connected with halfback Kory Sheets on a 3-yard touchdown pass. Purdue extended its lead to 31–13 after three quarters following a touchdown run by Kory Sheets and a Chris Summers field goal. Painter tossed a second TD pass to Sheets in the final quarter before Ball State added two late scores from Brad Salyer and Darius Hill.
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
The Boilermakers kicked off the Big Ten season against the Golden Gophers. Minnesota scored on its very first possession of the game with a 1-yard run from Justin Valentine. Purdue responded in kind with a 39-yard field goal from kicker Chris Summers. The Boilers took a 10–7 halftime lead when Curtis Painter found Dorien Bryant for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Purdue extended its lead to 20–7 in the third quarter with a touchdown run by halfback Jaycen Taylor and another Summers field goal. Minnesota closed the gap to 20–14 heading into the fourth quarter when quarterback Bryan Cupito found tight end Matt Spaeth for a 1-yard touchdown pass. Painter connected with Taylor for a touchdown in the final quarter before Cupito found Logan Payne for his second touchdown pass of the day. The Purdue defense held off the Gophers final drive to preserve the 27–21 victory and move to 4–0.
Purdue traveled to Notre Dame, Indiana, for its first road game of the 2006 season to take on Notre Dame in their annual rivalry. The Irish went right down the field following the opening kickoff and scored on a short run by George West. Purdue answered later in the quarter to tie the game at 7–7 when Kory Sheets ran into the end zone from 7 yards out. Darius Walker put Notre Dame up 14–7 when he scored on a 14-yard run. Purdue fell behind 28–7 following Brady Quinn's 6-yard pass to Rhema McKnight and Jeff Samardzija's 5-yard touchdown run on a fake field goal. The Boilermakers responded right before halftime when Curtis Painter found Selwyn Lymon over the middle for an 88-yard touchdown pass. McKnight caught his second touchdown pass of the afternoon from Quinn for the only scoring in the third quarter. Lymon capped off his 238-yard receiving day with his second touchdown catch of the day midway through the final quarter. The Boilermakers were unable to further score and the Irish retained possession of the Shillelagh Trophy.
The Iowa Hawkeyes welcomed Purdue to Kinnick Stadium one week after losing their much anticipated game against top-ranked Ohio State. Iowa jumped on Purdue early and often, opening up a 14–0 first quarter lead with a touchdown run by Damian Sims and a pass from quarterback Drew Tate to fullback Tom Busch. Kyle Schlicher added two field goals in the second quarter and the Hawkeyes lead 20–3 at halftime. Purdue's only first half scoring came on a 44-yard field goal by freshman Chris Summers. Sims scored again on Iowa's first possession of the second half before Greg Orton caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Curtis Painter. Tate then hit tight end Scott Chandler for a touchdown and Purdue then responded with a Jaycen Taylor touchdown run. The Boilermakers could get no closer as they were shut out in the fourth quarter. Shonn Greenne scored on a short run and Adam Shada returned an interception of a Curtis Painter pass 98 yards for a touchdown.
Purdue broke its two-game losing streak with one of its best defensive efforts of the 2006 season. Brandon Roberson put the Northwestern Wildcats on the scoreboard first with a 7-yard touchdown run. Jaycen Taylor then added his own 7-yard run for a score for the Boilermakers. Curtis Painter connected with Dustin Keller on a 19-yard scoring strike in the opening seconds of the second quarter. Northwestern added a field goal before Purdue answered with an 18-yard kick by Chris Summers to give the Boilermakers a 17–10 halftime lead. Purdue shut out the Wildcats in the second half and held the Northwestern offense to 251 yards for the game. Jake Standeford, younger brother of former standout Purdue receiver John Standeford, caught a 1-yard pass from Painter to put Purdue up by two touchdowns by the end of the third quarter. Painter then scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the final quarter to give Purdue the 31–10 victory.
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
For the first time in the 2006 season, the Boilermakers struggled to produce an effective and consistent offensive effort. The Wisconsin defense held Purdue to a mere 286 total yards for the game and the Purdue passing game was limited to 187 yards by the Badgers. Purdue's only points of the game came on a Chris Summers 47-yard field goal in the first quarter. Wisconsin freshman sensation P. J. Hill, Jr. scored from the one-yard line in the second quarter and Taylor Mehlhaff added a 51-yard field goal a minute before halftime to give the Badgers a 10–3 advantage. Hill scored his second touchdown of the day in the third quarter and finished with 161 yards rushing for the game. Jamal Cooper finished off the scoring in the final quarter with an 8-yard run to give the Badgers the 24–3 victory, their third straight over Purdue.
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
For the first time in the Joe Tiller coaching era at Purdue the Boilermakers were shut out by an opponent. The Penn State defense held Purdue to 240 yards for the game and forced three Boilermaker turnovers. Kevin Kelly kicked a 29-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter to give the Nittany Lions a 6–0 halftime lead. While Purdue's defense kept them in the game, the offense could not capitalize. Tony Hunt ran for 142 yards and scored the only touchdown of the day on a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions won in West Lafayette for the first time since 1999.
The Boilermakers snapped their two-game losing streak with a 17–15 victory over Michigan State. Purdue scored first on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Curtis Painter to Dorien Bryant. The Spartans added two field goals in the second quarter before Purdue took a 14–6 halftime lead on Bryant's second touchdown catch from Painter. The only third quarter scoring was done by the Spartans on a field goal. Michigan State took a 15–14 lead when Drew Stanton threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Williams. Purdue took the lead for good with about five minutes remaining in the game when senior kicker Casey Welch kicked the game-winning 18-yard field goal.
Purdue's defense lining up against Illinois on November 11, 2006
Purdue became bowl-eligible for the first time since the 2004 season with their second consecutive conference road victory. The Boilers had trouble containing the Illinois running game, as Pierre Thomas and Isiah Williams both rushed for over 100 yards for the game. Williams, the Fighting Illini quarterback, scored the game's first touchdown on a 20-yard run. Jason Reda added a 38-yard field goal to give Illinois a 10–0 lead. Kory Sheets scored from 3 yards out to cut the deficit to 3 by the end of the third quarter. Alex Magee recovered a Williams fumble in the end zone for Purdue, as the Boilermakers took the lead for the first time in the game. Reda kicked two second-quarter field goals to give Illinois a 16–14 halftime lead. Rashard Mendenhall extended the Illinois advantage to 23–14 in the third quarter. Curtis Painter then ran 42 yards for a touchdown and hit Dorien Bryant for a 20-yard scoring strike to put the Boilermakers back in the lead. Painter and Bryant both scored in the fourth quarter on runs of 18 and 6 yards, respectively. Thomas added the final score of the game on a 1-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes left in the contest.
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
The annual battle for the Old Oaken Bucket trophy saw the Boilermakers extend their winning streak over Indiana to five games. The first half of the game featured several turnovers by both teams. Purdue managed the only first half touchdown on a 3-yard run by Jaycen Taylor in the first quarter. The Hoosiers responded with a second-quarter field goal to go into halftime down 7–3. In the second half, Greg Orton caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Curtis Painter. Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis ran in a 16-yard touchdown, which was then followed by a short touchdown run by Kory Sheets of Purdue. After another Indiana field goal, Purdue led 21–13 at the close of the third quarter. Hoosier wide receiver James Hardy caught a 7-yard touchdown from Lewis. Indiana then tried to tie the game with a two-point conversion but the Boilermakers defense held. Purdue made the score 28–19 on a 15-yard Dorien Bryant touchdown run with five minutes left in the game. Indiana, which amassed over 500 total offensive yards in the game, began moving the ball steadily until the Purdue defense stopped the Hoosiers on a 4th down and short yardage play. The game features 9 turnovers in total; 5 by Purdue and 4 by Indiana.
For the first time since the 2001 season, Purdue played their final regular-season game against a team other than Indiana. The first half of the game was dominated by Hawai'i. Nate Ilaoa, the Warriors' halfback, scored the first two touchdowns of the game on runs of 4 and 16 yards. Hawai'i added a short field goal with only a few seconds remaining in the second quarter to go up 17–0 at halftime. Purdue's offense cut the deficit to 17–14 after a touchdown pass from Curtis Painter to tight end Dustin Keller and a wide receiver option pass from Desmond Tardy to Kyle Adams. Hawai'i then added a field goal to push their lead back to 6 points at the end of the third quarter. The final quarter featured six touchdowns, three by each school, as Painter and Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan each threw 3 touchdown passes. Painter first found Greg Orton from 28 yards out. Brennan then answered with a pass to Ross Dickerson to give the Warriors the lead again. Painter next found Keller again before putting Purdue up 35–27 after Selywn Lymon caught Painter's fourth touchdown pass of the game. Brennan led Hawai'i back by throwing a touchdown pass to Ryan Grice-Mullen and then hitting him again for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 35–35. After an interception was thrown by Painter, Hawai'i took the lead for good when Brennan found Ian Sample for the winning score. Brennan threw for 434 yards for the game and led the Hawai'i offense to over 650 total yards. Purdue finished the regular season at 8–5.
Purdue closed out the 2006 season by competing in their ninth bowl game under head coach Joe Tiller. Maryland controlled the game from the beginning and Purdue's offense only managed to score once in a 24–7 defeat. Maryland quarterback Sam Hollenbach put the Terrapins ahead 7–0 after the first of two touchdown passes on the day, this one to Joey Haynos. Maryland opened up a 14–0 lead after a 1-yard run by Cory Jackson. Hollenbach then threw his second touchdown pass, a 46-yard strike to Darrius Heyward-Bey. Purdue narrowed the gap to 21–7 before halftime when Curtis Painter connected with Greg Orton from 12 yards out. Both defenses controlled the second half, with the only scoring being a Maryland field goal. Purdue was out gained 429–285 and was a −2 in the turnover margin.[2]
The Big Ten coaches and media selected Anthony Spencer to the first team all-conference squad. Wide receiver Dorien Bryant was chosen by the coaches for the second team, while the writers picked Bryant for the first team. Mike Otto was also named by the coaches to second team offensive squad.
