Kenny Thompson

With a few exceptions, expectations have never been high for Purdue football in my lifetime. Last season’s 1-11 record dropped the program’s winning percentage to .513. That’s still better than Big Ten peers Indiana (.422), Northwestern (.447), Rutgers (.492) and Illinois (.505) but nothing to brag about. Purdue’s eight Big Ten championships match Northwestern for…

Barry Odom was born to be a football player. Coaching became his destiny. In Oklahoma, there’s two things that matter. Oil and football. Growing up in Maysville, Odom watched the Sooners win a national championship in 1985. “The Oklahoma Sooners were in the heyday of (Barry) Switzer winning national championships or competing every year,” the…

An underrated aspect of Joe Tiller’s coaching prowess was his ability to shift players into positions that not only would help Purdue football win games but also prepare them in some cases for NFL careers. That trait shows up in this week’s countdown of the best Boilermakers by number. Of the five Tiller players on…

Three of the best running backs in Purdue history and a first-round NFL Draft pick head this week’s edition of the best Boilermakers by number. 41 William “Dutch” Fehring Fehring was one of the greatest athletes in Purdue history. One of only two athletes in school history to earn nine letters (three each in football,…

From 1887 to 1928, Purdue football did not have a single player earn All-America recognition. That drought ended in 1929 with not one but two All-Americans helping the Boilermakers go undefeated and win the school’s second Big Ten Conference championship. Those two All-Americans, plus Purdue’s all-time rushing leader, head this week’s edition of the best…

The Cradle of Quarterbacks takes the spotlight in this week’s countdown of the best players to wear a Purdue football uniform. Purdue’s quarterback history is so rich that one number is shared by a future Pro Football Hall of Fame member and a College Football Hall of Fame selection. 11 Jim Everett Believe it or…

Already picked to finish dead last again in the Big Ten Conference by one national publication, the Purdue football program hasn’t always been in dire straits. When I began researching this upcoming series of columns highlighting the best Boilermakers by uniform numbers, I was surprised to find that almost half of the first 11 players…

The days of Purdue athletics being described as “cheap” are over. Athletic director Mike Bobinski, university president Mung Chiang and the Purdue University Board of Trustees, whether willingly or figuratively kicking and screaming, really had no choice to be part of the revenue sharing agreement that is a major part of the House vs. NCAA…

The Indiana Pacers may be playing for the organization’s first NBA championship this month but there are those of us old enough to remember when Indianapolis was title town in the early 1970s. Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, Freddie Lewis and former Purdue star Billy Keller played on three ABA championship teams back in the days…