Led by third-year head coach Leon Burtnett, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 6–3 in conference play, tying for second place in the Big Ten.
Purdue was invited to the Peach Bowl, where the Boilermakers lost to Virginia.
The team played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Boilermakers defeated Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Michigan in the same season for the first and only time in college football history.
Iowa won in West Lafayette for the first time since 1956, snapping a 12-game losing skid at Ross–Ade Stadium.