Purdue played thirteen games in the 2006 season, finishing with an 8–6 record and a loss in the 2006 Champs Sports Bowl to Maryland.

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.

Wide receivers Offensive line Tight ends Fullbacks Quarterbacks Running backs Defensive line Linebackers Defensive backs Punters Kickers 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.

Indiana State capped off the scoring with two seconds left in the game when Murphy tossed a touchdown pass to receiver Brian Jackson.

Mike Kokal threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to Jake O'Connell and Dustin Woods for the Redhawks.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Sims scored again on Iowa's first possession of the second half before Greg Orton caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Curtis Painter.

Shonn Greenne scored on a short run and Adam Shada returned an interception of a Curtis Painter pass 98 yards for a touchdown.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Purdue closed out the 2006 season by competing in their ninth bowl game under head coach Joe Tiller.

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.

Offensive Linemen Uche Nwaneri and Mike Otto were also drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, respectively.