Purdue takes the belt, 26–23, on the road at Wisconsin.
AP poll, week 9: Purdue No. 13 at Wisconsin No. 14 · No. 1 that week: Michigan State. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Purdue took the belt here, ending Wisconsin’s run of 7 days and 0 defenses (reign #255) and starting reign #256. It lasted 7 days and 0 defenses, until Michigan took it on October 25, 2003.
For Purdue this was its 10th shot at the belt; it had held the belt twice before — and it took it back here.
This is the only time Purdue and Wisconsin have met with the belt on the line.
About this game
On October 18, 2003, Purdue traveled to Wisconsin for a regular season matchup in week 9. Wisconsin led 26-23, but Purdue won the game on the field, taking the belt from the Badgers.
Written by Claude, strictly from this site’s own record of the game — the score and what it meant for the belt. CFBD doesn’t have a box score for games this old, so nothing here is invented beyond what’s verifiably on file.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 14:55 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Jim Sorgi (WIS) pass right side intercepted by Jacques Reeves (PU). Returned for no gain. |
| Q1 12:54 | Purdue | +2 yd | Jerod Void (PU) rushed left side for a 2 yard touchdown. |
| Q1 12:54 | Purdue | +0 yd | Extra point by Ben Jones (PU) is good. |
| Q1 12:20 | Wisconsin | +45 yd | Jim Sorgi (WIS) pass across the middle complete to Lee Evans (WIS) for 45 yards. |
| Q1 11:20 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Badgers fumble by Anthony Davis (WIS), recovered by Bernard Pollard (PU), returned for no gain. |
| Q1 6:30 | Purdue | +6 yd | Kyle Orton (PU) pass right side complete to Taylor Stubblefield (PU) for a 6 yard touchdown. |
| Q1 6:30 | Purdue | +0 yd | Extra point by Ben Jones (PU) is good. |
| Q1 5:31 | Purdue | +40 yd | Kickoff returned by Brandon Williams (WIS) for 40 yards. |
| Q1 5:13 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Extra point by Mike Allen (WIS) is good. |
| Q1 5:13 | Wisconsin | +24 yd | Jim Sorgi (WIS) pass right side complete to Dwayne Smith (WIS) for 24 yards. |
| Q1 5:13 | Wisconsin | +28 yd | Anthony Davis (WIS) rushed left side for a 28 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 13:56 | Purdue | -55 yd | Kyle Orton (PU) pass across the middle intercepted by Jeff Mack (WIS). Returned for a 55 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 4:59 | Purdue | +42 yd | 42 yard field goal by Ben Jones (PU) is good. |
| Q2 2:20 | Wisconsin | +5 yd | Badgers fumble by Owen Daniels (WIS), recovered by Deaunte Ferrell (PU), 5 yard return. |
| Q3 10:21 | Purdue | +20 yd | 20 yard field goal by Ben Jones (PU) is good. |
| Q3 10:16 | Purdue | +23 yd | Kickoff returned by Brandon Williams (WIS) for 23 yards. |
| Q3 9:30 | Wisconsin | +20 yd | Jim Sorgi (WIS) pass left side complete to Lee Evans (WIS) for 20 yards. |
| Q3 3:26 | Purdue | +22 yd | Kyle Orton (PU) pass left side complete to John Standeford (PU) for 22 yards. |
| Q4 9:47 | Wisconsin | +25 yd | 25 yard field goal by Mike Allen (WIS) is good. |
| Q4 11:21 | Wisconsin | +28 yd | Matt Schabert (WIS) pass right side complete to Matt Bernstein (WIS) for 28 yards. |
| Q4 9:36 | Purdue | +50 yd | Kyle Orton (PU) pass right side complete to John Standeford (PU) for 50 yards. |
| Q4 8:20 | Purdue | +26 yd | 26 yard field goal by Ben Jones (PU) is good. |
| Q4 8:15 | Purdue | +38 yd | Kickoff returned by Brandon Williams (WIS) for 38 yards. |
| Q4 7:20 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Badgers fumble by Anthony Davis (WIS), recovered by Shaun Phillips (PU), returned for no gain. |
| Q4 3:10 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Extra point by Mike Allen (WIS) is good. |
| Q4 3:10 | Purdue | +63 yd | Punt by Brent Slaton (PU) returned 63 yards by Jim Leonhard (WIS) for a touchdown. |
| Q4 0:08 | Purdue | +18 yd | 18 yard field goal by Ben Jones (PU) is good. |
| Q4 1:47 | Purdue | +35 yd | Kyle Orton (PU) pass right side complete to Ray Williams (PU) for 35 yards. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 232910275) · This game in the downloadable dataset