![]() | |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (Ticker) -- Although Drew Brees failed to throw a touchdown pass, 25th-ranked Purdue utilized its running game and special teams to claim the Old Oaken Bucket with a 30-24 victory over rival Indiana in the Big Ten Conference. Vinny Sutherland returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and Montrell Lowe rushed for 135 yards and a score as Purdue (7-4, 4-4 Big 10) rebounded from its 28-21 loss to Wisconsin two weeks ago. Brees completed 15-of-24 passes for 197 yards, his lowest total of the season, and failed to throw a touchdown pass in a game for only the second time this season. Antwaan Randle El was 22-of-33 for 329 yards and a touchdown and ran for 48 yards and a score. He became Indiana's single-season yardage leader with 3,065. Indiana (4-7, 3-5) had more first downs, 23-19, and more total yards, 446-351, but finished the season with its fourth loss in five games. Purdue improved to 62-34-6 all-time against Indiana. Sutherland provided what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown 28 seconds into the fourth quarter when he fielded a punt at his own 34 and ran up the left sideline for a touchdown. He entered the game ranked No. 13 in the nation with an average of 14.3 yards per punt return. Indiana started on its own 20 and got down to the Purdue 1-yard line, but Levron Williams lost two yards on an option pitch. Purdue was forced to punt on its next possession, and the Hoosiers drove 59 yards to the Purdue 21. But on 4th-and-3, Randle El was sacked by defensive tackle Matt Mitrioni with 1:14 left and Purdue ran out the clock. The Hoosiers took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter as Randle El connected with Derin Graham on a 36-yard scoring strike. But the Boilermakers tied the game less than five minutes later when Lowe fumbled and right guard Chukky Okobi recovered in the end zone. But Indiana regained its seven-point advantage with 3:32 left in the quarter when Randle El ran it in from one yard. After a 54-yard punt by Purdue's Danny Rogers to the Indiana 3, the Boilermakers scored on a safety when defensive back Adrian Beasley tackled a scrambling Randle El in the end zone. Lowe gave Purdue a 17-14 lead in the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown run and Sutherland caught the conversion pass. But the Hoosiers tied the game with 15 seconds left in the half on a 24-yard field goal by Andy Payne. Purdue reclaimed the lead early in the third quarter when Travis Dorsch booted a 41-yard field goal. But De'Wayne Hogan scored on a seven-yard run with just over five minutes remaining in the quarter to give Indiana a 24-20 lead. Dorsch's second field goal of the period, a 19-yarder, cut the deficit to 24-23.
|