Purdue Gets Creative With Wild Trick Play to Score vs. Michigan State

With an upset on the mind against No. 3 Michigan State, Purdue dug into its bag of tricks for a wild first-half score.

Halloween might have come and gone, but there's always time for tricks in college football.

Upset-minded teams often need to get creative if they're going to pull off a special win. Facing unbeaten No. 3 Michigan State on Saturday, Purdue wasted little time embracing such an approach.

Already leading 14–7 late in the second quarter, the Boilermakers dug into their bag of tricks to pull a fast one on the Spartans. On second-and-10 at the Michigan State 39, Purdue began the play with what appeared to be a jet sweep to wide receiver Jackson Anthrop. What happened next? Well, take a look:

We feel confident saying it:

This is the wildest B1G play you'll see today. 😲@AnthropJackson // @BoilerFootball pic.twitter.com/LdT54PDKh1

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 6, 2021

That beauty of a play began and ended with Anthrop, who caught the screen pass from Aidan O'Connell after taking the handoff and pitching it back to wide receiver Milton Wright. Wright threw it back to O'Connell, who tossed it to Anthrop with a convoy of offensive linemen in front of him. After displaying patience reading his blocks and good vision to cut across the field, he found the end zone to give Purdue a two-touchdown lead late in the second quarter.

While Michigan State entered the day as one of six remaining undefeated teams, the point spread did not see these teams as being too far apart. The Spartans closed as just 2.5-point favorites despite currently occupying the No. 3 spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, while Purdue is 5–3 and has lost its last two home games.