Purdue Football: Freshmen lead the way to first Big Ten victory
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No Elijah Sindelar. No Rondale Moore. No problems for the Purdue offense on Saturday.
For the first time since the injuries to those two Purdue stars, the Boilermakers offense had a productive day, beating Maryland, 40-14. With the win, Purdue moves to 2-4 on the season and 1-2 in the Big Ten.
“I think today we came out and played one of our better games,” Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said. “We played a little freer and looser. Our guys competed hard and I was proud of the performance.”
The Boilermakers jumped out to an early lead, something they hadn’t done through the first two games of the Big Ten schedule, courtesy of a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jack Plummer to David Bell less than 5 minutes into the game. On the next drive, a King Doerue 4-yard rushing touchdown gave Purdue a 13-0 lead.
Freshman led the way for Purdue, accounting for all five touchdowns. The youth movement has begun.
“I think we’ve got some good young talent,” Brohm said. “Those guys are up due to our situation and we just want to see them continue to grow and improve.”
In his fourth game for Purdue this season, Plummer had his most productive game, completing 33 of 41 passes for 420 yards. He had a career-high 3 touchdowns passes.
“He executed,” Brohm said. “He threw some accurate footballs, he took care of the ball, was a good leader, and had more poise in the pocket.”
Bell, another freshman, had his best game of the season as well. The early touchdown was just the beginning for him in a day where he caught nine passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Doerue completed the productive day from the trio of freshman starters with 97 total yards and one touchdown.
Backup wide receiver Milton Wright, also a freshman, reeled in a 59-yard touchdown from Plummer as well.
Those four added to the Boilermakers accumulated a total of 547 yards on the day, their most in one game this season.
Something that Brohm touched on throughout the week was the importance of getting the tight ends involved. He followed through on that on Saturday. Brycen Hopkins, the team’s No. 1 tight end, led the Boilers in receptions with a career-high 10 and ended the game with his career-high in yards with 140.
“It was good to get Brycen back on track,” Brohm said. “He did a good job of getting open. He came through today.”
It wasn’t all about the offense though for Purdue on Saturday. The defense picked up where it left off in the second half against Penn State last weekend. Purdue held Maryland scoreless for three of the four quarters, giving up all 14 points in the second quarter.
The fifth touchdown on the day from freshmen was courtesy of a 37-yard interception return by Cory Trice, a guy that Brohm had high hopes for coming into the game. Trice added another interception in the third quarter, the first multi-interception game for a Purdue player since Markus Bailey in 2016.
“He (Trice) competes and he challenges things,” Brohm said. “I’m very proud of him and it’s a credit to the work he’s put in.”
Next up: Purdue travels to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes next Saturday. The game starts at Noon ET and will be televised on ESPN2.
