‘Today was my Day’: Milton Wright Scores 3 Times in Purdue's 32-14 Win Over Northwestern
CHICAGO — Time and time again, Purdue wide receiver Milton Wright found himself racing down the left sideline with an open field in front of him. Northwestern paid heavy attention to star pass-catcher David Bell, and Wright had several one-on-one matchups.
Wright executed all afternoon, catching eight passes to set a career-high 213 receiving yards while posting three touchdowns to lead the Boilermakers to a 32-14 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday at Wrigley Field.
Purdue football improved to 7-4 with one game left to play during the regular season.
“It was a great day for the offense. We like to preach execution and everyone understanding what the standard is in our room,” Wright said after the game. “I feel like I needed to step up and execute our standard. On the stat sheet, it looks crazy. For me, honestly it’s a great day, but we want more. We want more, that’s all it is.”
Before Wright took over the game, the Boilermakers managed 187 yards of total offense in their first three drives but scored just six points in that span. They were plagued by six penalties that set them back 65 yards in the first two quarters.
Graduate transfer kicker Mitchell Fineran missed a field goal attempt from 37 yards out on the team’s opening possession, and Purdue went three-and-out on its subsequent drive.
Northwestern had a chance to take the first lead of the game late in the first quarter, putting together a seven-play, 37-yard drive to put itself in scoring position. When kicker Charlie Kuhbander took the field for the Wildcats, his attempt was blocked by the Boilermakers’ junior defensive end George Karlaftis.
With momentum on its side, Purdue went on back-to-back drives that reached the red zone. The offense was unable to cross the goal line, so Fineran took the field and connected on two short field-goal attempts to make it a 6-0 game in the second quarter.
Purdue fifth-year senior Aidan O’Connell later found Wright streaking down the left sideline and fired a perfect pass that ended in a 53-yard touchdown, their first scoring connection of the game. The Boilermakers jumped to a 13-0 lead with 1:45 left before halftime.
Northwestern went 76 yards in nine plays and scored on a four-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Marshall Lang before the end of the half. The two teams went into their respective locker rooms with Purdue clinging to a 13-7 lead.
“I feel like we were just not tackling strong enough,” Purdue senior linebacker Jaylan Alexander said. “We weren’t being physical and wrapping up. When you’re not physical or wrapping up, they’re going to get extra yards and they’re going to keep moving the ball down the field.”
The Boilermakers began the third quarter exactly where it left off, with O’Connell finding Wright once again on the left side for a 17-yard score. The Wildcats responded with a touchdown of their own, but the goal-line score by sophomore running back Evan Hull would be their only points of the second half.
Purdue went on to score on all but one of its third and fourth-quarter drives. Wright caught his third and final touchdown on a 45-yard pass from O’Connell with 3:25 left in the third quarter. He also caught a 50-yard pass to set up another field goal on the team’s following possession.
Easy as 1-2-3 for Milton Wright! @MW_Agent0 // @BoilerFootball pic.twitter.com/m3Hb09qCOs
— Purdue On BTN (@PurdueOnBTN) November 20, 2021
O’Connell finished the game with 29 completions on 39 attempts for 423 yards and three scores. Junior wide receiver David Bell led the team with 12 catches and added 101 yards to complement Wright’s stellar performance.
Purdue recorded 473 yards of total offense without turning the ball over. The team will continue to expand its offense thanks to the success of its passing game.
“It’s going to open up so much more. I’m excited to see what my brothers do as well,” Wright said. “I like to say some days, it’s David’s day. Some days, it’s Jackson Anthrop’s day. Some days, it’s T.J. (Sheffield’s) day.
“Today was my day, and I had to execute. Hopefully in the next game, I get to see my brothers go crazy.”
The team closes the regular season at Ross-Ade Stadium in a matchup with Indiana for the Old Oaken Bucket next Saturday.
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.