Wisconsin Badgers
7-2 , 4-1
Purdue
3-7 , 1-5
Badgers derail Boilermakers in 34-16 road victory
November 08, 2014 | Football
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Nov. 8, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Joel Stave threw two touchdown passes and Melvin Gordon ran for 205 yards Saturday as No. 25 Wisconsin rolled past Purdue 34-16.
The Badgers (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) have won four straight overall and remained in a three-way tie atop the West Division. Wisconsin has won nine straight in the series and still hasn't lost at Purdue since 1997. The Boilermakers (3-7, 1-5) lost their fourth straight.
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After Gordon ran for Wisconsin's first score, he caught a 27-yard TD pass before Stave closed the half with a 9-yard TD pass to give the Badgers a 24-6 lead.
Purdue closed to 24-16 in the third quarter. But Tanner McEvoy's 13-yard TD run late in the quarter sealed Wisconsin's win.
Gordon, one of the top Heisman candidates, posted his third 200-yard game of the season and finished with 249 yards of total offense.
Stave, who hadn't thrown a pass in Wisconsin's first four games, was brilliant early. He went 15 of 19 for 190 yards with two touchdown passes in just two quarters.
Even more impressive was the way he used a series of laser-like throws to convert third downs and then followed up with two beautiful touch passes for scores as the Badgers drove into a stiff wind. Stave played so well that coach Gary Andersen scrapped his plan to rotate quarterbacks for a while. Stave wasn't bothered one bit by the chilly, blustery conditions at Ross-Ade Stadium.
"We know that playing in November, the weather is not going to be great, but today really wasn't too bad," Stave said after going 19 of 29 for 219 yards and throwing one interception in the second half.
With Gordon running over and around defenders yet again, that was more than enough.
Wisconsin has won four straight, the last three by 18 or more points, nine straight in the series and six straight in West Lafayette. And though the Badgers still find themselves in a three-way tie atop the West Division, they know that if Stave and Gordon continue playing this way, they could be headed back to Indianapolis next month for another conference championship game.
Their stingy defense was pretty good, too.
It allowed 230 total yards, limited the Boilermakers (3-7, 1-5) to 26 yards rushing on 26 carries, had four sacks, 10 tackles for loss and only one major breakdown - the long TD pass that got Purdue within 24-16.
After that, Appleby was under constant duress. He finished 17 of 37 with 204 yards and the one score.
Things didn't go exactly according to Wisconsin's script either.
Gordon's first score, a 14-yard run, gave Wisconsin a 7-3 lead. His second changed the game.
Gordon caught Stave's lob pass in stride on the sideline and got it into the end zone after hurdling Purdue cornerback Leroy Clark at the goal line. The 27-yard score made it 17-6. Stave closed the half with a brilliant final drive capped by Alex Erickson's 9-yard TD catch in the back of the end zone with 32 seconds to go for a 24-6 halftime lead.
But the Badgers bogged down -- temporarily -- in the second half.
Gordon fumbled on the second offensive play, and Paul Griggs converted it into a 52-yard field goal. The Purdue kicker also made a 53-yarder in the first half, becoming the first player in school history with two field goals of 50 or more yards in one game.
Wisconsin turned it over on downs at the Purdue 16 and three plays later Appleby connected with Hunt on the long TD pass.
The Boilermakers had a chance to get even closer when it appeared Raheem Mostert recovered an onside kick, but the replay overturned the call and Wisconsin clinched the game on Tanner McEvoy's 14-yard TD run with 1:05 left in the third quarter.
It's a combination the Badgers have been waiting all season to see.
"Our balance on offense definitely was a step in the right direction," Andersen said. "We ran the ball well at times, and we threw the ball well at times. That mix was good to see."
Team Stats
WIS 0, PUR 3
PUR - Griggs, Paul 40 yd field goal 14 plays, 58 yards, TOP 6:42
WIS 7, PUR 3
WIS - Gordon, Melvin 14 yd run (Gaglianone, R. kick), 6 plays, 37 yards, TOP 2:06
WIS 7, PUR 6
PUR - Griggs, Paul 53 yd field goal 6 plays, 23 yards, TOP 2:39
WIS 10, PUR 6
WIS - Gaglianone, R. 24 yd field goal 5 plays, 52 yards, TOP 2:40
WIS 17, PUR 6
WIS - Gordon, Melvin 27 yd pass from Stave, Joel (Gaglianone, R. kick) 10 plays, 90 yards, TOP 5:24
WIS 24, PUR 6
WIS - Erickson, Alex 9 yd pass from Stave, Joel (Gaglianone, R. kick) 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:29
WIS 24, PUR 9
PUR - Griggs, Paul 52 yd field goal 4 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:21
WIS 24, PUR 16
PUR - Hunt, Akeem 79 yd pass from Appleby, Austin (Griggs, Paul kick) 3 plays, 84 yards, TOP 1:30
WIS 31, PUR 16
WIS - McEvoy, Tanner 13 yd run (Gaglianone, R. kick), 4 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:27
WIS 34, PUR 16
WIS - Gaglianone, R. 31 yd field goal 13 plays, 45 yards, TOP 7:12
