Oct 26, 2002
Purdue-Northwestern Game Statistics in PDF Format
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By DAVE CARPENTER
Associated Press Writer
EVANSTON, Ill. - Brandon Jones and Joey Harris ran for more than 100 yards apiece as Purdue totaled 407 on the ground Saturday and beat Northwestern 42-13 for its first road victory in more than a year.
The Boilermakers enjoyed their most productive running day since 1994, and the Northwestern defense had a big role in that. The Wildcats entered the game ranked last against the run among the nation's 117 Division 1-A teams.
Jones rushed for a career-best 165 yards on 20 carries, and Harris gained another 132 yards on 27 attempts and scored twice. Jerod Void also ran for two touchdowns, and freshman quarterback Brandon Kirsch threw for two as Purdue (4-5, 2-3 Big Ten) piled up 551 yards of total offense while snapping a three-game losing streak.
Northwestern (2-7, 0-5) lost its fifth straight game and 10th in a row in the conference. It gave up more than 40 points for the third week in a row and fifth time this year.
Purdue came in with something to prove after losing its five games by just 22 points combined, and it dominated Northwestern from the beginning.
The Boilermakers, with Kirsch making just his second start, stayed mostly on the ground in scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions.
Harris took a pitch and zigzagged 13 yards for a TD on the Boilermakers' opening 74-yard drive. Void bulled in from 2 yards out less than two minutes later following Stuart Schweigert's school-record 13th interception.
John Standeford made it 21-0 on the first play of the second quarter, jumping to catch Kirsch's 39-yard scoring pass at the goal line.
Northwestern recovered two fumbles in Purdue territory on the Boilermakers' next two drives, converting the first into a 1-yard TD run by Jason Wright. The Wildcats also stopped Purdue on 4th-and-goal from the 1 late in the first half to stay within two touchdowns.
But Purdue retook the momentum when Harris went 2 yards to finish off a 64-yard scoring march with 5:50 left in the third period. Kirsch connected with Jones on a 38-yard TD pass, and Void ran in from 4 yards out in the fourth quarter before Northwestern scored on Tony Stauss' 4-yard pass to Brandon Horn.