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Oct 18, 2003
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By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
MADISON, Wis. - Purdue coach Joe Tiller returned the pass to the Boilermakers' playbook in a big way Saturday.
"This is why I came to Purdue, to have the games in my hands and throw the ball 55, 60 times a game," junior quarterback Kyle Orton said after the 13th-ranked Boilermakers beat No. 14 Wisconsin 26-23.
After getting into the end zone on their first two possessions, Purdue (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) settled for four field goals from Ben Jones, including the winning 18-yarder with 3 seconds left.
The Boilermakers served notice that the passing attack that defined the Drew Brees era is back.
Orton completed 38 of 55 passes for 411 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Taylor Stubblefield and John Standeford combined for 30 receptions and 314 yards.
"It felt like a new offense," Stubblefield said. "We've been having success running the ball. Today it became the receivers' turn and we delivered."
 Kyle Orton gets past Wisconsin's Robert Brooks in the second half.  | |
Stubblefield had 16 catches for 130 yards and a score, and Standeford caught 14 passes for 184 yards, including a 50-yarder that TV replays showed should have been a 76-yard score had officials not ruled he stepped out of bounds at the Wisconsin 26.
Orton hadn't had this big of numbers since Dec. 21, 2001, when he was 38-for-75 for 419 yards in a loss to Washington State in the Sun Bowl.
And he hadn't completed more than 17 passes or thrown more than 28 in a month.
"We came in here believing we could throw the football," Tiller said. "The last three weeks we controlled the game on the run. They basically took the run away from us."
Tiller said he saw how the Badgers stifled Ohio State's running game a week earlier and adjusted his approach accordingly.
"We planned to throw it early and throw it often. We hoped to tire them out," Tiller said. "We maybe have seen as good as an individual tackle, but never two like that (Anttaj Hawthorne and Jason Jefferson)."
The Badgers (6-2, 3-1) swore they saw it coming.
"We anticipated that would be the type of attack that they would try," Badgers coach Barry Alvarez said.
Still, Wisconsin's coverage was soft as Orton completed his first 15 passes and led the Boilermakers to a quick 14-0 lead.
Tightening up the coverage only opened up the downfield pass like on the winning, 82-yard drive when Orton hit a diving Ray Williams for 36 yards to the Badgers 3 one play after converting a third-and-10 pass at midfield.
 | We planned to throw it early and throw it often. We hoped to tire them out. Head coach Joe Tiller |
The Badgers had tied it at 23 on Jim Leonhard's 63-yard punt return with 2:55 remaining and covered the kickoff at the 17.
"The defense had the momentum the whole second half," Leonhard said. "And after that punt return, I really thought we were going to make that stop."
For the second straight week, backup quarterback Matt Schabert had to replace an injured Jim Sorgi for the Badgers, who upset the defending national champions last week on Schabert's late TD pass.
There would be no such heroics this time.
Schabert was sacked on his first two dropbacks and Wisconsin's offense scored just one field goal on six possessions with him under center.
Anthony Davis, who had missed three of the last four games with an injured ankle, carried 18 times for 96 yards and a 28-yard score that made it 14-7.
But he fumbled at the Boilermakers 29 with 5:49 left and the Badgers trailing 23-16. Shaun Phillips, who had 3? sacks, recovered for Purdue.
Orton was 26-of-31 in the first half for 216 yards. Of his five incompletions, two were drops, one was a deep pass that went off the receivers' fingertips, one was a throwaway on a failed flea flicker and one was broken up.
But Orton also had a fumble that kept Wisconsin close.
Linebacker Alex Lewis, who had a career-best five sacks, wrapped up Orton and the ball popped into the hands of linebacker Jeff Mack, who rumbled 55 yards for the score to pull the Badgers to 14-13.
Allen clanked the extra point off the left upright, however.
On the first play from scrimmage, Sorgi's long pass was picked off by Jacques Reeves and Orton then completed five passes for 56 yards on a 59-yard drive capped by Jerod Void's 2-yard run.
Sorgi fumbled on the next drive and Bernard Pollard recovered for Purdue. Orton completed all six of his passes for 54 yards with the payoff coming on a 6-yard toss to Stubblefield to make it 14-0.
Although the Boilermakers couldn't get in the end zone again, the damage was done.
"In the beginning, I guess our heads were kind of spinning around a bit as much as they were throwing it," Badgers cornerback Scott Starks said. "I think it took us a while to get adjusted."
Once they started playing tighter coverage, however, the Boilermakers began burning them downfield.
"We threw the ball 55 times?" Tiller chuckled. "That's shameless."