Oct. 9, 2004
By DAN LEWERENZ
Associated Press Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Taylor Stubblefield caught a 40-yard touchdown pass and became the Big Ten's career receptions leader as No. 9 Purdue held on to beat Penn State 20-13 on Saturday night.
Stubblefield's 40-yard sprint down the left sideline on the first possession of the second half put the Boilermakers (5-0, 2-0) up 17-10. After that, it was all Purdue could do to hold on to the lead.
Penn State (2-4, 0-3) had a second-and-1 on the Purdue 7, but had to settle for Robbie Gould's 27-yard field goal that made it 17-13.
Purdue's next possession ended when Calvin Lowry intercepted Kyle Orton's pass, Orton's first interception and Purdue's first turnover of the season. That left Hawaii as the only NCAA Division I-A team without a turnover.
A 33-yard pass to Terrance Phillips gave the Nittany Lions a first down on the Purdue 11, but again Penn State couldn't convert. Quarterback Zack Mills ran on a fake field goal on fourth-and-6, but was tackled by Stanford Keglar short of the first down.
Two plays later, Orton threw his second interception, this one to Anwar Phillips. But Gould's 45-yard field-goal try was wide left.
Purdue went up 20-13 when Ben Jones kicked his second field goal, a 46-yarder with 2:48 left.
Rodney Kinlaw's 64-yard kickoff return gave the Nittany Lions a short field, but Mills couldn't complete any of his four passes. Penn State appeared to have a first down when Sean Petty was flagged for pass interference on third down, but the flag was waved off.
After holding the Boilermakers to three-and-out, Penn State had one last chance, but Anthony Morelli's desperation pass fell incomplete.
Stubblefield had seven catches for 63 yards, giving him 271 career catches, including a 3-yarder to break the record. Fellow Boilermaker John Sandeford set the previous record of 266 last year.
Kyle Orton completed 24 of 35 for 275 yards, with two interceptions and one touchdown. He was sacked three times, as many times as he'd been sacked all year.
Zack Mills completed 30 of 48 for 293 yards and one touchdown.
Purdue went up 3-0 in the first quarter on Ben Jones' 50-yard field goal.
Then, with the wide receivers covered - Purdue had just 41 yards passing in the first quarter - Orton went to tight end Charles Davis over the middle to set up Purdue's first touchdown. Defenders bounced off the 6-foot-6, 263-pound Davis, who went 55 yards to set up Purdue's first touchdown. Three plays later, Brandon Jones scored on a 2-yard run to make it 10-0.
Mills threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Golden, who made a diving catch in the end zone to pull within 10-7. It was just the second catch of the season for Golden, and the first touchdown of his career.
Purdue's next drive ended when Ben Jones missed a 51-yard field goal wide left, and the Nittany Lions drove to the Purdue 21 before settling for Gould's 38-yard field goal, tying it at 10 going into halftime.