Sept. 8, 2007
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Curtis Painter tied a school record with six touchdown passes as Purdue defeated Eastern Illinois 52-6 on Saturday.
Painter's touchdown output tied the record set by Drew Brees in 1998 and matched by Kyle Orton in 2004. Painter completed 38-of-49 passes for 348 yards.
Dorien Bryant caught 12 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown for the Boilermakers (2-0).
Eastern Illinois quarterback Cole Stinson completed 15 of 32 passes for 143 yards (1-1). The Panthers were ranked No. 14 in the latest Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) coaches poll.
The game was suspended before the start of the third quarter due to lightning, and it restarted 65 minutes later. It was the first time a Purdue home game had been suspended for that reason since 1989, sports information director Tom Schott said.
Painter connected with Jake Standeford for a 13-yard score to give the Boilermakers a 7-0 lead just 2:30 into the game.
Eastern Illinois' Quinten Ponius muffed the ensuing kickoff, and Purdue's Byron Williams recovered at the Panthers' 26. Purdue kicker Chris Summers' 39-yard field goal made it 10-0 Purdue with 10:44 left in the first quarter before Eastern Illinois even ran an offensive play.
The Panthers came back to score on their first offensive possession. A 24-yard field goal by Tyler Wilke cut Purdue's lead to 10-3.
Purdue came right back with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Painter to Greg Orton to give Purdue a 17-3 lead with 3:10 left in the opening quarter.
Painter found tight end Dustin Keller for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 9:34 left in the second quarter. Keller caught a pass near the sideline, stepped backward and sideways to avoid a tackle, then got a crushing block by Standeford to help him get to the end zone.
Painter found Keller again for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 3:09 left in the second quarter to give Purdue a 31-3 halftime lead. Painter threw for 246 yards and four touchdowns in the first half.
After connecting with Bryant for a 10-yard score in the third quarter, Painter's final touchdown pass was a 1-yarder to tight end Jerry Wasikowski with 12:57 left in the game.