Quick Count: Purdue 45, Eastern Kentucky 24
Following are observations following Purdue's victory:
• Purdue's defense played well in the first, third and fourth quarters, getting three turnovers in the first 15 minutes to help the Boilermakers two of their first three touchdowns. One of them was a 78-yard interception return by Gelen Robinson, who perfectly played a halfback pass, to come up with the pick six.
In the third, the Colonels, who trailed by only 10, had just 43 yards of offense (seven passing). They weren't much better in the fourth. EKU had only 114 yards in the second half.
And EKU's only second-half points came late in the fourth, after Purdue had expanded the lead to a game-high 27.
It was awful in the second, however, when the Boilermakers allowed 178 total yards, assisting in the EKU rally.
• Good thing Purdue has Markell Jones.
The sophomore back was as good as could be hoped, going for 145 on a career-high tying 24 carries. And he had a big workload too, with 28 total touches.
Was a bit of a scare in the fourth, when he came out with some of injury, perhaps a hand. Hard to tell.
• David Blough was up-and-down, throwing a nice touchdown pass to DeAngelo Yancey in the first half, following a third-down dart to Cameron Posey that set it up. But at other times, the sophomore was a bit scatter-armed, and he finished 25-of-43 for 245 with a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed for two short touchdowns.
Didn't help that the Boilermakers couldn't always hold on to the ball: Domo Young, who had a solid game otherwise, had two drops, as did Greg Phillips.
• A clean game, good to see for a first Saturday. Only one penalty on Purdue, an illegal substitution when it had an extra player on the field. Another was offset with an EKU foul.
• Purdue played without projected defensive starters Austin Larkin (left leg) and Da'Wan Hunte (ankle).
Robinson started in Larkin's spot, while Tim Cason got his first career start, in place of Hunte.
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