Central Michigan 38, Purdue 17
Chippewas top Purdue, move to 2-0 on season
CMU Sophomore Joe Bacci catches a pass and runs the ball past the Purdue defense Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. | Photo by Meagan Dullack, Photo Editor
WEST LAFAYETTE-- Following a change of quarterbacks and a score to cut the lead to 14, Purdue had the ball with 5:12 to go and a chance to avoid the upset.
CMU senior defensive nose tackle Leterrius Walton swatted away Purdue quarterback Austin Appleby's fourth-down pass and ultimately the Boilermakers' last-ditch effort.
Walton's clutch play led to the put-away Chippewas score and an eventual 38-17 victory for the Central Michigan University football team Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.
The win moves CMU to 2-0 on the season for the first time since 2002 and marked the largest margin of victory by the Chippewas over a Big Ten school in program history.
"I've coached in this conference before and wins here are never easy to get. Make no mistake about it," head coach Dan Enos said. "This was hard. We were a lot looser today than we were last week. Our fast start really helped us."
Unlike CMU’s 20-16 come-from-behined victory over Chattanooga, the Chippewas darted out to a quick lead against the Boilermakers.
Less than five minutes into the game, junior Brandon Greer jumped in front of a floating pass from PU starting quarterback Danny Etling and took the ball 57 yards in the other direction for a touchdown.
“Once I saw the route, I broke on it," Greer said. "Taking it back to the house was a bonus. My first thought was scoring. In the back of my head I'm thinking, ‘don’t get caught, I’ve got to score and let it carry over to the team.’”
CMU outgained the Purdue offense by just 13 yards despite the 21-point victory.
Senior running back Thomas Rawls ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries after touching the ball just three times in the first quarter.
“I felt like the game was on me," Rawls said. "I want that pressure. It excites me and boosts me to run even harder. The coaching staff put their trust in me.”
Despite the absence of senior wide receiver Titus Davis (knee), sophomore Cooper Rush had arguably the best start of his college career against the Boilermakers passing 11-for-16 for 172 yards and two touchdowns.
"We have a lot of guys that can make plays on this team," Rush said. "I think you saw that today. It felt good."
Enos said he will give the Chippewas 24 hours to relish in the victory against Purdue before he requires the men to shift their focus to CMU's Week 3 hosting of Syracuse next Saturday afternoon at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
"I would like to say we are building on some of the momentum of the last few games last year," Enos said. "But our focus was our biggest thing today. This feels good for now, but we need to keep our eye on the goal."
Kickoff against Syracuse is set for 12 p.m.
