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Nebraska Penalties Aid In Purdue's Second Victory Of The Season

Casey Abbett
/
WBAA

The Purdue Boilermakers traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska Saturday to try to double their win total on the year. Their opponent, Nebraska, had not won a game since they beat the Boilermakers 25-24 last year.

The Cornhuskers did themselves no favors trying to secure their first win on the season. They are one of the most penalized teams in the country, averaging 10 a game. On this day they had 11 for 136 yards, many coming on crucial plays -- plays that ultimately made the difference in a 42-28 Purdue victory.

The lone stars for Nebraska were running back Devine Ozigbo, who rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns and QB Adrian Martinez, who threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns of his own.

Purdue on the other hand is clicking on all cylinders. 5th year QB David Blough was 25 of 42 passing for 328 yards, tallying one rushing and one passing touchdown. True freshmen wide receiver Rondale Moore, who leads the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards on the year and is 5th in the nation in all-purpose yards per game with 183 on average, caught another eight balls for 85 yards.

Despite their 2-4 record, the Boilermakers lead the nation in "big plays" (those longer than 30 yards). The biggest part of the offense this week, however, was an effective red zone rushing attack.

Purdue had four rushing touchdowns on the day and Blough was only sacked once. The teams leading rusher was D.J. Knox, rushing for 5.8 yards per carry and two touchdowns.

The Boilermakers have a week off until they travel to play the Fighting Illini in Champaign on October 13.

Casey Abbett is a senior at Purdue from LaCrosse, Indiana, and has been been interning as a sports reporter for WBAA since his freshman year.