The Purdue Boilermakers won a wild overtime shootout against the Tennessee Volunteers in the Music City Bowl, 48-45, in Nashville on Thursday.
Purdue’s ninth win of the season (9-4) is the highest number of wins for the Old Gold and Black since the 2003 campaign and tied for its second-most in a season.
Following a controversial fourth-down call on the goal line that took away a potential touchdown from Tennessee (7-6), graduate transfer Mitchel Fineran booted the game-winning 38-yard field goal on Purdue’s ensuing drive.
With the score tied, 45-45, in overtime, Vols running back Jaylen Wright reached out with the football and appeared to have crossed the plane of the goal line for an apparent touchdown. But the officials ruled that once his forward progress was halted, the whistle had been blown and the play was dead.
The Vols argued to no avail and once the lengthy discussion concluded, Purdue followed with its winning field goal.
“We found a way to just barely win,” said coach Jeff Brohm after the game. “And that’s football at a high level.”
The combined point total by the two teams set a Music City Bowl record. Twenty-nine of the combined points came in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter.
Fifth-year senior quarterback Aiden O’Connell finished with 534 passing yards and five touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. HIs passing yardage was good for the second most for a Purdue player in a bowl game since Curtis Painter’s 546 yards in the 2007 Motor City Bowl, the highest total ever in any Purdue football game.
O’Connell, who finished the regular season leading the Big Ten in completion percentage, announced, Dec. 13, that he would take advantage of his COVID year and return to West Lafayette for one more season.
Two Boilermakers stepped up in the absence of key offensive players. Junior wide receiver Broc Thompson caught seven passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs, and senior tight end Payne Durham caught five passes for 85 yards and also had two touchdowns.
The Boilermakers collected a laundry list of achievements in 2021, including four road wins for the first time since 1943 and two wins over top-five opponents for the first time since 1960.
With a strong recruiting class coming, the Boilermakers will try to build on the momentum from this season to catapult the program even further in the future.
The Purdue Boilermakers won a wild overtime shootout against the Tennessee Volunteers in the Music City Bowl, 48-45, in Nashville on Thursday.
Purdue’s ninth win of the season is the highest number of wins for the Old Gold and Black since the 2003 campaign and tied for its second-most in a season.
Following a controversial fourth-down call on the goal line that took away a potential touchdown from Tennessee, graduate transfer Mitchel Fineran (fin-ran) booted the game-winning 38-yard field goal on Purdue’s ensuing drive.
With the score tied, 45-45, in overtime, Vols running back Jaylen Wright reached out with the football and appeared to have crossed the plane of the goal line for an apparent touchdown. But the officials ruled that once his forward progress was halted, the whistle had been blown and the play was dead.
Fifth-year senior quarterback Aiden O’Connell finished with 534 passing yards and five touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. HIs passing yardage was good for the second most for a Purdue player in a bowl game since Curtis Painter’s 546 yards in the 2007 Motor City Bowl, the highest total ever in any Purdue football game.
O’Connell, who finished the regular season leading the Big Ten in completion percentage, announced, Dec. 13, that he would take advantage of his COVID year and return to West Lafayette for one more season.
Two Boilermakers stepped up in the absence of key offensive players. Junior wide receiver Broc Thompson caught seven passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs, and senior tight end Payne Durham caught five passes for 85 yards and also had two touchdowns.
The Boilermakers collected a laundry list of achievements in 2021, including four road wins for the first time since 1943 and two wins over top-five opponents for the first time since 1960.
With a strong recruiting class coming, the Boilermakers will try to build on the momentum from this season to catapult the program even further in the future.