WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.—Purdue wasn’t sure whether to celebrate or worry after a season-opening 42-10 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon.
The heavily favored Boilermakers struggled to finish drives, and led just 21-0 after three quarters against a Football Championship Subdivision team that went 1-11 last season.
“Overall, I thought we were pretty average,” Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. “You get in a ballgame like this, and you watch their tape last year … Your players watch them, and it’s really hard to get too excited about them. In spite of what you tell young people, they still make their own decision. They are a much improved team.”
Curtis Painter passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Desmond Tardy caught three passes for 112 yards and Kory Sheets ran for 81 yards and two touchdowns for Purdue (1-0).
Painter said Purdue was simply working out kinks on offense. It was the first time he’d stepped on the field without star receivers Dorien Bryant and Dustin Keller, who were seniors last year.
“I think it was maybe a normal first game,” Painter said. “There’s always some things that you walk out of and want to do again, some mistakes, but I think overall we did some things well. We had some good and some bad, but we made a lot of great plays.”
Tiller tied Jack Mollenkopf for the most wins in school history. He has a record of 84-54 in his 12th year at Purdue, and a 123-84-1 record overall.
“It doesn’t mean that much to me personally, but it’s an honor to be in his class,” Tiller said. “He was a great contributor to Purdue athletics.”
Tiller also beat one of his former assistants. Northern Colorado coach Scott Downing worked under Tiller for 12 years at Wyoming and Purdue.
Downing had kind words for his mentor.
“He deserves all the accolades he receives,” Downing said. “Mollenkopf was a good coach, but Tiller is a great coach.”
Bryan Waggener passed for 216 yards and a touchdown and Ryan Chesla caught nine passes for 99 yards for Northern Colorado (0-1).
Downing enjoyed his to return to Ross-Ade Stadium, and was excited that the score wasn’t as lopsided as many experts predicted. The Bears had the ball for 37:20 and kept Painter, whom Purdue is touting as a Heisman Trophy candidate, on the sideline for much of the game.
“I was very pleased and proud of the way we played today,” Downing said. “We let the game get away at the end, but besides that, I thought we had a solid effort.”
Purdue’s first score came on Painter’s 26-yard strike down the middle to slot receiver Keith Smith.
In the second quarter, Purdue’s Frank Halliburton tipped a Northern Colorado punt, and the Boilermakers took over on the Northern Colorado 37. Two plays later, Sheets’ 9-yard touchdown run gave Purdue a 14-0 lead.
On the Boilermakers’ next possession, Tardy took a screen pass 60 yards, but Purdue was unable to score from inside the 20. Purdue moved into Northern Colorado territory six times in the first half, but led 14-0 at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Northern Colorado went for it on fourth-and-5 from the Purdue 30, but Ryan Baker sacked Waggener and the Boilermakers took over.
Halliburton got pressure on another Bears punt after a poor snap, and Purdue took over at the Northern Colorado 34 with about 6 minutes left in the third quarter. Sheets scored again, a 2-yard run that gave Purdue a 21-0 lead with 2:32 left in the third quarter.
Northern Colorado caught a break early in the fourth quarter. The Bears punted to Purdue, and the ball bounced off a Boilermaker player’s leg before Northern Colorado’s C.J. Stemo recovered at the Purdue 25. Michael York made a 37-yard field goal.
On Purdue’s next possession, Painter found Greg Orton down the left sideline for a 43-yard touchdown pass that gave the Boilermakers a 28-3 lead.
Minutes later, Halliburton blocked another punt, and Mike Conway’s recovery and runback for a touchdown made it 35-3. Halliburton is the only player in Purdue history to block two punts in a single game, and his total also tied the school record for a season.
Northern Colorado finally scored a TD on Waggener’s 3-yard pass to Jason Caprioli with 7:08 to play.
Tiller said the Boilermakers are better than they showed.
“We moved the ball really well at times, but the only real concern is that drives stalled at times,” he said. “We need to score every time in the red zone.”
