Northwestern Smashes Purdue 38-14

Nov 22, 2014; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Austin Appleby (12) runs with the ball as Northwestern Wildcats defensive lineman Connor Mahoney (89) awaits in the first half at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports

Wildcats lose Siemian; Oliver leads them to big victory over Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Big plays and turnovers doomed the Purdue Boilermakers on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium.

The Northwestern Wildcats, fresh off an OT road win against Notre Dame, forced five Purdue turnovers and returned a punt for a touchdown in their 38-14 trouncing of the Purdue Boilermakers.

Northwestern scored 14 points off two Purdue turnovers in the first quarter and added another touchdown on a 64-yard punt return by Tony Jones to take a 21-0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter.

Coach Hazell was less than pleased with the turnovers and big plays but praised his defense as a whole:

"“Obviously a very disappointing outcome, said the second-year Purdue coach. “I don’t care who you are playing. When you turn the ball over five times and you let them return a punt for a touchdown, those are hard things to overcome. I thought the defense held in there pretty well after the first quarter. We are not in a situation right now where can dig a hole that deep. Obviously we need to get better.”"

Northwestern added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the Boilermakers away for good.

Zack Oliver, who replaced the injured Trevor Siemian early in the second quarter, scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to put Northwestern on top by 24 points.

The Wildcats struck for another huge play when running back Justin Jackson galloped 68 yards down the right sideline to give the ‘Cats a 38-7 advantage. Jackson had a huge day for Northwestern, rushing for 147 yards and two touchdowns.

Junior Zack Oliver led the way for Northwestern for the remainder of the game but felt awful about losing Siemian:

"“It took me a couple plays to get my self-confidence back and then came out with great protection in the second half. I had great protection all day and the receivers ran great routes. Trevor and I are best friends so I wish him the best. It’s tough. We still have a win to get next week and then a bowl win.”"

After the two teams traded interceptions in the first 90 seconds, NW settled in on their second drive. Wildcat quarterback Trevor Siemian found Dan Vitale for a 25-yard td pass. Siemian was 7-12 on the day before the injury.

Purdue senior Akeem Hunt fumbled on the ensuing possession, his second of the game, and Northwestern cashed in once again. Hunt finished the day with 67 yards on the ground.

"“We work on ball security everyday and keep it high and tight,” said Hunt. “I don’t know what was going on today. As a senior and a leader on this team, I didn’t make enough plays and let my team down.”"

Talented wideout Kyle Prater worked to get open on 4^th and 14 and moved the chains with a 19-yard reception. Justin Jackson found the end zone on the next play to give the Wildcats a 14-0 advantage. Prater led the Wildcats with 82 yards receiving.

Northwestern went 1-2 on field goals in the second quarter and pushed their lead to 24-0.

Purdue was fortunate to finish the second quarter with a touchdown drive after it appe4ared Austin Appleby had fumbled away Purdue’s fifth turnover of the half. The play was overturned and the Boilermakers struck paydirt on a 19-yard screen pass to Akeem Hunt.

Appleby finished the last home game of the season completing 26 of 48 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. One of his interceptions came off a tipped pass and the other was a fourth-down heave that ultimately served as a punt.

Number 12 knows what Purdue needs to do in the upcoming week:

"“It’s all about turnovers,” said Appleby. “We moved the ball the entire game and time after time did something to shoot ourselves in the foot. Hats off to Northwestern but we beat ourselves. They’re a good team and a great defense but there were plays to be made and we left points out there. We just didn’t make the plays we needed to today.”"

The only other touchdown Purdue could muster on a wet and overcast Saturday came with under a minute to play when Austin Appleby found tight end Justin Sinz in the back of the end zone to make the final score 38-14.

Northwestern will face off with Illinois next weekend in a game where the winner becomes bowl eligible and the loser goes home.

Purdue will finish their 2014 campaign with a trip to Bloomington for the Old Oaken Bucket game.

NOTES: Neither Purdue nor Indiana will have a chance to become bowl eligible so look for the players to treat this as their bowl week.

LB Danny Ezechukwu had a whale of a game for the Boilers. The redshirt-freshman forced a fumble, had a tackle for loss and an interception. He also was tied for second on the team with seven tackles.

Landon Feichter led the team with nine tackles.

The Ross-Ade stadium bleachers were about ¼ of the way full today. Purdue has some work to do before they see another sellout.

Check out Matt Riehle’s photos from today’s game: