Final: Purdue 38, Indiana State 14

Telling stat: Indiana State 2-of-14 on 3rd down

There really wasn’t much going for the Sycamore offense, especially in clutch situations. Part of that was because the Boilermakers put ISU in tough situations. The Boilers had six tackles for loss in the first quarter alone, two of which from Jake Replogle.

Key play:

-Austin Appleby 57 yard TD pass on first pass to Cameron Posey

What a difference a week makes. Remember when Appleby started off 2015 with a pick-six? He did the exact opposite on Saturday. He found Cameron Posey wide-open in the seam for a 57-yard touchdown on his first throw of the game. After throwing four interceptions in Week 1, Appleby needed a confidence boost early on and boy, did he get it.

Worth noting:

-Appleby makes some history

Speaking of the Purdue quarterback, his deep ball was historically good on Saturday. He threw a Hail Mary to Dan Montereso at the end of the first half for a score, and he also floated a beautiful ball to DeAngelo Yancey for a 50-yard TD. Appleby became the first Boiler quarterback since 1997 to throw three touchdowns of 50-plus yards in a game. Crazy thought? Drew Brees didn’t even do that.

-The Boiler backs are legit

We knew after last week that the Boilermakers had a pair of talented underclassmen tailbacks. Saturday only solidified that notion further. D.J. Knox impressed again with 91 yards on 16 carries while Markell Jones got 14 carries for 67 yards and his second career touchdown. Darrell Hazell has talked repeatedly about how important it is for Purdue to ride its experienced offensive line to victories. Appleby was in rare elite form against the Sycamores, but 5.6 yards per carry showed that Purdue has a ground game to be reckoned with.

What it means: Purdue is miles better than two years ago

Remember when I mentioned that Purdue only won this game by six points two years ago? Well, it’s worth mentioning again. The Boilermakers weren’t perfect, but this shows how much they’ve improved in the last two years. The largest margin of victory of the Hazell era showed the progress he’s been preaching all offseason. Whether or not Purdue’s 34.5 points per game translates into Big Ten play remains to be seen, but at the very least, its more promising than either of the first two seasons under Hazell.

What’s next: vs. Virginia Tech

Texting Urban Meyer. Um, what do you suggest?