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Purdue was favored by more than 30 points for a reason.
The Boilermakers had little trouble with UConn on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 49-0 victory in Storrs. Purdue was dominant in every regard on the offensive and defensive side of the football.
Jeff Brohm played three quarterbacks on Saturday, and they combined to complete 30-of-36 passes for 375 yards and 6 touchdowns. Jack Plummer led the way while hitting 19-of-24 targets for 273 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Aidan O’Connell was 6-of-7 for 58 yards and 2 touchdowns and Austin Burton completed all 5 throws for 44 yards.
David Bell was the team’s leading receiver with 121 yards and 3 touchdowns on 6 catches. Payne Durham had 54 yards and a touchdown and Mershawn Rice had 2 catches for 32 yards and a score. King Doerue was the leading rusher for the Boilermakers with 74 yards and a touchdown.
Dylan Downing had 67 yards, as well.
Purdue racked up 563 yard of offense in the blowout victory and had a strong rushing performance with 188 yards on the ground. It may not sound dominant, but the Boilers have struggled mightily at picking up yards on the ground.
The Boilermaker defense also showed up in a big way. UConn ended the afternoon with just 222 yards and picked up only 11 first downs. It was the second time in three games the Huskies have been shutout this year.
Saturday’s challenge hardly lived up to the name for Purdue. It was a glorified scrimmage for Brohm’s team, and the Boilermakers took advantage. Now comes the real test.
Purdue will travel to South Bend with a 2-0 record and a chance to make a statement. It’s the first meeting between the two teams since 2014 and it will be a second-straight road trip for the Boilers before opening conference play.
The big question for the Boilermakers comes in the rushing attack. Can they channel some of the success they found against UConn for next week’s contest against Notre Dame? It’s going to be quite a task, especially with Zander Horvath leaving the game with a leg injury.
His status moving forward is unclear.
Purdue’s victory over UConn was predictable. It proved to be a one-sided affair. Things get much more difficult for the Boilermakers moving forward.
Will they be up for those actual challenges?
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB