No. 16 Louisville overcomes mistakes to beat Purdue 35-28
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Lamar Jackson threw two touchdown passes and compiled 485 total yards Saturday, helping No. 16 Louisville escape with a 35-28 victory over Purdue.
The mistake-prone Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak.
Jackson, of course, was the difference. He went 30 of 46 with 378 yards through the air while running 21 times for 107 yards. He also moved into the top five in school history on TD passes and yards rushing.
And when Louisville (1-0) needed the defending Heisman Trophy winner to be at his best in the fourth quarter, he didn’t disappoint.
Jackson hooked up with Dez Fitzpatrick on a 20-yard score with 9:01 remaining to give the Cardinals a 32-28 lead then drove them into field goal position on the ensuing possession to make it a seven-point game.
“Our defense came through,” Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. “They (Purdue) did a nice job executing their offense. We had a hard time stopping their outside guys.”
Purdue (0-1) couldn’t rally in coach Jeff Brohm’s debut, losing its eighth straight.
“I thought we showed fight,” Brohm said. “But unfortunately we came up short.”
Just short.
Louisville blew three scoring chances in the first half – losing two fumbles at the goal line and mismanaging the clock at the end of the half. The Boilermakers converted another fumble recovery in the third quarter into a touchdown and nearly forced a fourth fumble.
Louisville also was called for five false start penalties in the first 16 minutes, finished with nine and had another penalty for an illegal snap. Cornerback Jaire Alexander, an All-American hopeful, got hurt on an ill-advised return off of a blocked field goal, costing the Cardinals 19 yards on a play that nearly resulted in yet another turnover. Alexander did not return.
Purdue took advantage of the miscues by building a 14-10 halftime lead, extending it to 21-13 in the third quarter and then retaking the lead on Elijah Sindelar’s 14-yard TD pass to Jackson Anthrop with 10:48 left.
Bu Jackson put it away by leading Louisville to back-to-back scores.THE TAKEAWAYS
Louisville: The victory shouldn’t fool anyone. While the Cardinals pulled it out and Jackson put up Heisman-like numbers, the Cardinals must make a lot of improvement over the next two weeks to challenge defending national champion Clemson in the ACC.
Purdue: Brohm and the Boilermakers faced long odds but fought hard and played well enough to challenge a team expected to compete for a College Football Playoff spot. It’s an encouraging start for the rebuilding program.UP NEXT
Louisville: Opens ACC play on Sept. 9 at North Carolina, its final tuneup before facing Clemson.
Purdue: Will play underneath the lights Friday night when Mid-American Conference contender Ohio comes to town.STATISTICS
Louisville 7 3 15 10-35
Purdue 7 7 7 7-28First Quarter
PUR_Anthrop 26 pass from Sindelar (Dellinger kick), 7:27
LOU_Davis 3 pass from L.Jackson (Creque kick), 3:39Second Quarter
LOU_FG Creque 23, 14:19
PUR_Worship 8 pass from Blough (Sp.Evans kick), :51Third Quarter
LOU_FG Creque 32, 12:31
PUR_Hopkins 2 pass from Blough (Dellinger kick), 8:39
LOU_Bonnafon 10 run (run failed), 5:29
LOU_S.Thomas 61 interception return (pass failed), 3:18Fourth Quarter
PUR_Anthrop 14 pass from Sindelar (Sp.Evans kick), 10:48
LOU_Fitzpatrick 20 pass from L.Jackson (Creque kick), 9:01
LOU_FG Creque 30, 4:18LOU PUR
First downs 29 25
Rushes-yards 33-146 21-51
Passing 378 293
Comp-Att-Int 30-46-0 33-57-3
Return Yards 97 89
Punts-Avg. 4-37.5 5-41.6
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 2-1
Penalties-Yards 16-106 6-69
Time of Possession 31:42 28:18INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING_Louisville, L.Jackson 21-107, Bonnafon 6-33, Je.Smith 5-8, (Team) 1-(minus 2). Purdue, Fuller 8-29, Knox 4-25, Blough 5-6, Anthrop 1-4, Lankford-Johnson 1-(minus 1), Worship 1-(minus 4), Sindelar 1-(minus 8).
PASSING_Louisville, L.Jackson 30-46-0-378. Purdue, Blough 18-26-2-175, Sindelar 15-31-1-118.
RECEIVING_Louisville, Ja.Smith 8-117, Samuel 5-55, Fitzpatrick 4-95, Dawkins 4-56, Bonnafon 3-5, M.Williams 2-17, Standberry 2-12, Crum 1-18, Davis 1-3. Purdue, Anthrop 7-82, Phillips 7-59, Herdman 4-59, Mahoungou 4-33, Hopkins 3-34, Fuller 3-3, Zico 2-12, Knox 2-3, Worship 1-8.
MISSED FIELD GOALS_Purdue, Dellinger 53.