Purdue Boilermakers vs Wisconsin Badgers Match Player Stats On Oct 14, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 14, 2017

MADISON, Wis. -- Freshman running back Jonathan Taylor had 30 carries for 219 yards and a touchdown as No. 7 Wisconsin beat Purdue 17-9 Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, defeating the Boilermakers for the 12th straight time.

Taylor, a true freshman, has accumulated 986 rushing yards in six games for the Badgers.

Wisconsin (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) had three turnovers and eight penalties for 65 yards, but its defense kept the Boilermakers (3-3, 1-2) from scoring a touchdown. And senior linebacker Leon Jacobs came up big with a late save for the Badgers.

With Purdue posing a red-zone challenge on the 7-yard line, Jacobs picked off Elijah Sindelar with 8:14 left in the game. The pass was intended for Purdue freshman wide receiver Jackson Anthrop.

Wisconsin held Purdue to 221 yards, including 155 passing.

Taylor got started early in a game with sporadic rain showers, fighting through contact on the third play of the Badgers' first series en route to a 67-yard touchdown run.

Taylor has three touchdown runs of 60-plus yards through six games. Wisconsin had three total runs of 60-plus yards during the 2016 season.

Taylor had 12 rushes for 149 yards in the first half.

Sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook completed 4 of 4 passes for 63 yards on the Badgers' second series to orchestrate the second score, capped by a 14-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Quintez Cephus.

Junior kicker Spencer Evans got Purdue on the scoreboard with a 36-yard field goal with 1:14 to go in the first quarter that trimmed Wisconsin's lead to 14-3.

The Badgers clamped down on defense when their offense faltered in the first half.

Purdue cornerback De'Wan Hunt's 42-yard interception return set up the Boilermakers at Wisconsin's 44-yard line. But Sindelar threw three incomplete passes to squash Purdue's drive at 13:06 in the second quarter.

Purdue pulled within 17-6 at halftime as Evans drilled a 49-yard field goal with 5 seconds to go.

Hornibrook threw his second interception in the third quarter, picked off by linebacker Danny Ezechukwu, who dashed 38 yards to Wisconsin's 38-yard line. Purdue capitalized three plays later as JD Dellinger connected on a 40-yard field goal to trim the Badgers' lead to 17-9 with 4:07 remaining in the third.

Cephus finished with five catches for a career-high 100 yards.

Hornibrook completed 13 of 18 passes for 199 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Sindelar completed 13 of 29 passes for 155 yards and an interception. Blough had two rushes for minus-15 yards.

NOTES: Wisconsin LB T.J. Edwards was ejected from the game late in the first half for a targeting penalty. ... Wisconsin entered the game with an 11-game winning streak in the series -- by an average margin of 23.4 points per game -- dating to 2004. Now at 12, the streak is the longest in the history between the programs, which started in 1892. ... RB Jonathan Taylor's game wasn't perfect. He had a fumble deep in Purdue territory that was picked up by Boilermakers DT Lorenzo Neal at 14:53 of the fourth quarter.