The Sports Xchange
Oct 28, 2017
Tanner Lee threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan with 14 seconds remaining Saturday night, and Nebraska rallied from a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Purdue 25-24 in West Lafayette, Ind.
Lee, who was 7 of 8 for 70 yards on the game-winning drive, finished 32 of 50 for 431 yards and two touchdowns - both during the final 11:03.
Nebraska (4-4, 3-2 Big Ten) snapped a two-game losing streak and took a 4-2 lead in the all-time series against Purdue (3-5, 1-4). The Boilermakers had their losing streak extended to three, with those three losses coming by a combined of 11 points.
Lee's 27-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Hoppes with 11:03 remaining brought the Cornhuskers within 24-19. That was a seven-play, 70-yard drive.
David Blough's 14-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Anthrop with 14:23 left in the fourth quarter had given Purdue a 24-12 lead. The Boilermakers drove 57 yards in eight plays for their third touchdown.
Drew Brown's fourth field goal -- a 25-yarder -- with 2:06 left in the third quarter pulled Nebraska to within 17-12. Lee's 23-yard pass to Hoppes was the drive's big play.
A Spencer Evans 20-yard field goal with 6:24 to play in the third quarter extended the Purdue lead to 17-9. The Boilermakers drove 12 plays for 71 yards.
Brown's 37-yard field goal with 9:57 left in the third quarter sliced the Purdue lead to 14-9, capping a nine-play, 55-yard drive that included Lee's 37-yard pass to De'Mornay Pierson-El to the Boilermakers' 35.
Purdue took a 14-6 halftime lead on a pair of second-quarter touchdown runs -- a 4-yard Richie Worship run and a 5-yard Blough run.
Worship's touchdown capped a six-play, 45-yard drive after Nebraska failed on a fourth-and-1 run on its own 45 with 14:08 remaining in the second quarter. Blough's 23-yard pass to tight end Bryce Hopkins moved the ball to the Cornhuskers' 22.
Blough's touchdown run capped an impressive 12-play, 86-yard drive that included D.J. Knox's 30-yard run to the Nebraska 15.
Nebraska got two first-half field goals from Brown --- a 44-yarder that gave the Cornhuskers a 3-0 lead with 11:42 left in the first quarter and a 21-yarder that cut the lead to 7-6 with 7:04 remaining in the half.
Purdue's 35 first-half plays gained 181 yards, and Nebraska's 35 first-plays netted 151 yards.
Worship ran nine times for 65 yards in the first 30 minutes. Blough was 7 of 14 for 58 yards in the first half.
The Boilermakers out-rushed Nebraska 123-8 in the first two quarters.