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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Minnesota coach Glen Mason is
thankful that he's done with Purdue's Drew Brees.
|  | | Purdue quarterback Drew Brees is rewriting the Big Ten record books with his arm, but he added a new dimension Saturday with a career-high 88 rushing yards. |
Brees set Big Ten career records for completions and attempts
Saturday, throwing for 409 yards and two touchdowns in No. 21
Purdue's 38-24 victory over Minnesota.
In three games against Minnesota as a starter, the senior
completed 92 of 127 passes for 1,214 yards and 10 touchdowns
without an interception.
"Brees is a great quarterback. Saying that, he's got a darn
good supporting cast," Mason said.
Brees, who was 33-of-49, has 1,325 attempts, 820 completions,
9,487 yards and 73 touchdown passes in 36 games. He topped the Big
Ten marks of 797 completions set by Illinois' Jack Trudeau and
1,309 attempts by Purdue's Mark Herrmann.
The senior also rushed for a career-high 88 yards, including an
11-yard TD run for Purdue's final score.
His total offense of 497 yards made him the second player in
conference history to accumulate 10,000 yards. Brees has 10,036 and
needs 219 to top the record set by Iowa's Chuck Long.
"We throw the ball so much, those things are going to come,"
Brees said. "I guess I get more satisfaction from the completions
record because if I'm completing passes, I'm doing my job.
"It's a big honor to be in the No. 1 spot in those categories,
but I'm sure if Herrmann, (Jim) Everett and those guys threw the
ball that much, they would be up there too. I just want to win."
Purdue (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) built a 24-0 lead over Minnesota (2-2,
0-1) in the first half and was never challenged as it beat the
Golden Gophers for the fifth consecutive time.
"They were obviously intent on forcing us to be patient and
execute offensively," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "They were
defending us based on formations and doing a good job of it. That's
why we started throwing the ball more on early downs."
Brees, who threw only 22 times in Purdue's 23-21 loss to Notre
Dame the previous week, completed his first eight attempts and was
23-of-33 in the first half for 299 yards and two touchdowns. The
scores left him one short of the conference record of 74 TD passes
held by Long.
Purdue dominated the first half on both sides of the ball to
lead 24-3. The Boilermakers accumulated 357 yards in the first two
periods, while Minnesota was limited to 85 yards while failing to
convert on its first six third-down plays.
On Purdue's third drive, Brees moved the team 69 yards in seven
plays to score on a 21-yard toss to Vinny Sutherland. Brees
accounted for all but 1 yard on the drive with four completions for
66 yards and a 4-yard rush just before the TD.
Early in the second, Brees brought his team 72 yards in seven
plays, consistently standing back without pressure to hit open
receivers. He completed five passes for 35 yards and also
contributed a career-best 27-yard run to the drive that ended with
his 8-yard strike to A.T. Simpson.
A 24-yard field goal by Travis Dorsch made it 17-0 and the first
of two short rushing TDs by Steve Ennis made it 24-0 with 2:29
remaining in the half.
After accumulating only one first down and 40 total yards on its
first seven possession, Minnesota replaced freshman quarterback
Asad Abdul-Khaliq at quarterback with junior Travis Cole.
Cole brought Minnesota from its 20 to the Purdue 35, completing
four of five passes for 25 yards. He then threw three consecutive
incompletions and Minnesota settled for Dan Nystrom's career-best
52-yard field goal.
Cole was 17-of-27 for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
"Cole did a good job," Mason said. "People make the mistake
that it was all Asad's (mistakes) in the first half."
Purdue made it 31-3 by marching 65 yards in nine plays after
taking the second-half kickoff. Ennis capped the drive with a
3-yard run. Brees completed five passes for 48 yards and also had
an 8-yard run.
Special team mistakes on punts set up two Minnesota touchdowns
in the second half. On the first, the ball was snapped over
Dorsch's head and Jermaine Mays recovered the ball at the 4. The
Boilermakers nearly survived the challenge after stopping Thomas
Tapeh for a 7-yard loss on first down, but Minnesota got new life
when a third-down pass from the 5 fell incomplete and Purdue was
penalized for having too many players on the field. Tapeh then
scored from the 2.
Trevis Graham blocked Dorsch's punt in the fourth quarter and
Mays returned it to the Purdue 14. A pass-interference call on a
third-down play gave Minnesota a first down at Purdue's 3. Cole
threw a TD pass to an open Ben Utecht for the score.
Brees brought his team downfield to score on an 11-yard run and
Cole completed the scoring with a 20-yard TD pass to Tony
Patterson.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Purdue Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Drew Brees shows that he has the legs to go with the arm on this 11-yard touchdown run.
avi: 708 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Drew Brees hooks up with Vinny Sutherland for his 72nd TD as a Purdue quarterback.
avi: 976 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Vinny Sutherland piles up the yards after the catch off the pass from Drew Brees.
avi: 903 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Thomas Tapeh dives into the end zone for Minnesota.
avi: 749 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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