WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – David Bell and Payne Durham teamed up for 254 receiving yards and the defense delivered a pair of fourth-down stops to carry Purdue football to a 30-21 victory vs. Oregon State on Saturday in the season opener at Ross-Ade Stadium.
Quarterback Jack Plummer connected with Durham on fourth-quarter touchdown passes of five and 50 yards as part of a 313-yard passing night for the junior. Durham finished with seven catches for 120 yards, both career bests as a Boilermaker.
Bell caught eight passes for 134 yards, posting his 11th career 100-yard receiving game to move into third place in program history. He's done it in only 19 career games, going over 100 yards in eight of the last 10 games dating back to 2019. Bell has also collected at least seven receptions in 10 of his last 11 games.
The Boilermakers posted their first victory vs. a Pac-12 Conference opponent since beating Arizona at the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl. It was their first such win at home since also beating Arizona in September 2003.
The fourth quarter featured a combined 28 points after Purdue led 16-7 entering the final 15 minutes.
The Boilermakers stopped Oregon State twice on fourth down, including a defining play at the 8:16 mark of the fourth quarter with the home team leading 16-14. Cory Trice knocked away a long pass up middle of the field to give Purdue the ball at the OSU 37-yard line.
The Boilermakers rode Durham and Zander Horvath down the short field for the touchdown. Durham caught three passes for 26 yards on the drive, punctuated by the five-yard touchdown throw from Plummer. The 50-yard TD pass two minutes and 47 seconds later essentially sealed the victory.
Horvath rumbled for 81 yards on 21 carries, scoring Purdue's first touchdown of the night.
Two other key defensive plays helped the Boilermakers take possession at midfield. Cam Allen's interception set up a field goal to close the first half. The first fourth-down stop was at the seven-minute mark of the third quarter, setting up a short field and another field goal.
Oregon State ended Purdue's 16-0 scoring run with a rushing touchdown at the 13:05 mark of the fourth quarter. Consecutive big gains on passing plays once again set up the touchdown for the Beavers. A 41-yard connection from Chance Nolan to Zeriah Beason gave OSU the ball at the six-yard line after the visitors had not been inside the red zone since the first five minutes of the game.
The Boilermakers scored 13 unanswered points in the first half to take the lead to the locker room.
Purdue utilized a direct snap to Horvath for its first touchdown of the season. He ran it in from 11 yards out to cap a four-play, 45-yard drive at the 3:43 mark of the first half. A 14-yard pass from Jack Plummer to newcomer Broc Thompson, who made his first catch as a Boilermaker on the play, helped set up the score.
A 42-yard pass from Plummer to Bell at the 10-minute mark of the first quarter was the game's first big play. Purdue moved the ball to the OSU 16-yard line on that drive, but Mitchell Fineran's 33-yard field goal was negated by a pair of penalties totaling 20 yards. Instead of attempting a 53-yard attempt, the Boilermakers opted to punt and the move payed off when Jack Ansell's kick was downed at the one-yard line. That helped flip the field position as Purdue got the ball back at the OSU 45-yard line on its next possession after forcing a three and out.
Fineran connected on field goals of 49 and 39 yards in the second quarter and was good again from 22 yards to make it 16-7 in the third quarter.
Allen's fourth career interception set up Fineran's second field goal. Allen intercepted a pass by Sam Noyer at the Purdue 37-yard line at the 2:22 mark of the second quarter. It was the Boilermakers' first takeaway since their Nov. 14 game last season vs. Northwestern.
The Purdue defense surrendered only three first downs the remainder of the first half after the Beavers scored on a three-play, 64-yard drive at the 10:10 mark of the first quarter. Passes of 21 and 34 yards set up a nine-yard touchdown run by B.J. Baylor.
The Boilermakers ran a unique fake field goal early in the second half. The entire offensive line except the center shifted to the left hash mark and the ball was snapped to the upback. Backup quarterback Jack Albers initially connected a pass to Durham near the 10-yard line, but a hit by Jaydon Grant jarred the ball loose. Grant was able to collect the ball and maintain possession as both players went to the ground.
Purdue returns to action Saturday when it takes on Connecticut at 3 p.m. ET in Hartford.
SATURDAY NOTABLES
• George Karlaftis and Jalen Graham both delivered big hits on a second-down play at the 11:56 mark of the second quarter. Karlaftis hurried and hit the quarterback and Graham forced an incompletion when he jarred the pass free from the wide receiver. It led to another three and out for the Purdue defense.
• Graham also delivered a strip sack at the 1:25 mark of the first quarter. An Oregon State wide receiver recovered the fumble but the Boilermakers were able to force a punt two plays later.
• Purdue had a pair of big plays in the first half negated. Broc Thompson's 37-yard catch and run on third down at the 13:27 mark of the second quarter was wiped out by an offensive pass interference penalty. Jackson Anthrop made what seemed to be an excellent diving catch in the end zone with 11 seconds remaining in the first half, but it was ruled an incomplete pass after a replay review.
• Jeff Brohm earned his 50th career victory as a collegiate head coach.
•In his Purdue debut, grad transfer Mitchell Fineranbecame the team's first kicker to score 10-plus points in a game since 2018.
