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Purdue
holds on
to beats
WMU
37-32 in
Pizza
Bowl
By LARRY
LAGE
AP
Sports
Writer
DETROIT
- Purdue
quarterback
Caleb
TerBush
took the
final
snap,
sprinted
to the
sideline
and
handed
the
football
to coach
Danny
Hope.
Perhaps
empowered
by
getting
a
contract
extension
recently,
Hope
made the
gutsy
decision
to go
for two
onside
kicks in
the
first
half and
both
gambles
paid off
for the
Boilermakers
in a
37-32
win over
Western
Michigan
on
Tuesday
night in
the
Little
Caesars
Pizza
Bowl.
Raheem
Mostert
returned
a
kickoff
99 yards
for a
touchdown,
third-string
running
back
Reggie
Pegram
scored
the
first
two TDs
of his
career
and
Carson
Wiggs
made two
field
goals to
give the
Boilermakers
a 27-15
lead at
halftime.
Wiggs
also
recovered
one of
his
onside
kicks,
both of
which he
tapped
toward a
sideline
after
running
at full
speed as
if he
was
trying
to boot
the ball
deep.
Purdue
(7-6)
had
another
12-point
lead
early in
the
fourth
quarter,
but the
Big Ten
team had
to hold
on for
the win
against
the
Mid-American
Conference
program.
The
Broncos
(7-6)
got the
ball
with a
chance
to go
ahead,
but
their
comeback
hopes
ended
when
quarterback
Alex
Carder
fumbled
for his
fifth
turnover
with
just
under 2
minutes
left.
Ryan
Russell
forced
the
final
fumble
and
Bruce
Gaston
recovered
to seal
the win
in a
game
that
entertained
46,177
fans
inside
the home
of the
Detroit
Lions.
The
Boilermakers
played
in a
bowl for
the
first
time
since
2007,
when
they
beat
Central
Michigan
- also
in
Detroit.
Western
Michigan
fell to
0-5 in
postseason
play.
Purdue's
Akeem
Shavers
ran for
a
career-high
148
yards on
22
carries,
filling
in for
the
injured
Ralph
Bolden,
and was
named
the
game's
MVP.
TerBush
was 8 of
13 for
101
yards
with a
33-yard
touchdown
pass to
Gary
Bush
midway
through
the
third
quarter
that put
Purdue
up
34-18.
Robert
Marve
was 6 of
7 for 76
yards
with a
1-yard
scoring
pass to
Pegram
in the
first
quarter.
Purdue
defensive
end
Gerald
Gooden
had two
of his
team's
four
interceptions,
and gave
back one
of those
two
turnovers
to the
Broncos
in a
game
filled
with
miscues
and
missed
opportunities
for both
teams.
Western
Michigan's
star
receiver,
Jordan
White,
who drew
at least
one NFL
scout to
watch
him,
caught
13
passes
for 249
yards
and a
score.
Carder
was 31
of 57
for 413
yards
with
three
TDs -
also
connecting
with
Josh
Schaffer
and
Chleb
Ravenell
for
scores.
But the
junior
matched
a career
high
with
four
interceptions
and gave
up the
ball a
fifth
time to
end the
Broncos'
chances
to rally
for the
victory
in their
homestate
in front
of many
of their
fans.
Purdue
will go
back
across
the
border
to
Indiana
happy,
especially
school
officials
who
added
two
years to
Hope's
deal
last
week to
keep him
under
contract
through
2016.
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