Purdue Captures First Victory with Rout of N.C. State
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Edwin Watson rushed for a career-high 227 yards and three touchdowns to lead Purdue past North Carolina State. Quarterback John Reeves started and rushed for 57 yards and completed nine of 15 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in his first action in 1996. Another offensive star was Brian Alford, who caught five passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Purdue scored on its first three possessions and raced out to a 21-6 lead. Reeves hit Alford with a 25-yard scoring strike with 4:22 remaining in the half and took a 28-6 lead to the locker room. The third quarter was an offensive showcase. The Wolfpack took the second half kickoff and drove 72 yards on seven plays to score a touchdown and two-point conversion. Purdue answered back with a six-play, 71 yard drive capped by Watson's nine-yard run. Each team exchanged another touchdown in the third quarter to provide all of the scoring. Purdue racked up 493 yards of total offense, including 374 on the ground. The Boilers didn't commit a turnover while N.C. State had four. Free safety Derrick Brown led all defenders with 16 tackles.
GAME NOTES: Edwin Watson's 227 yards rushing was the fourth-best single-game effort at Purdue (best ever against a non-conference opponent)...John Reeves made his second career start (first was against Ohio State in 1995)...in his first-ever start, Kendall Matthews scored his second career TD and Derrick Winston intercepted his third pass...Purdue had two 80-yard scoring drives...Purdue was 6-for-9 in the "red zone."
PURDUE 42, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 21
Game 4, Sept. 28, 1996(Attendance -- 39,739)
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Purdue 14 14 14 0 -- 42
N.C. State 6 0 15 0 -- 21
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
PU: Matthews 2-yard run (Arnce kick), 11:28
NCS: Primanti 23-yard field goal, 8:06
PU: Watson 13-yard run (Arnce kick), 5:22
NCS: Primanti 45-yard field goal, 3:42
Second Quarter
PU: Watson 12-yard run (Arnce kick), 12:45
PU: Alford 25-yard pass from Reeves (Arnce kick), 4:22
Third Quarter
NCS: Stephens 9-yard run (Grissett pass good), 11:05
PU: Watson 9-yard run (Arnce kick), 8:26
NCS: Holt 80-yard pass from Barnette (Primanti kick), 8:12
PU: Alford 12-yard pass from Reeves (Arnce kick), 6:12
TEAM STATATISTICS PU NCS
First Downs 26 21
Net Yards Rushing 62-374 41-169
Net Yards Passing 119 267
Passes (Att.-Comp.-Int.) 15-9-0 31-15-1
Total Net Yards 77-493 72-436
Possession Time 38:16 21:44
Punts 4-40.8 3-40.3
Penalties 5-25 9-72
Third Down Conversions 5-13 4-15
Total Turnovers 0 4
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing--Purdue: Watson 29-227, Reeves 10-57, Johnson 7-32, Alford
2-25, Matthews 12-23, Sanders 1-10, Winston 1-0. North Carolina
State: Stephens 11-50, Spikes 7-37, Brown 6-32, Barnette 7-31,
Laureano 4-20, King 3-9, Holt 1-0, Chavis 1-(-1), Duke 1-(-9).
Passing--Purdue: Reeves 15-9-0 (2 TD), 119. North Carolina State:
Barnette 18-10-0 (1 TD), 193; Laureano 13-5-1 (0 TD), 74.
Receiving--Purdue: Alford 5-77, Watson 3-40, Matthews 1-2. North
Carolina State: Holt 5-138, Grissett 4-38, King 2-23, Thomas 2-51,
Whitted 1-13, Brown 1-4.
Tackle Leaders--Purdue: Brown 16, Okeafor 8, Hagins 6, Koeppen 6,
Colvin 5, Burroughs 5, Smith 5. North Carolina State: Everett 9,
Wyche 8, Leak 6, Harris 6.