No. 12 Michigan 24, No.
17 Purdue 10
No. 12 Michigan 24, No. 17
Purdue 10
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) —
Marquise Walker did just about everything for No. 12 Michigan except
make a tackle.
Walker accounted for 249
yards of total offense as the Wolverines beat No. 17 Purdue 24-10 Saturday.
The senior caught seven passes
— all for first downs — for 112 yards and a touchdown. He
returned seven punts, for the first time in his career, for 134 yards.
He also fumbled after gaining
3 yards on a double-reverse and threw an interception on a reverse.
"I’d say he overshadowed
those with his performance," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
The Wolverines (5-1, 3-0
Big Ten) have not lost to the Boilermakers (4-1, 2-1) in Michigan Stadium
since 1966.
Purdue took a 7-0 lead on
the game’s opening possession, but was shut down for the rest of
the game. Michigan’s stingy defense helped the offense overcome
Walker’s interception and three fumbles.
Michigan’s John Navarre
completed 21 of 27 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown. B.J. Askew
rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
This season, Walker has caught
43 passes for 587 yards with six touchdowns. He threw a 51-yard pass
in a 45-20 victory over Illinois and blocked a punt in Michigan’s
23-18 loss at Washington on Sept. 8.
"After six games, there’s
nobody in the country playing better than Marquise Walker," Carr
said. "Nobody has been more important to his team."
Walker came to Michigan as
one of the nation’s top receivers. But he didn’t get much
attention during his first three years while receiver David Terrell,
now with the Chicago Bears, commanded the spotlight.
"I never thought I was
in Dave’s shadow," Walker said. "The ball is coming my
way, I have more opportunities to make plays. I’m not surprising
myself. When the opportunity comes, I just try to take it."
Purdue’s Brandon Hance
was 16-of-33 for 198 yards with a touchdown. Taylor Stubblefield caught
eight passes for 72 yards.
The Boilermakers took a 7-0
lead after driving 80 yards on 13 plays, converting four third-down
conversions, over 5:05.
Hance’s 12-yard lob
off his back foot to Tim Stratton — after bobbling a shotgun snap
— extended Stratton’s streak with at least a catch to 34 games.
Walker gave Michigan’s
struggling offense a spark — and seemed to turnaround the game
for good — with a 42-yard punt return to Purdue’s 26 early
in the second quarter.
"I’ve been doing
it in practice for three years, but never got on the field," Walker
said.
After Walker caught a 24-yard
pass, Askew tied it at 7 with a 3-yard run.
Navarre’s 43-yard pass
to Walker gave Michigan a 14-7 lead midway through the second and the
Wolverines would not trail again.
Ronald Bellamy fumble at
Michigan’s 14 to setup Purdue’s final score.
Travis Dorsch kicked a 45-yard
field goal, after the Boilermakers lost 14 yards, to cut it to 14-10
with 3:55 left in the first half.
Walker’s interception
came in the final minute of the first half on a from Purdue’s 27.
It was intercepted by Stuart Schweigert, his fourth of the season, and
returned 58 yards. Michigan blocked a 57-yard field-goal attempt in
the final seconds of the half.
Michigan wore out Purdue’s
defense with time-consuming drives in the third and fourth quarters.
Askew’s 1-yard touchdown
capped a 15-play, 71-yard drive that took 7:48 and gave Michigan a 21-10
lead in the third quarter.
The Wolverines took 6:06
off the clock and padded their lead with Epstein’s 26-yard field
goal with 5:44 left to play.
Purdue committed 11 first-half
penalties for 70 yards and finished with 15 penalties, one short of
school record set in 1953, for 105 yards.
"We learned everything
we needed to learn in one loss," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said.
"When you play a good football team, which Michigan is, the margin
for error is extremely small. You certainly can’t shoot yourself
in the foot."
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