UPDATE (Saturday 5:52 pm): Notebook: Boilers field surprises and injuries in victory

By Zach Langdon

Executive Reporter

Publication Date: 11/06/2009

Brandon Reese | Senior Photographer

Purdue senior David Pender recovers the ball during the Boilers' 38-36 victory over Michigan.

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One of the key swings in momentum Saturday came when coach Danny Hope elected to go with a surprise onside kick in the third quarter at Michigan.

The Boilers went into halftime with 14-point deficit, but senior defensive back Brandon King forced and recovered a fumble on the Michigan 19 yard line to get Purdue the ball at the start of the third quarter. One play later Ralph Bolden ran for a touchdown to cut the lead to seven.

After trading touchdown with Michigan over the next seven minutes, the Boilers then went with an onside kick that Michigan didn't see coming and easily recovered.

That set up quarterback Joey Elliott for a 54 yard pass to receiver Cortez Smith on the next play to give Purdue a 31-30 lead, which it would never give up.

"That's stuff we work on in practice and we pulled it out of the hat and it actually worked," senior David Pender said of the kick he recovered. "When we did it in practice I didn't think it would work, but it did and it ended up helping out offense score and helped us win."

Kicker Carson Wiggs said he was surprised when Hope called for the kick, but was satisfied with the attempt.

"The best part about that is you have to disguise it," Wiggs said. "You can't show it's coming. when he called it on the sideline I got a little jittery, because you have to execute that perfect.

That's what we went out there and did. We got a good bounce on the turf."

LINEMAN INJURED

Purdue defensive tackle Nick Mondeck appeared to seriously injure his foot or ankle in the second quarter Saturday.

Hope wouldn’t elaborate on what happened or how signifigant the injury is after the game, however, when asked if Mondeck is done for the year.

"I'm not the doctor. We'll see what the doctor has to say. I hope not, but we'll find out. I'm not going to elaborate much until I talk to the doctor and talk to the student-athlete."

OUT OF GAS

Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott found tight end Jeff Lindsay wide open on third-and-five from the Purdue 36 midway through the fourth quarter with the Boilers up 31-30.

Lindsay was able to sprint to the Michigan eight yard line before noticably slowing down and being caught by the Michigan secondary. After the game, several Boilermakers said they harassed Lindsay about not scoring.

"It was a long reception and it was a long run that should have been longer," Hope said. "I don't know if he ran out of gas or ran out of speed, but I felt like I could have caught him from behind."

Lindsay finished with four receptions for 74 yards on the day. Elliott scampered for the touchdown, giving Purdue its final points of the day, one play after Lindsay's long catch.

"We had a real good week of practice and were focused. Coach Hope motivated us all week, gave a lot of motivational speeches all week. We came out and played hard and were able to win.