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| 01-12-2004 | Previous edition: 12-16-2003 |
        
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Printer-friendly version ‘Dog day: Purdue falls short
Sports Editor One player’s comeback led to another for Purdue on Jan. 1 at the Capital One Bowl. But that wasn’t enough as No. 11 Georgia (11-3) defeated the Boilers, 34-27, in overtime in Orlando, Fla. The Bulldogs’ Kregg Lumpkin, who had fumbled late in the game to set up No. 12 Purdue’s (9-4) game-tying field goal, scored from less than one yard out on fourth-and-goal to give Georgia the lead in overtime. "I heard it was a few inches and I looked at (quarterback David) Greene; he gave me the look like, ‘Coach, you’ve got to go for it,’" Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "So we went for it and thankfully we got it in there." The Georgia defense did its part as Bulldog linebacker Tony Taylor intercepted junior quarterback Kyle Orton’s last-chance pass on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line. "I thought it was a heck of a football game," coach Joe Tiller said after the loss. "Both teams were exhausted in the end." Orton, who left the game with a dislocated left thumb after a first-quarter sack, returned midway through the second quarter to a spark a Purdue comeback from 24 points down to force the extra session. "Even as we were running to the training room, I knew I had a chance to get back to the game," said Orton, who suffered the injury on his non-throwing hand. "We tried to pop it back into place as fast as we could and get back out." Orton’s return kept Tiller from having to play third-string quarterback Kyle Smith, who hadn’t taken a snap all season and had moved to free safety during the season. But the 6-foot-4, 223-pound quarterback’s gutsy return also gave motivation to a distraught Boilermaker team. "I’m so glad Orton came back," said junior wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield, who caught eight passes for 99 yards. "He came back with a lot of poise and confidence and he wasn’t worried about his thumb. He just went out there and played." Orton completed 20 of 34 passing attempts for 230 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for two touchdowns — the second and third of his career — to help Purdue reduce its sizeable deficit. Even Orton felt his team rally around him after he returned from the locker room. "Coming back out and showing the guys that I wanted to play with them and it didn’t matter if I was hurt energized us a little bit," he said. "The tempo of the game started to get back toward where we wanted it to be the entire day and that is on our side." Senior wide receiver John Standeford caught seven passes for 102 yards in his final game for Purdue. Sophomore kicker Ben Jones made both of his field goal attempts, including a 44 yarder with 49 seconds left to tie the game at 27. Georgia scored the first 24 points in the game, taking advantage of Purdue’s secondary for three scores through the air in the first 25 minutes of the game. Bulldog quarterback David Greene, who was named the Capital One Bowl MVP, connected with wide receiver Fred Gibson for Georgia’s first two scores in the first quarter. He hooked up with wide receiver Reggie Brown for an 11-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. He finished with 327 yards on 27-for-37 passing and the three first-half touchdowns. Printer-friendly version |
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