Browne helps Purdue past Ball State 31-0
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Ryan Browne threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another TD to lead Purdue to a 31-0 rout of Ball State in Saturday’s season opener for both teams.
The Barry Odom coaching era at Purdue got off to a fast start when the Boilermakers scored in the first 40 seconds on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Browne to Arhmad Branch.
“Getting the first win for coach Odom is huge and he has a lot to do with that,” Browne said. “I love coach Odom since I’ve been here, he’s been amazing. ”
The Boilermakers finished 1-11 last season, losing their last 11 games. However, Browne said the nearly 54,000 fans were enthusiastic.
“Winning for your fans is the best part of winning,” Browne said. “If you go out and there is no one rooting for you. it’s a completely different game. Without them the game wouldn’t be as fun.”
The Boilermakers led 21-0 at halftime, adding a 5-yard TD run by Browne and a 4-yard touchdown run by Devin Mockobee.
Ball State missed its best opportunities to score when Carson Holmer missed field goals of 45 yards in the third quarter and 29 yards in the fourth quarter.
Former USC and Georgia wide receiver Michael Jackson III caught a 14-yard TD pass from Browne in the third quarter in his debut as a Boilermaker. Jackson had six catches for 72 yards. Purdue added a 28-yard field goal by Spencer Porath in the fourth quarter.
Mockobee was high for Purdue with 59 rushing yards on 14 attempts.
Kiael Kelly threw for 87 yards and ran for team-high 63 yards on 22 attempts for the Cardinals.
“We made steps in the right direction,” Odom said. “We’re nowhere near a finished product.”
Odom said he was pleased with the shutout.
“In the world of college football today, it’s hard to shut somebody out and we’ll build on that,” he said. “We didn’t force any turnovers, which we have to do. Our tackling was average at best. We tackled well early and then not very well in the second half.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Ball State: The good news for the Cardinals is they didn’t commit a turnover and had just three penalties for 18 yards in the first game under coach Mike Uremovich, a 2000 Purdue graduate who didn’t play football for the Boilermakers. The Cardinals are now 0-9 all-time against Purdue.
Purdue: The Boilermakers were solid against their Mid-American Conference opponent with a 433-203 edge in total yards. Purdue didn’t commit a turnover and was penalized three times for 25 yards.
DECEPTIVE STAT
Ball State held more than a 7-minute edge in time of possession, but it didn’t help the Cardinals were 4-of-13 on third down conversions and 1-of-2 on fourth down attempts.
“We had too many third-and-long situations,” Cardinals coach Mike Uremovich said. “Too many mistakes in all three phases of the game. We have to execute better that’s what it comes down to.”
COSTLY INJURY
In the final minutes, freshman reserve receiver Jalil Hill suffered a lower leg injury and had to be carted off. Odom said he expects Hill will be sidelined for a significant amount of time.
HAPPY RETURN
Browne played eight games for Purdue last season, transferred to North Carolina for spring practice but the redshirt sophomore quarterback decided to return and won the starting job. Browne completed 18 of 26 passes.
“I thought he executed the game plan well,” Odom said. “I thought be made really smart decisions. He took a couple of hits that i didn’t want him to take out in the open field running.”
UP NEXT
Ball State: At Auburn Saturday
Purdue: Hosts Southern Illinois Saturday
MARK AMBROGI
Associated Press
