Late Purdue TD thwarts MTSU

Friday, January 1, 1904

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Caleb TerBush passed for 219 yards in his first collegiate start and threw the winning touchdown pass in the final minute as Purdue beat Middle Tennessee State 27-24 on Saturday in the opener for both teams.

Purdue, trailing 24-20, got a late stop to earn a shot at the win, and TerBush led the Boilermakers 85 yards in 11 plays. His 35-yard touchdown pass to Antavian Edison came with 49 seconds left.

MTSU went for the tie as time expired, but Purdue's Ricardo Allen blocked a 47-yard field-goal attempt by Alan Gendreau. Allen had fumbled on a punt return early in the game, leading to a Blue Raiders score.

Purdue's Ralph Bolden ran for 120 yards after missing last season with a torn ACL.

Logan Kilgore passed for 330 yards and two touchdowns and Malcolm Beyah caught four passes for 89 yards and a touchdown for MTSU.

Iowa 34, Tennessee Tech 7

At Iowa City, Iowa, James Vandenberg threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns to Marvin McNutt as the Hawkeyes beat the FCS team.

McNutt had 140 yards receiving in the game delayd 84 minutes because of lightning.

Dontey Gay rushed for 108 yards for Tennessee Tech, including a 1-yard TD run with 5:02 left. Tre Lamb finished 14-of-24 passing for 128 yards with two costly interceptions, and Tim Benford caught seven passes for 60 yards.

Iowa overwhelmed the Golden Eagles with 24 points in the second quarter. McNutt took a Vandenberg pass 88 yards for a touchdown, and Shaun Prater returned a pickoff 89 yards late in the first half to put the Hawkeyes ahead 27-0.

Tennessee State 33, Southern 7

At Nashville, Trabis Ward and Dante' Thomas each ran for a touchdown in the Tigers' romp.

Tennessee State had for 35 minutes, compared to 23 for Southern. After a Dray Thomas 59-yard interception return on Southern's opening possession, Ward scored on a 5-yard run to give the Tigers a 13-0 lead. He gained 141 yards on 18 carries.

Dante' Thomas scored from 4 yards on the Tigers' next possession and finished with 87 yards on 13 carries.

Jamie Perry threw for 148 yards and one score, and the TSU defense forced three turnovers and held the Jaguars to 37 rushing yards.

Tusculum 20, West Georgia 10

At Greeneville, Tenn., freshman Logan Cornelius from East Hamilton High School in Chattanooga opened the scoring with a 31-yard field goal and added a 25-yarder, two extra points and two touchback kickoffs as the Pioneers won their season opener with the help of five turnovers. Former Ooltewah standout Brian Marshall scored the final touchdown on a 14-yard run.

All-America quarterback Bo Cordell was 32-of-43 passing for 266 yards for Tusculum, and Marshall was 1-for-1 for 20 yards in addition to rushing 11 times for 72 and catching two short passes. Cordell scored on a 10-yard run that gave the Pioneers the lead for good midway through the second quarter.

Sewanee 32, Earlham 10

At Sewanee, Tenn., the Tigers fell behind 7-0 on an 89-yard pass play but led 12-7 at halftime and then won handily in Tommy Laurendine's first game as their coach.

Sewanee got only 10 passing yards, completing one of two tries, but rolled up 408 rushing yards in the triple-option offense with senior fullback Zeke Wilson gaining 79 yards on 11 carries and quarterbacks Curtis Johnson and Lee Schurlknight and slotback Jase Brooks adding 71, 70 and 68 yards. Schurlknight's 44-yard TD run came 2:24 after the Quakers' long go-ahead play.

Alfonza Knight, De'Nard Ford, John Phillip Boudreaux and J.D. Crabtree each made four solo tackles for the Tigers, and Knight and Andrew Walters intercepted passes.

Huntingdon 35, Maryville 7

At Maryville, Tenn., Baylor graduate Wesley Idlette caught five passes for 41 yards, including a 4-yarder for a touchdown, and senior Bud Christy from Sequatchie County made his 12th college interception and nine tackles, but their team lost big in the season opener. Also in defeat, Ryan Roach caught seven Tim Conner passes for 131 yards.