JEFF WASHBURN
Associated Press
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue converted two first-quarter turnovers into touchdowns and used those 14 points as the springboard to a 35-13 victory against Southern Illinois on Saturday.
Danny Etling threw touchdown passes of 10 yards to DeAngelo Yancey and 44 yards to Danny Anthrop during the first quarter after a fumble by Southern Illinois running back Malcolm Agnew and then after an interception of Salukis Mark Iannotti.
Purdue (2-2) increased its lead to 17-0 with seven seconds left in the first quarter on a 30-yards field goal from Paul Griggs. The Boilermakers moved 56 yards in 10 plays after Southern Illinois (3-1) missed a 47-yard field goal.
Purdue, which was 1-11 in 2013, increased its lead to 25-0 with 9:59 left in the first half when Etling ran 1 yard for a TD, capping a 26-yard drive after a short SIU punt and a personal foul against the Salukis. Brandon Cottom ran for the two-point conversion after the Etling TD run.
Southern Illinois, which entered 3-0 for the first time since 2007, got untracked after falling behind by 25, getting two field goals from Thomas Kinney and a 1-yard touchdown run from Iannotti after Purdue’s Raheem Mostert fumbled at the Boilermakers’ 47.
After Southern Illinois pulled to within 28-13 on Kinney’s second field goal with 13:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, Purdue put this one away with a lengthy drive that included 13 consecutive running plays and consumed 8:20, draining the game clock to 3:31.
Purdue capped the scoring with 36 seconds remaining when backup quarterback Austin Appleby ran 11 yards, completing a six-play, 43-yard drive.
For Etling, it was a second solid performance in as many weeks. He finished with 15 completions in 26 attempts for 198 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception.
In last week’s loss to Notre Dame, Etling was 27 of 40 for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
Anthrop caught five passes for 106 yards — all in the first half — including the 44-yard touchdown that gave Purdue a 14-0 lead.
Linebacker Ja’Whan Bentley recovered the Agnew fumble and safety Landon Feichter intercepted the Iannotti pass to set up the first two Purdue touchdowns.
A sparse crowd of 31,434 watched the first meeting between Purdue and Southern Illinois, where current Boilermaker head basketball coach Matt Painter was head coach before returning to West Lafayette to coach his alma mater in 2004.
Saturday’s game included a third-quarter injury to umpire Jim Shaw, who left the game with a shoulder separation. Shaw was knocked over during a Southern Illinois running play.
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