Purdue cruises to 54-16 victory over Eatern Michigan at Ross-Ade Stadium

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - In his first home start of the 2012 season, Caleb TerBush led the Boilermakers to a 54-16 victory over Eastern Michigan. TerBush finished the day 16/24 for 158 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. However, leading up to the game, head coach Danny Hope was unsure if TerBush would play due to suffering from a migraine on Friday.

"I was hoping all along that he was going to be able to play but he was really ill yesterday afternoon and evening," said Purdue head coach Danny Hope. "This morning he felt a little better but he looked bad and was out of sorts in some ways. He said he was ready to go and showed a lot of courage. He did some good things but he didn't get in sync or have the rhythm on the offensive side of the ball today."

"You are never supposed to think that you did too good or you did too bad but I felt like I could have played a little better," said TerBush. "It's the second game back for myself. So, just learn from my mistakes and move on forward."

The Boilermakers got off to a slow start against the Eagles, the Boilermakers were forced to punt on their first two possessions. That’s when head coach Danny Hope and offensive coordinator Gary Nord decided to establish a running game and Purdue responded with a 7 play 65 yard drive that was capped off with a 40 yard touchdown run by senior Akeem Shavers.

Akeem Hunt added 106 yards rushing and a touchdown on just four attempts and scored a 50-yard touchdown on his only reception of the afternoon. Meanwhile, sophomore Brandon Cottom ran for 95 yards while Antavian Edison caught five passes for 78 yards for the Boilermakers.

A week after shutting down the Notre Dame offense, Purdue's defense was just as dominant, the gold and black held the Eagles to 313 total yards. The Boilers also forced three turnovers.

"We knew they were going to make big plays and keep driving down the field," said Kawann Short. "We feel like we do our job though when they don't get a touchdown or a field goal. We knew they were going to get a couple third down conversions but we had to rally up and stop them on the next downs."

 "Our defense showed up and played very well against Eastern Kentucky," said Hope. "I think they showed up and played very well for the most part against Notre Dame and then today our first team defense was dominant."

Eastern Michigan's only touchdown before the fourth quarter came on a Caleb TerBush 28-yard interception return by Pudge Cotton in the second quarter.

Purdue will head into their bye week with lots of momentum and a 2-1 record. Not only did the defense do their job but the Boilermaker offense racked up 576 total yards. Akeem Hunt and Brandon Cottom alone combined for 6 carries for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns.