Purdue falls to Michigan 44-13 at Ross-Ade Stadium to begin Big Ten play

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Going into Saturday’s game against Michigan, Purdue was concerned with keying to much on Denard Robinson and allowing everyone else to run wild. In the end, the Boilermakers didn’t key on the senior enough.

The Michigan quarterback rushed 24 times for 235 yards, threw for one touchdown and helped lead the Wolverines to a 44-13 rout at Ross-Ade Stadium.

After forcing a three-and-out to open the game, Michigan ran 17 plays and took nearly nine minutes off the clock ending with a Fitzgerald Toussaint's 1 yard TD run.

Four plays after that, the ball was back in Robinson's hands, and this time, his 38-yard run put the Wolverines in scoring position. Toussaint finished the drive off scoring again from 1 yard out to make it 14-0 before Purdue had a single first down.

The Boilermakers then proceeded to put pressure on themselves and on 4th and 1 from the Michigan 44, Caleb TerBush's throw to O.J. Ross was too high, and Michigan's Raymon Taylor picked off the pass and sprinted 63 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

Things went from bad to worse when the Boilermakers fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Michigan recovered at the Purdue 26, but the Boilermakers finally got a break when Brendan Gibbon's 44-yard field goal attempt bounced off the crossbar.

Purdue took advantage, driving for a 40-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.

After a Michigan turnover, senior Caleb TerBush capitalized on the mistake by throwing a 4-yard strike to Ross for a TD to make it 28-10 with 10 seconds left in the half.

But that was as close as the Boilermakers would get the rest of the way.

TerBush was 15 of 25 for 105 yards with one TD and one interception. Backup quarterback Robert Marve also returned in the second half, going 5 of 8 for 43 yards with one interception. It’s the first game Marve has played in since re-tearing the ACL in his left knee Sept. 8 against Notre Dame.