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West Lafayette, IN - Sophomore quarterback Austin Dantin threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, while senior linebacker Archie Donald came up with a key interception in the fourth quarter as the Rockets knocked off Purdue, 31-20, Saturday afternoon.
The victory was the third straight for Toledo (3-1, 2-0 MAC), all on the road. It was the sixth time that the Rockets have defeated a Big Ten opponent and evened their record against the Boilermakers at 3-3.
"Our kids believed, and they came in here and played four quarters of football," Head Coach Tim Beckman said.
Dantin finished the game 24-of-31 for 209 yards. His favorite target, sophomore wide receiver Eric Page, caught 10 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown. Donald led the defense with 16 stops (13 solo) and picked off a pass with 2:57 left to play to seal the win.
Toledo held a 17-0 lead at halftime and moved the score to 24-3 when Dantin bolted 58 yards for a score early in the third quarter. "The last three games on the road, we've had to come out and establish ourselves," Beckman said. "We're believing in what we're doing. We've got a simple plan, and we're executing."
But the Boilermakers stormed back with a pair of quick third quarter touchdowns, and then kicked a field goal with 8:07 left in the game to pull within four points, 24-20.
That's when Page stepped up and made a big play for UT, returning the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to the Purdue 47-yard line. Dantin finished off the seven-play touchdown drive with a one-yard plunge to put Toledo up 31-20 with 5:24 to play.
"We knew that we had been successful all day on offense, and we knew that we could put up points when we needed to," Dantin said. "It's just staying confident."
Purdue's last chance to get back in the game was thwarted when Donald tore the ball out of the hands of a Boilermaker receiver and returned the interception to the Purdue 23-yard line with just 2:57 to play.
Toledo jumped out early, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter and adding a field goal in the second. Dantin was brilliant in leading UT to a score on an 85-yard drive on its first possession, connecting on 6-of-7 passes for 68 yards and running for 21 yards. The drive culminated on a five-yard TD pass to Page.
Toledo's second score was set up by a turnover. Purdue quarterback Robert Marve coughed up the ball when his knee buckled and Eliah Jones recovered for the Rockets at the Purdue 13-yard line. Three plays later Dantin hit junior tight end Danny Noble for a seven-yard score to make it 14-0 Toledo.
The Rockets added a 34-yard Ryan Casano field goal in the second quarter after a 14-play drive stalled on the Purdue 17-yard line.
Purdue's best chance to score in the first half went for naught when Carson Wiggs' 35-yard attempt went wide right with 12 seconds left. It was the only sustained drive of the half for Purdue, which was limited to just 95 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes.
The Rockets (3-1, 2-0 MAC) return home to face Wyoming in their Homecoming game next week.
NOTES:
- The win also marked the fifth-straight season the Rockets have defeated a school from a BCS automatic qualifying conference (37-31 (2OT) vs. Kansas in 2006, 36-35 vs. Iowa State in 2007, 13-10 vs. Michigan in 2009, 54-38 vs. Colorado in 2009).
- Sophomore WR Eric Page finished the day with a season-high 10 catches for 94 yards and a TD reception. In two career games against the Boilermakers, Page has 22 catches for 222 yards and a pair of scores.
- Toledo finished the game with a season-high 378 yards of total offense (169 rushing, 209 passing). The Rockets were also extremely efficient on third down, converting 9-of-15.
- With the victory, Toledo secured its third straight road win for the first time since 2002.
Courtesy of UT Athletics
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