2002 Purdue Boilermakers football team The 2002 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 2002 NCAA Division I - A football season . The team was coached by Joe Tiller and played its home games at Ross – Ade Stadium . Purdue played thirteen games in the 2002 season , finishing with a 7 – 6 record and a victory in the Sun Bowl to Washington . Game notes . Illinois State . The Boilermakers raced out to 27 – 0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back vs . the overmatched Redbirds . The Purdue offense rolled up 500 + total yards in the first - ever August game at newly refurbished Ross – Ade Stadium . Notre Dame . With the help of 3 non - offensive TDs ( 2 Defense , 1 Special Team ) , Tyrone Willingham won his first Home game as coach of the Fighting Irish . The Boilermakers got a 76 - yard punt return TD from Anthony Chambers , RB Joey Harris ran for 125 yards , and WR John Standeford had 5 catches for 110 yards in the loss . Western Michigan . Thanks to Western Michigan ' s potent dual - QB passing attack , the Boilermakers found themselves in a dogfight with the Broncos deep into the fourth quarter . John Standeford ( 7 catches for 143 yards , 2TDs ) caught game - winning TD with 5 : 26 to go . Stuart Schweigert established Purdue interception record with his 12th career pick in the 4th quarter . Wake Forest . The ACC ' s Demon Deacons rolled up almost 250 yards rushing to pull off the mild upset . Chris Barclay had 3 rushing TDs for the Deacs , who forced / benefitted from 5 turnovers and 3 missed 4th - quarter field goals that would have tied the game . For Purdue , Kyle Orton had a productive passing day ( 24 – 43 ; 331 yds ) , Joey Harris ran for 120 yards , and John Standeford had a terrific performance ( 6 – 191 ) with 2 long TD receptions . Minnesota . The Boilermakers improved to 3 – 2 , using a strong third quarter performance to defeat previously unbeaten Minnesota in an evening tilt on ESPN2 . On the first play of the second half , strong safety Ralph Turner returned an interception for a TD . Later , after linebacker Gilbert Gardner returned a fumble to the Gophers ' 9 - yard - line , defensive end Shaun Phillips lined up at tight end and caught a touchdown pass from Kyle Orton ( 19 – 32 ; 190 yds ) in a goal - line situation . Joey Harris ran for another 100 + yards in the win , while the Purdue defense limited Gophers ' QB Asad Abdul - Khaliq to 33 % passing on 48 attempts . Iowa . Reserve DB Adolphus Shelton thwarted a promising final drive by intercepting backup QB Brandon Kirsch in the final seconds to preserve a thrilling win for the Hawkeyes that dropped Purdue to 3 – 3 . Amazingly clutch Iowa QB Brad Banks had just led the Hawkeyes on a 87 - yard drive , culminating with a 4th down TD pass to TE Dallas Clark for what turned out to be the winning points . The Purdue passing game moved the ball well with 400 + passing yards combined between Kyle Orton and the freshman Kirsch , who replaced the injured Orton and rallied the Boilermakers from a 24 – 14 deficit with two 4th quarter TD drives before Banks ' heroics . Ultimately , the Boilermakers were undone by big plays – two special teams miscues ( blocked FG returned for TD , blocked punt returned for TD ) , and a 95 yard TD catch - and - run by Dallas Clark . Illinois . After overcoming a 24 – 0 first half deficit , the Boilermakers fell to 3 – 4 in spectacular – and controversial – fashion in an exciting non - televised game . The Illini ( 2 - 5 ) built their lead by returning the opening kickoff for a TD , then getting an 83 yard run from Antoineo Harris ( who narrowly avoided a safety on the play ) , getting a 47 yard TD run from Harris ( 23 carries , 195 yards ) and finally a Dustin Ward TD pass to Brandon Lloyd . Freshman QB Brandon Kirsch relieved starting QB Kyle Orton for the second straight week with much success , rallying Purdue to a 31 – 24 lead in the 4th quarter . Redshirt freshman RB Brandon Jones was a big part of the rally as well with 127 rushing yards and a 36 yard TD catch . After Purdue ' s go - ahead score , Illinois mounted a long drive that came to a 4th and goal from the Purdue 1 yard line with 7 seconds left . Despite protest from the Purdue coaching staff , officials ruled Antoineo Harris had crossed the goal line for a tying TD with 3 seconds remaining . After downing a short squib kick , Kyle Orton re - entered to complete a " Hail Mary " pass to WR John Standeford , who made the catch near the end zone before being pushed back . Officials ruled him down at the 1 yard line ( despite further protest from the Purdue coaching staff ) , sending the game into overtime . Illinois then won the game in OT , getting a TD catch from WR Greg Lewis , and then stopping Purdue at the 7 yard line on 4th down . Purdue compiled almost 600 yards of offense , and LB Niko Koutouvides had 14 tackles in the painful loss . Michigan . The Boilermakers fell to 3 – 5 , losing by a close margin once again , this time to the ninth - ranked Wolverines . In his first start QB Brandon Kirsch was effective throwing ( 172 yards ) and running ( 81 yards ) , but 2 interceptions by QB Kyle Orton plus 2 missed FGs by Berin Lacevic proved fatal to the Boilermakers ' upset bid . Purdue closed the margin to 2 with RB Jerod Void ' s TD run with 8 seconds left in the game , but then Michigan recovered the ensuing onside kick . WR Taylor Stubblefield had 11 catches for 104 yards for the Boilers in defeat . Northwestern . The Boilermakers improved to 4 – 5 by running all over a young and undersized Wildcats ' defense for a Joe Tiller - era record 407 yards . RBs Joey Harris and Brandon Jones combined to run for nearly 300 yards , while QB Brandon Kirsch completed 8 of his 10 passes for 144 yards and 2 TDs . Ohio State . As with all of their 2002 losses , Purdue suffered its 6th of the season to eventual national champion Ohio State in excruciating fashion . It was a defensive struggle throughout , as the teams went into the half tied at 3 ( Purdue ' points were set up by a Niko Koutouvides interception ) . In the 4th quarter , Purdue took a 6 – 3 lead thanks to a Berin Lacevic field goal after a 58 yard pass to freshman WR Ray Williams . With less than 2 minutes remaining , the Buckeyes offense was given a short field after a Chris Gamble punt return . QB Craig Krenzel overcame a second down sack to complete a 3rd down and 14 pass to TE Ben Hartsock , setting up a 4th and 1 from Purdue ' s 36 yard line . Under a heavy blitz , Krenzel threw deep for WR Michael Jenkins who caught the ball over the outstretched arm of CB Antwaun Rogers for the winning TD . Purdue ' s final drive ended when 2 - way player Chris Gamble intercepted a deep pass thrown by Kyle Orton . This game has been dubbed the " Holy Buckeye " game , named for the Brent Musberger call of the winning play . Michigan State . Two teams desperate to remain in the hunt for a bowl selection played a wild game that featured 7 lead changes . In the end , Purdue ( 5 – 6 ) prevailed when QB Kyle Orton relieved an injured Brandon Kirsch on a late drive to throw a deep 4th down TD pass to WR John Standeford with just over 3 minutes left . The defense then sealed the game by stopping a scrambling QB Damon Dowdell short of a first down near midfield in the closing minute . Purdue had a terrific day on the ground , running for over 300 yards as a team thanks to QB Brandon Kirsch and RBs Joey Harris and Brandon Jones ( 125 , 89 , and 88 yards respectively ) . Two all Big Ten WRs had phenomenal days . Purdue ' s Standeford had 5 catches for 136 yards and 2 scores , while the Spartans ' Charles Rogers had 8 catches for 161 yards and 2 TDs . Indiana . The Boilermakers qualified for their 6th bowl game in 6 years under Joe Tiller by reclaiming the Old Oaken Bucket from a depleted Indiana Hoosiers team in a decisive 34 – 10 win . ( Per the ESPN telecast , less than 50 players dressed for IU . ) The Purdue offense once again shined , piling up 500 + yards behind another strong O - Line performance that enabled both Joey Harris and Brandon Jones to exceed 100 yards rushing . After an early long TD pass to John Standeford , QB Brandon Kirsch was replaced by Kyle Orton , who had a very efficient passing day with a 22 – 28 ; 173 yard performance . Fifth year senior SS Ralph Turner capped his final home game with a game - clinching interception . Washington . The Boilermakers finished a difficult but rewarding 2002 campaign by defeating their 2001 Rose Bowl opponent Washington Huskies by the same score of that contest 2 seasons prior , 34 – 24 . Purdue dug a big first quarter hole by committing numerous gaffes on offense ( bad snap returned for TD ) and special teams ( punter mishandled the snap , turned into a short TD drive for the Huskies ) . After that , however , the Boilermakers found a rhythm and took control of the game . QB Kyle Orton had his best overall game of the season ( 25 – 37 ; 283 yards ) , backed by 17 combined catches from WRs John Standeford and Taylor Stubblefield as well as 93 rushing yards from Joey Harris . Purdue ' s final TD game on a forced fumble for TD by LB Gilbert Gardner , and their final points came on a Berin Lacevic FG after a time - killing drive . The 2002 Purdue Boilermakers , though they finished 7 – 6 , nonetheless accomplished a rare feat ; they finished ranked # 1 in the Big Ten in total offense AND total defense yards per game .