PHOTO GALLERY: Pictures From Purdue Football's 17-9 Victory Against Northwestern
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue football defeated Northwestern 17-9 in its final home game of the season on Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium. The team celebrated Senior Day before kickoff and ended its home slate with a 4-2 record.
The win for the Boilermakers gave them a winning conference record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1997-98, and the program has also recorded seven wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 15 years.
Sixth-year senior quarterback Aidan O'Connell threw for a season-low 159 yards while completing 16 of his 25 passing attempts, but two first-half touchdowns pushed Purdue to a 14-3 lead at halftime.
Northwestern was led by junior running back Evan Hull, who tallied 105 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 attempts, but the team struggled to have success through the air with sophomore walk-on quarterback Cole Freeman making the first start of his college football career. He went 9-for-20 for 78 yards and an interception.
The Boilermakers forced three turnovers in the second half to protect its eight-point lead. However, they failed to score any points off those takeaways.
Purdue will have a chance to earn at least a share of the Big Ten West title with a win at Indiana next week inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. It will advance to the conference championship with a victory and a Nebraska win at Iowa.
Photo Gallery: Purdue 14, Northwestern 9
Aidan O'Connell
Deion Burks
Offensive Line
Cory Trice
Purdue Sideline
Payne Durham
TJ Sheffield
Jack Sullivan
Dylan Downing
Cory Trice
Purdue Defense
Aidan O'Connell
Payne Durham
Mitchell Fineran
Payne Durham
Austin Burton
Kobe Lewis
Aidan O'Connell
Lawrence Johnson
Kobe Lewis
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- Boilers Find Balance Despite Losing Hartwig, Mockobee: Purdue starters Gus Hartwig and Devin Mockobee each left the team's matchup against Northwestern due to injury. Despite their absence, the Boilermakers ran for 140 yards in a 17-9 victory. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.
Follow @DJFezler