The opening minutes of the game were weird, to say the least.
Nine seconds in, quarterback Trevor Siemian threw an interception to Purdue’s Danny Ezechukwu. Two plays later, Jimmy Hall picked off an Austin Appleby pass that deflected of a receiver’s helmet. A couple nice runs by Justin Jackson and Treyvon Green – the latter going for 44 yards – then led to a 25-yard touchdown pass from Siemian to super back Dan Vitale.
All this happened with 12:15 left in the first quarter.
Hall continued his solid play, forcing and recovering a fumble with 4:11 left. He’s recovered three fumbles in the last two games.
Jackson had seven carries for 31 yards, including a touchdown, as well. His touchdown capped off a drive in which Kyle Prater caught two passes for 40 yards, including a 19-yard catch on 4th-and-14.
Northwestern heads into the 2nd quarter with a 14-0 lead.