College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Marshall 41, Purdue 31
When: 3:00 PM ET, Sunday, September 6, 2015
Where: Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Huntington, West Virginia
Temperature: 89°
Head Official: Ken Antee
Attendance: 38791

Safety Tiquan Lang returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns and running back Devon Johnson provided the go-ahead score with 2:50 remaining as the Marshall Thundering Herd defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 41-31 on Sunday before a record crowd of 38,791 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, W.Va.

Lang's second return -- a 55-yarder with 1:20 left -- sealed the Thundering Herd's first victory in six tries against the Big Ten while hosting a member of that conference for the first time. Quarterback Michael Birdsong was 23-of-36 for 234 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, Johnson rushed for 89 yards on 11 carries and tight end Ryan Yuracheck caught a touchdown pass for Marshall (1-0).

Austin Appleby -- the Boilermakers' fifth different quarterback to start the last five seasons -- was 31-of-48 for 270 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions and added a rushing score. Sophomore running back D.J. Knox ran for 102 yards and a touchdown and freshman running back Markell Jones added 72 yards and a score for Purdue (0-1), which has lost seven straight non-conference road games.

After Lang scored his first career touchdown with a 30-yard interception return, the Boilermakers immediately answered when Knox capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. The Thundering Herd scored the next 10 points, including Birdsong's 20-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, before Appleby's 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Danny Anthrop late in the first quarter and Appleby's 1-yard touchdown run in the second gave the Boilermakers a 21-17 halftime lead.

The teams traded touchdowns to begin third quarter with Jones bursting up the middle for a 36-yard score to cap a nine-play, 70-yard drive and restore Purdue's four-point lead. The remainder of the third quarter was mistake-filled with the quarterbacks trading interceptions in a span of three plays, Boilermakers kicker Paul Griggs missing a 44-yard attempt off the left upright and Johnson fumbling at the end of a 33-yard run on the next play.

Purdue took a 31-27 lead on Griggs' 22-yard field goal with 10:14 left before Marshall went 84 yards on 11 plays with Johnson's touchdown giving the Thundering Herd their first lead since the second quarter. Purdue faced a third-and-10 from the Marshall 40 when Appleby's pass sailed into the arms of Lang, who raced down the left sideline for the clinching score.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Purdue   Marshall
D.J. Knox Player Devon Johnson
22 Attempts 11
102 Yards 89
4.6 Avg Yards 8.1
1 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Purdue   Marshall
DeAngelo Yancey Player Davonte Allen
5 Receptions 5
78 Yards 59
15.6 Avg Yards 11.8
0 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Purdue 454 184 270 4 1 1 2.0 2
Marshall 397 163 234 5 2 4 2.0 2