SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 11, 2010
Dan Dierking rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns and Robert Marve completed 23-of-34 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown as Purdue won its home opener Saturday, 31-21 over Western Illinois.

Dierking scored on two short runs as the Boilermakers (1-1) scored 24 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to erase an early 7-0 deficit.

But the Boilermakers still struggled with Western Illinois, which outgained Purdue 406 yards to 402, including 25-of-38 passing for 286 yards from quarterback Matt Barr. Five Leatherneck players had more than 40 receiving yards.

Caulton Ray scored from the 1 to give Western Illinois an early 7-0 lead, but Purdue scored the next 24 to take command.

Marve threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Justin Siller to tie the score, then Dierking scored on runs from the 1 and the 5, and Carson Wiggs kicked a 36-yard field goal for a 24-7 lead.

Western’s Bryce Flowers pulled the Leathernecks (1-1) to 24-14 with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Purdue’s Al-Terek McBurse answered with a 40-yard run less than a minute later.

Still, the Leathernecks continued to battle, with Barr directing an 82-yard drive to make it 31-21 on a 10-yard TD pass to Charles Chestnut.

Purdue will host Ball State on Saturday. Western Illinois hosts Sam Houston State.