Purdue uses trickery and a must-see TD to edge Arizona in the Foster Farms Bowl
The win marked the Boilermakers' first in a bowl game since 2011
Purdue beat Arizona 38-35 in the Foster Farms Bowl on Wednesday night, giving the Boilermakers their first bowl victory since the 2011 Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, and it can be credited to some innovative thinking by Purdue coach Jeff Brohm and tremendous playmaking by his athletes.
Late in the first half, the Boilermakers were up 28-14 on the Wildcats with less than a minute to go at their 32-yard line. They lined up as if they were going to kneel and go to halftime, but that's not what they did.
Fake kneel run by Purdue. That was great. pic.twitter.com/x3AIuTByxk
— Kevin Marchina (@kg_holler) December 28, 2017
That play put Purdue in field-goal position before the end of the half and allowed it to go up 31-14. Now, at the time, it didn't seem like a big deal, but those three points were rather important in a 38-35 game. It's not the first time a Brohm team has run that play; Western Kentucky used it against Memphis in the Boca Raton Bowl last season. WKU ran it in the final minute of the first half then, as well.
It also wasn't the only big play the Boilermakers made to win the game Wednesday. Arizona dominated the second half, coming back from that 31-14 deficit to take a 35-31 lead with 3:21 to play. But Purdue followed that with its first touchdown of the second half, a 38-yard strike to Anthony Mahoungou that the French-born wideout hauled in with pure effort.
PURDUEEEEEEEEE pic.twitter.com/BuGQxLgGHF
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 28, 2017
Mahoungou had a couple of critical drops during the second half that killed Purdue drives, so you know making that winning touchdown catch had to feel amazing for him.
















