When Purdue faced a fourth-and-one at the Northwestern 40-yard line with 7:37 left in the first half, it had gained a mere 78 yards. For an offense that averaged 421 total yards in its first two games, that was well under its normal pace.
But Boilermaker head coach Jeff Brohm dialed up a play-action fake that got basically the entire Wildcat defense to bite, leaving tight end Garrett Miller wide open for a touchdown to knot things up at 10.
On the prior drive, NU quarterback Peyton Ramsey sailed a pass for Riley Lees that went off his hands and was intercepted.