Typically reserved, Darrell Hazell pumped his fist twice through the air.
When Nevada’s potentially game-tying field-goal attempt from 27 yards sailed wide left to put Purdue in position to close out a 24-14 win Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium, it was a release for the Boilermakers’ fourth-year coach.
“What came across my mind was, ‘We need a break,’ ” Hazell said. “We haven’t had a whole lot of breaks, and we needed a break. We got some pretty good pressure, and he yanked it.
“I was a little emotional on the sideline. It felt like you were always trudging uphill, and these guys have worked so hard. I was just glad to see us overcome those things. That’s probably where the animation came from.”
Purdue (2-1) won despite committing four turnovers, leading to all 14 points for Nevada (2-2), which didn’t have any giveaways. The Boilermakers rallied from a 14-3 deficit.
Purdue demonstrated to quarterback David Blough an ability to overcome adversity.
“A lot of guys responded,” he said. “They showed a lot of grit, a lot of character.”
Purdue’s much-maligned rushing defense, entering the game 104th nationally at an average of 219 yards, stiffened against Nevada. The Boilermakers limited the Wolf Pack to 68 yards, well below their average of 208.3.
Before Nevada’s missed field-goal attempt with 4:16 left, Purdue held firm after it faced first-and-goal from the 3.
It was a matter of getting back to basics, according to defensive tackle Eddy Wilson.
“If someone tells you you can’t stop the run, you take it personally,” he said. “In practice, we just had an attitude we were going to stop the run this week.”
That attitude and execution pleased Hazell.
“They were penetrating and eliminating gaps,” he said. “For the first time, we did a really good job of keeping the edge and forcing the thing back into their help.
“The defense played phenomenal. They took it over with the four-man line, and that allowed us to play some coverage in the back end.”
The Boilermakers had five sacks after just one in their first two games. Evan Panfil had two, Wilson had 1.5 and Austin Larkin, making his season debut after missing the first two games with an ankle injury, added one.
Cornerback Da’Wan Hunte, also making his season debut because of an ankle injury, had a team-high eight tackles.
Panfil was happy Purdue’s work paid dividends.
“All bye week and this week, it’s been a huge emphasis to get to the quarterback,” he said.
Blough completed 21 of 30 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns, recovering after an interception at the 5-yard line five minutes into the game. On a third-and-7, his 51-yard TD pass to Brycen Hopkins with 1:17 left salted away the game.
“It’s all about getting first downs and trying to end the game with the ball in our hands,” Blough said. “We hit a big one, popped it in. If he wasn’t as wide open as he was, I was going to sit on it.”
Markell Jones, who injured his left shoulder against Cincinnati, ran for 124 yards and the go-ahead TD on 22 carries, despite two fumbles.
“I had a couple turnovers, and that’s something we emphasize in my (running backs) room especially,” he said. “I’m sure we’re going to address it in practice. It’s good to have those kinds of adversities and see how we fight through it.”
The Boilermakers also had a red-zone fumble, with Brian Lankford-Johnson losing the ball at the 5 late in the third quarter. But they won despite such mistakes.
“We’re really looking forward to taking this momentum on the road to Maryland,” Jones said.
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff
