WEST LAFAYETTE - There's no need to run the ball when your quarterback can slice up the defense through the air.
Purdue University quarterback Curtis Painter had a field day, throwing all over Ball State University's secondary for 416 yards, leading the Boilermakers to a 38-28 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium Saturday.
"There were too many explosive plays," Ball State coach Brady Hoke said. "They catch it and they go for 20, 25 yards. You got to eliminate those [plays]."
No drive was more indicative of Painter's accuracy than the final drive of the first half, where he was 10-of-11 for 92 yards. Painter's last pass, a three-yard touchdown to Kory Sheets, extended Purdue University's lead to 21-10.
"Anytime you let anybody get into the end zone right before the half, it's real discouraging," Hoke said. "We didn't tighten down enough on some things, and couldn't get to the quarterback."
Painter finished 30-of-39 and tossed three touchdown passes.
Ball State jumped out to a 7-0 lead early when Joey Lynch hit Louis Johnson in the back of the end zone for the score. The play was set up by defensive back Marcus McClure, who picked off a Painter pass and returned it to the Purdue 23-yard line.
The Boilermakers needed only three plays to tie the score at 7. Dustin Keller sped by Trey Lewis, locked up in man coverage, and hauled in a 60-yard touchdown pass.
Ball State would take the lead again at 10-7 with a Brian Jackson 41-yard goal, but it would be the last time the Cardinals led.
The Ball State defense once again had tackling issues. On one particular play, Keller took a short out pass and turned upfield, breaking five tackles before Erik Keys dragged him down 69 yards later at the Ball State 6-yard line. Painter would walk into the end zone two plays later to give Purdue the lead for good.
"If I knew [what the problem was], we wouldn't have them," Hoke said. "You just got to go back to the drawing board and go back to fundamentals and technique. There's no easy answer to it, but I know we got to play better."
Ball State had some chances but could not convert. With Purdue leading 14-10 and the Cardinals on the Purdue 4-yard line, Lynch tried to thread the needle to Terry Moss in the end zone, but Terrell Vinson stepped in front of the pass and intercepted it, ending the threat.
"That's just stuff you can't do on the road and win," Lynch said. "It's a zone-beater, kind of a bang-bang play. I tried to squeeze it into Moss and the corner stepped in front of it."
Lynch finished 17-of-26 for 193 yards and a touchdown.
Nate Davis, stepping in at quarterback for Lynch, provided a spark in the fourth quarter. He led the Cardinals on two scoring drives. On the first, Davis hit Johnson on a fade route for 31 yards to get the Cardinals down to the one. Brad Salyer would run it in on the next play.
On the next possession, Davis threaded the needle in between three defenders to complete a 30-yard touchdown pass to Darius Hill. Hill then caught a two-point conversion pass from Davis for the final margin.
Davis finished 7-of-11 for 98 yards.
Running back Larry Bostic led the way with 99 yards receiving. Hill added 88 yards, and MiQuale Lewis was the leading rusher, gaining 56 yards on nine carries.
"The effort was good but we got inconsistent in the third quarter on both sides of the ball," Hoke said. "We didn't tackle as well as we need to. The whole goal is to win, and we didn't do that. There is no moral victory."
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