Purdue Comes Back to Earth With Thud

Casey McBeth rushed for two touchdowns and Kevin Meger passed for 305 yards and a touchdown as Toledo brought Purdue back to reality with a 33-29 victory Saturday.

Purdue (1-1), which upset California, 41-14, a week earlier, was unable to stop the passing of Meger, Toledo’s senior quarterback, who set school records with 33 completions and 52 passes.

Marcus Goodwin caught 13 passes for 134 yards. He scored in the third quarter after Purdue rallied to take a 16-15 lead.

Matt Pike, who completed only three of 10 passes in the first half, gave the Boilermakers the lead with two touchdown passes in the third period, 13 yards to Rodney Dennis and six yards to freshman Mike Alstott.

Toledo (2-1) regained the lead on a career-best 51-yard field goal by Rusty Hanna, his fourth of the game.

Purdue’s final lead was at 26-25 on a 20-yard field goal by Joe O’Leary, his second of three.

McBeth put Toledo on top for good with a six-yard run midway through the final period. A two-point conversion pass from Meger to Scott Brunswick pushed the lead to 33-26.

Purdue’s final chance ended with an interception by Todd Alles with 2:05 remaining.

Pike completed 12 of 27 passes for 193 yards.

Purdue, which forced four turnovers in its upset of Cal, set up Toledo’s first touchdown with a fumble on a punt return at its 17-yard line.

A three-yard touchdown run by Earl Coleman minutes earlier gave Purdue a 7-6 lead. The Boilermakers held the Rockets on three plays, but Ernest Calloway fumbled the punt on a hit by Ernie Baskin, and Toledo’s Joe Palian recovered at the 17.

Meger passed 15 yards to Goodwin, and McBeth ran the final two for the score.

The teams exchanged field goals in the final three minutes of the half, with O’Leary hitting a career-best 41-yarder with 2:41 to go and Hanna a 20-yarder with five seconds left for a 15-10 halftime lead.

Hanna, who made two of three attempts in the first two games, also had field goals on Toledo’s first two possessions, a 27-yarder in the first quarter and a 39-yarder early in the second period.