Purdue holds off Western Michigan

LITTLE CAESARS

Purdue quarterback Caleb TerBush took the final snap, sprinted to the sideline and handed the football to coach Danny Hope.

"It's a moment that we've been waiting for the last three years," Hope said.

Perhaps empowered by getting a contract extension recently, Hope made the gutsy decision to go for two onside kicks in the first half and both gambles paid off for the Boilermakers in a 37-32 win over Western Michigan on Tuesday night in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Detroit.

"We were going to do a third one, but they changed the way they lined up," Hope said. "I'm serious."

In a game that seemed more silly than serious at times, 46,177 fans inside the home of the Detroit Lions were thoroughly entertained.

"It was a wild one, that's for sure," Hope said. "There's a saying in football, 'We're all here because we're not all there.'"

The Boilermakers (7-6) almost didn't win despite having a double-digit lead for two-plus quarters.

Raheem Mostert returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, third-string running back Reggie Pegram scored the first two TDs of his career and Carson Wiggs made two field goals to give Purdue a 27-15 lead at halftime.

Wiggs also recovered one of his onside kicks, both of which he tapped toward a sideline after running at full speed as if he was trying to boot the ball deep.

Purdue had another 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Big Ten team had to hold on for the win against the Mid-American Conference program.

The Broncos (7-6) got the ball with a chance to go ahead, but their comeback hopes ended when quarterback Alex Carder fumbled for his fifth turnover with just under 2 minutes left. Ryan Russell forced the final fumble and Bruce Gaston recovered to seal the win.

BELK BOWL

North Carolina State 31, Louisville 24: At Charlotte, N.C., Mike Glennon threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns and David Amerson returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown as North Carolina State defeated Louisville.

T.J. Graham made the most of his final game at N.C. State with seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, including a 65-yard score on a nifty catch-and-run, as the Wolfpack (8-5) overcame a series of special teams blunders to hold off a late charge from the Cardinals (7-6).

Amerson had two more interceptions to give him 13 for the season, the most in the country.