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Gordon, Badgers blow by Boilermakers

Sep 22, 2013 - 3:28 AM Madison, WI (Sports Network) - Melvin Gordon rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns as No. 24 Wisconsin cruised to a 41-10 win over Purdue at Camp Randall Stadium.

James White added 145 yards and a touchdown on 16 rushes and Corey Clement finished with 83 yards and a score on 13 carries for the Badgers (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten), who bounced back from a controversial loss to Arizona State last week.

"We ran the ball very, very well. Those are some really good tailbacks and let's not forget who is in front of them, the offensive line, the tight ends, the wide receivers and those fullbacks, talk about unselfishness. They just keep on working at it, and some talented players back there making big time plays for us," said Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen.

Joel Save completed 12-of-19 passes for 158 yards and an interception in the victory.

Rob Henry was 18-for-36 passing for 135 yards and an interception and also rushed for a score for the Boilermakers (1-3, 0-1), who have dropped eight straight to Wisconsin.

"Obviously that's not the way Purdue football wants to play. We need to get a lot better. Obviously it was a very close ball game early. We missed some tackles and didn't convert third downs," said Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell. "When you play a good football team like Wisconsin those things seem to spiral on you and it got out of hand in the third quarter pretty quickly. Obviously we need to take a long look at ourselves, coaches and players and make sure we're taking the right steps to make sure Purdue football gets better."

Gordon's 5-yard TD plunge gave the Badgers an early 7-0 lead. Wisconsin drove 95 yards on eight plays, capped with Gordon's run.

Whites's 70-yard touchdown run on Wisconsin's ensuing possession made it 14-0 with just 43 seconds left in the first quarter. On 3rd-and-1, White busted through the line on the right side before cutting back and dancing around a Purdue defender and running it all the way in for the score.

Henry's 22-yard touchdown run capped a nine-play, 55 yard jaunt to make it 14-7 just over four minutes later. Henry faked the handoff, turned and sprinted through an enormous hole on the left side of the line. The quarterback then beat a Wisconsin defender to the pylon to pull the Boilermakers within one score.

Ricardo Allen picked off Stave on the ensuing possession and returned it to the Wisconsin 10-yard line, but the Boilermakers couldn't punch it in and settled for Paul Griggs' 24-yard field goal.

Wisconsin, though, ripped off 27 unanswered points to cruise to victory.

Gordon broke off a 27-yard touchdown run, shedding numerous Purdue tacklers on his way into the end zone and Kyle French added a 32-yarder just before the end of the first half to give the Badgers a 24-10 lead heading into the locker room.

Gordon's third rushing score of the game capped a six-play, 68 yard march to give the Badgers a 31-10 edge.

French added a 27-yard field goal with 3:13 left in the third, and Clement bulled his way in from five yard out in the opening seconds of the final frame to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Wisconsin will travel to Columbus next week to take on No. 4 Ohio State ... Wisconsin has scored at least 30 points four times this season and has eclipsed the 40-point mark twice ... Gordon has rushed for at least 140 yards and scored at least one touchdown in every game this season ... Purdue's last win over the Badgers came on Oct. 18, 2003 ... Wisconsin managed 546 yards of total offense while limiting the Boilermakers to just 180 net yards.