Elijah Brown Guides Washington Huskies to First Big Ten Win vs. Purdue Boilermakers

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For the first time this season, the Washington Huskies football team are the winners of a Big Ten football game.

The Huskies downed the Purdue Boilermakers 38-26 on Friday at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind., and crossed several key thresholds that the team hasn't been able to cross this season in the process.

Washington saw third-year quarterback Elijah Brown start for the first time this season due to fellow third-year Demond Williams Jr. being out with a rib injury suffered in UW's 41-24 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Oct. 9.

The former Stanford Cardinal quarterback finished the game with what the FOX broadcast booth described as a "Brett Favre-esque" stat line and finished 21-for-27 for 302 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

One score was a 2-yard connection with third-year tight-end Decker DeGraaf with six minutes, 19 seconds left in the first quarter, the second was a 25-yard catch-and-run from first-year running back Brian Bonner Jr. with 6:27 left in the first half and the third was a four-yard connection with second-year wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck with 14:12 left in the game.

Despite Brown's hat trick of passing touchdowns, the Huskies' negative turnover differential (five to two), kept the Boilermakers in the game through the majority of the first half.

What made the difference Friday was Washington's run game, which had an uncharacteristically fantastic showing despite struggling throughout the year.

The Huskies totaled 188 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries. Bonner finished the game with 13 runs for 64 yards and a touchdown. Sixth-year back Trey Cooley finished the game with eight rushes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Cooley's 100-plus-yard game was his first since his true freshman season with the Louisville Cardinals on Oct. 23, 2021.

Bonner's touchdown was a 1-yard rush with 27 seconds left in the first half that broke the tie and gave Washington a 24-17 lead.

Cooley's touchdown was a 53-yard run with 10:30 left in the game that resulted in the eventual final of 38-26.

The Huskies defense held Purdue to six or less points in three-of-four quarters, with the Boilermakers' best scoring output being 14 points in the second quarter. Second-year safety Rylon Dillard-Allen finished with an interception and a pass breakup and true freshman cornerback Jeron Jones was able to snag his second interception of the season.

Washington will carry the win into its bye week and will be back in action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at a to-be-determined time Oct. 31 (Halloween) at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.

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