HUNTINGTON - Devon Johnson redeemed himself for a critical fumble, running 6 hard-fought yards with 2:50 left to help give Marshall a 41-31 win over Purdue Sunday in the season-opener for both teams. Tiquan Lang then sealed the game with his second touchdown on an interception return.
The game was played before 38,791 fans, several hundred above capacity and the third-largest crowd in the history of Joan C. Edwards Stadium history. Only two games against West Virginia, in 2007 and 2011, drew larger crowds.
The Herd committed three turnovers, but the last was the most painful.
Down 28-27, Johnson burst into the Boilermakers secondary and was approaching 50 yards on the run when Frankie Williams poked the ball away. Langston Newton recovered for Purdue, ending what might have been Marshall's last threat.
But after Paul Griggs' short field goal gave Purdue a 31-27 lead, MU quarterback Michael Birdsong responded. Starting from the Marshall 16-yard line, he was 6 of 7 for 80 yards, finishing with an 18-yard pass to Davonte Allen that set up Johnson's game-winning run.
Lang then returned his second interception of the game for a touchdown 55 yards to seal the victory.
The Herd led 17-7 at one point in the first half. It scored on the very first play from scrimmage, as Lang picked off an Appleby pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.
Johnson, who found rushing yards difficult against a burly Purdue defensive front, made it 14-7 on a 20-yard catch and run. Nick Smith kicked a 42-yard field goal, but Purdue took a 21-17 halftime lead on Appleby's 9-yard pass to Danny Anthrop and an Appleby 1-yard run.