October 18, 2003
Purdue at Wisconsin
The 14th ranked, 6-1 Wisconsin Badgers of coach Barry Alvarez, fresh off their upset of Ohio State, welcomed the 13th ranked, 5-1 Purdue Boilermakers of coach Joe Tiller. Purdue’s QB Kyle Orton starred as Purdue escaped Camp Randall with a 26-23 victory when PK Ben Jones hit a field goal with just 0:03 left in the game to claim The Belt for the Boilermakers. The Boilermakers opened a 14-0, 1st quarter lead when RB Jerod Void scored from 2 yards & Orton hit WR Taylor Stubblefield on a 6-yard touchdown pass. The Badgers got a 28-yard touchdown run from RB Anthony Davis & LB Jeff Mack returned an Orton fumble 55 yards for a touchdown but PK Mike Allen missed the extra-point attempt leaving Wisconsin behind 14-13. Jones added a 42-yard field goal as the teams went to halftime with Purdue leading 17-13. Jones added a 20-yard field goal for the only points of the 3rd quarter. After Allen hit a field goal from 25 yards & Jones connected from 26 yards, the Boilermakers defense seemed to have the game in hand with a 23-16 advantage. The Badgers got the spark they needed when All-Big Ten S Jim Leonhard returned a punt 63 yards for the tying score with 2:55 to play. Orton then drove the Boilermakers inside the Wisconsin 5-yard line & Jones hit an 18-yard field goal with just 0:03 to play giving Purdue their first Belt title since 1974. Orton finished with 411 yards passing, Stubblefield had 16 catches for 130 yards, & WR John Standeford had 14 catches for 184 yards in the win. Wisconsin’s QB Jim Sorgi threw for 118 yards with an interception while All-Big Ten WR Lee Evans had 3 catches for 76 yards in the loss. The Badgers finished the season 7-6 while the Boilermakers finished 9-4 & ranked 18th nationally. Wisconsin has not played for The Belt again.
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