HARD BOILED

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Aidan O’Connell threw for 374 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, David Bell had a career-best 240 yards receiving, and Purdue continued its recent mastery over No. 2 Iowa with a 24-7 upset Saturday.

The Boilermakers (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) have won four of their last five games against the Hawkeyes (6-1, 3-1). The loss ended Iowa’s 12-game winning streak.

PURDUE IOWA

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Purdue beat its highestranked opponent on the road since a victory at No. 2 Notre Dame in 1974. It was the second time in four seasons Purdue has knocked off a No. 2-ranked team. The Boilermakers won at home against secondranked Ohio State in 2018.

“Basically they outdid us in every category,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “The bottom line is we didn’t get it done.”

O’Connell was 30-for-40 passing with two touchdowns, and he also ran for a score. He got the most work on a day when Purdue used backup quarterbacks Jack Plummer and Austin Burton in select situations. All three were in on different plays during the Boilermakers’ first-quarter drive that ended with O’Connell’s 6-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

“It was just so fun,” O’Connell said, comparing the quarterback shuffle to line changes in hockey.

O’Connell threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to TJ Sheffield in the final minute of the first half to give Purdue a 14-7 halftime lead. He threw a 21-yard TD pass to Bell in the fourth quarter.

“Sometimes when you try to use some creativity, it works,” Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said of the quarterback changes. “Sometimes it looks [bad]. We took some chances with it, and fortunately today it worked.”

Bell had 11 receptions. He has a combined 37 catches for 558 yards and five touchdowns against Iowa in three seasons.

“I think the reason he’s been able to exploit them is he’s one of the best receivers in the country,” Brohm said.

O’Connell said the quiet Bell is “so destructive of a player for a defense.”

Bell didn’t know how many yards he had until he heard it from his mother after the game.

“It was definitely nice hearing it from her,” said Bell, who set a stadium record with his receiving yards.

Iowa’s offense was ineffective against Purdue, which came in third in the Big Ten in total defense and scoring defense. The Hawkeyes’ only score was a 3-yard touchdown run by Ivory KellyMartin in the second quarter, and Iowa had just 271 yards of offense.

“They made it tough on us,” Petras said. — AP