Weather Conditions: partly cloudy; temperature 84; wind SSE 6 mph. Opening day questions. Opening day answers. One seemingly standard question with a Coach Tiller team is who can catch the ball and become a first, second, or third option for the quarterback.
On opening day 2004 Kyle Orton passed for four touchdowns and Brandon Kirsch added one TD pass. Orton's first TD was a 75 yard toss to Jr. WR Brian Hare. Once Hare got a step on the Orange defense he was uncatchable. Taylor Stubblefield caught a 33 yard Orton TD pass while lying on his back in the south end zone. Orton connected to Stubblefield for 67 yards on his third TD pass. RB Brandon Jones didn't break stride as he grabbed an over-the-shoulder 32 yard Orton TD pass. In fourth quarter action Brandon Kirsch hit redshirt freshman TE Dustin Keller for 51 yard TD. In all, nine Boilermakers caught passes and scored five times to answer one opening day question. The biggest opening day question was how the Purdue defense would perform with eight starters from 2003 now playing in the National Football League.
The biggest question was answered with one of the top defensive performances is the nation. The Boiler defense shutdown Syracuse's running game allowing only 40 net yards. Two interceptions, one by Paul Long and and one by Benard Pollard, and a fumble recovery by Brian Mattaway gave Purdue a plus three on turnovers. Kyle Smith started at Stu Schweigert's old FS position and led the team with seven tackles. The 2004 season is off to a great start for Boilermaker fans.
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