Purdue University handed SIU football its first loss of the season Saturday.

The Salukis (3-1) traveled to West Lafayette, Ind., to play the Boilermakers in the first matchup in the two schools’ history.

Purdue scored 35 points and posted 381 net total yards to beat the Salukis 35-13.

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The Boilermakers dominated the game early and outscored the Salukis 28-3 in the first half to put the game away early.  SIU’s run game struggled for the first time this season, totaling 82 yards.

SIU’s bright spot was senior tight end MyCole Pruitt. Pruitt broke his single game record with 10 catches for 136 yards. Pruitt was the first Saluki since 2010 that had 10 or more catches. Pruitt also eclipsed 2,000 receiving yards for his career.

SIU attempted to work its way back into the game during the second half after junior quarterback Mark Iannotti rushed for a 1-yard touchdown. After Iannotti’s touchdown, senior kicker Thomas Kinney hit a 30-yard field goal to put the Salukis within two scores of the Boilermakers. Purdue quickly responded and ran most of the clock out until Austin Appleby scored on an 11-yard rush to lead 35-13.

 Iannotti finished with 248 net passing yards and completed 24 of his 46 passes.

Senior running back Malcolm Agnew had just 37 yards on 11 carries, his lowest of the season.

Purdue sophomore quarterback Danny Etling was 15 for 26 with 198 yards and 2 scores before he left in the late fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

The Salukis’ next game is at 6 p.m., Sept. 27, at Saluki Stadium against Western Illinois University.

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