Purdue Runs To Season-Opening Win Over Toledo

Purdue sophomore Ralph Bolden claimed to be nervous before his first career start at running back.  “My heart was jumping through my chest,” Bolden said after the game. While that may be true, none of the fans in Ross-Ade Stadium would have known. Bolden raced 78 yards for a touchdown on his first carry of the season and piled up a total of 234 yards (the third-best performance in school history) to spark the Boilermakers to a 52-31 win over Toledo. The victory gave coach Danny Hope a win in his debut as Purdue head coach, and he wasn’t surprised at all by his team’s prolific offensive numbers. In fact, he wanted more. “We were hoping we’d have all the points and all the yards,” Hope joked afterward. “We have a very good offense. If we’d been a little more efficient a couple times, we would have scored 70.” While the offense moved the ball at will, led by Bolden on the ground and quarterback Joey Elliott through the ai...