October 3, 1998

By HANK LOWENKRON
AP Sports Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - At a school known for its quarterbacks, Purdue sophomore Drew Brees outdid them all Saturday.

In only his fifth collegiate start, Brees passed for 522 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Boilermakers over previously undefeated Minnesota 56-21 Saturday.

Brees broke the school record of 516 passing yards by Scott Campbell against Ohio State in 1991, and topped the record of five TD passes shared by Mike Phipps, Billy Dicken and Mark Herrmann.

"Brees was on fire and he bombed us," said Minnesota linebacker Parc Williams.

Purdue's quarterback history includes Len Dawson and Bob Griese, who went on to lead their teams to Super Bowl victories. Former NFL starters Phipps, Campbell, Hermann, Gary Danielson and Jim Everett also played for the Boilermakers.

Purdue (3-2, 1-0 Big Ten) set a school record with 692 yards of total offense, topping the mark of 616 set in 1980 against Illinois. Minnesota (3-1, 0-1) gained most of its 321 yards after the outcome was determined. Purdue's total was the third highest ever in a Big Ten game

"We threw the ball more than we wanted to. They kept blitzing us and stayed in man (defense) most of the game," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "If they're going to put 7-8 guys in the box, you can't run so we had to throw the ball."

Brees didn't play in the fourth quarter, which began with Purdue leading 56-14. The sophomore needed less than a half to top his previous career-highs of 261 yards and two TD tosses. He spread the ball around, connecting with 10 receivers, and finished 31-of-36.

"I just tried to execute our normal offense. I can't really think of any great passes," said Brees, who threw for 368 yards and four TDs in the first half. "The receivers just made all the catches. The offensive line played great and gave me a lot of time."

Four receivers caught TD passes for Purdue, with Gabe Cox and Chris Daniels each having two.

J. Crabtree began Purdue's scoring with a 9-yard run. Brees then threw a 46-yard TD pass to Randall Lane, a 21-yarder to Cox, a 10-yarder to Vinny Sutherland and a 26-yarder to Daniels as the Boilermakers opened a 35-7 halftime lead.

"I was thinking all week that the offense had to have a big game. We knew Minnesota was going to play us man-to-man, and that plays right into our hands," said Lane, who led the Boilermakers with six catches for 137 yards.