WEST LAFAYETTE | Central Michigan runs the no-huddle offense quite effectively. Saturday, it would've helped to start snapping the ball before Purdue even took the field.

In a wild shootout featuring 53 first downs and 1,048 total yards of offense, the unbeaten Boilermakers rolled to their third straight win, 45-22.

Down 38-0, the Chippewas ran off 22 unanswered points to shake Purdue from its brief funk. Dorien Bryant's 58-yard kickoff return and Kory Sheets' 22-yard run then set up Curtis Painter's short touchdown pass to Selwyn Lymon with 9:07 left to put the game away.

"They were closing in and making it a game. It was gut-check time," said defensive end Keyon Brown, a Thornton grad.

"The coaches say it's a challenge to our team's maturity when you play with a big lead," Bryant added. "We got a little lax in the second half. It was a combination of playing too conservatively and turnovers. You can't turn the ball over five times and be successful."

CMU's no-huddle offense began to click after the break, with junior Dan LeFevour throwing for 364 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Nine different receivers caught passes.

"I don't think it was a matter of fatigue," said Purdue defensive tackle and Merrillville grad Mike Neal. "We were having trouble lining up quickly and filling the right gaps against their no-huddle."

None of this surprised Purdue coach Joe Tiller.

"I was more disappointed the second half with how we responded, offensively, not defensively," Tiller said. "That's a good quarterback, a good offense they have. They're a team that prides itself on being tough and physical. They ain't gonna quit.

"From a blocking, running and receiving perspective, I would say it indicated a lack of focus on our behalf."

Kory Sheets ran for 144 net yards and two touchdowns. Painter threw for 360 yards and three TDs. He now has 13 TD passes in three games.

The Boilermakers gave outmanned CMU (1-2) false hope with their spotty play.

Lymon fumbled at the Chippewas' 2, Painter fumbled at the Purdue 41, and Sheets fumbled at the CMU 33 and his own 39.

"He's got to figure that out," Tiller said of Sheets' carelessness with the ball. "It cannot happen, but I'm not gonna beat him over the head with a club."

It was a costly win for Purdue, which lost running back Jaycen Taylor to a broken arm in the opening period.

"That's life in college football," Tiller said. "It'll impact us some, but it gives someone else an opportunity to step up."