Auburn Puts on Scoring Showcase, Steamrolls Purdue 63-14 in 2018 Music City Bowl

Purdue spent the last month celebrating after Jeff Brohm turned down the Louisville head coaching position.

The Boilermakers looked like a team with a severe holiday hangover Friday.

Jarrett Stidham threw for 373 yards and five touchdowns, leading Auburn to a 63-14 blowout victory over Purdue in the 2018 Music City Bowl.

The Tigers scored the game's first 21 points and held a 56-7 advantage going into halftime. Their 56 points were the most ever scored in a single half of a bowl game.

Purdue quarterback David Blough struggled in his final collegiate game, throwing for 184 yards on 22-of-37 passing and throwing two interceptions. 

Stidham took advantage of a sieve-like Purdue defense to gash the Boilermakers secondary for a series of long gains. He hit JaTarvious Whitlow for a 66-yard score on Auburn's first drive and then hit Darius Slayton for scores of 74 and 52 yards on consecutive drives later in the first half.  

Slayton finished the game with touchdowns on all three of his receptions, totaling 160 yards. Whitlow added a pair of rushing touchdowns, giving him three total.

For almost the entirety of the second half, it seemed like Purdue was simply playing to avoid becoming the biggest blowout victim of the bowl season. Army's 70-14 thrashing of Houston set the bar, and Auburn appeared ready to hurdle it when the Tigers went up 63-7 on a Stidham touchdown to Ryan Davis.

The Tigers finished with 586 total yards of offense, more than doubling Purdue's total (263). Auburn also converted four of its five fourth-down attempts in a virtuoso offensive performance.

It's a highly disappointing ending to 2018 for Brohm, who thrilled West Lafayette when he announced he was staying at the school rather than taking the job at his alma mater. He was awarded a huge new contract and the promise of making Purdue a perennial contender in the Big Ten.

This result is a disappointing black eye during a time the program should be riding high.

Auburn, meanwhile, continues a trend of 8-5 finishes under coach Gus Malzahn. The Tigers have finished 8-5 in three of his six seasons and have only reached double-digit victories once. Record-setting performance against Purdue aside, Malzahn has his work cut out to avoid the hot seat next season.