Northwestern scored 31 second-half points and ran past Purdue 45-17 on Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.

Quarterback Clayton Thorson completed 23 of 36 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Justin Jackson rushed for 127 yards and two scores and John Moten IV ran for 119 yards as the Wildcats (5-5, 4-3 Big Ten) piled up 605 yards of total offense.

On a day that started off with so much promise for the Boilermakers, the final score had to be disappointing for quarterback David Blough and interim coach Gerad Parker, who took over for the fired Darrell Hazell last month.

Blough went 21 of 36 for 184 yards and one touchdown. But he also threw three interceptions.

Purdue (3-7, 1-6) took the opening kickoff and marched 61 yards in 11 plays before the Boilermakers stalled at the Wildcats 9-yard line. J.D. Dellinger's 26-yard field-goal try put Purdue up 3-0.

The Boilermakers extended the lead after C.J. Parker picked off Thorson and returned the interception 50 yards to the Northwestern 33. Blough capped an eight-play drive with a 1-yard plunge and Purdue was up 10-0.

That's when Thorson went to work and teamed up with wide receiver Austin Carr for a pair of first half touchdowns.

The first Thorson-to-Carr score capped a four-play, 26-yard drive and came from 2 yards out to make the score 10-7 with the extra point.

With a little more than eight minutes left in the half, the duo connected again, this time on a 33-yard strike and the Wildcats never looked back.

Carr, a senior and former walk-on, now has 12 touchdown catches this season to tie the school single-season record. He had only 23 total catches coming into 2016.

The Wildcats' defense and ground game took control in the third quarter. Jackson scored on the first possession from 14 yards out to make the score 21-10.

An interception led to a 42-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Garrett Dickerson and Thorson scampered in from the 2-yard line to put Northwestern up 35-17.