The quarterback matchup should be intriguing when nonconference foes Purdue and host Virginia Tech meet for a noon ET kickoff Saturday in Blacksburg.
Purdue has a new face to its program at quarterback but certainly not a new face to college football.
Hudson Card played three seasons at Texas before transferring to Purdue, and the redshirt junior seemed to fit in well in his first start with the Boilermakers.
Purdue lost its season opener at home to Fresno State 39-35, but Card went 17 of 30 passing for 254 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“You saw flashes of what he’s capable of doing with his arms and his legs,” Purdue head coach Ryan Walters said. “We’ve got to do a better job of protecting him and giving him an opportunity to stand in there and deliver accurate and confident throws.”
Defense was the biggest issue for the Boilermakers as they gave up 371 yards passing. Purdue next faces an experienced quarterback in Virginia Tech starter Grant Wells, who is coming off a good debut.
Wells, a redshirt senior, went 17 of 29 for 251 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-17 home win over Old Dominion.
“I think he came into the game pretty confident,” Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry said. “He’s had a good camp. It’s like we mentioned last year, there just wasn’t a lot of support around him. I think the ability of our wideouts and tight ends — and I thought our line protected much better — gives him the chance to be the player he can be.”
A big reason for Wells’ success was the presence of two transfers at wideout, seniors Ali Jennings and Jaylin Lane.
Jennings, who had previous stops at Old Dominion and West Virginia, caught five passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns.
Lane, who came from Middle Tennessee State, caught four passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.
This will be the second all-time meeting between the schools. The first came in 2015 when Virginia Tech recorded a 51-24 win at Purdue.
