Western Michigan got off to a hot start thanks to some trickery against the Purdue Boilermakers, but Purdue has been able to answer. The Broncos lead 8-7 at the end of the first quarter in the 2011 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl thanks to a flea-flicker touchdown from Alex Carder to Jordan White.
Western Michigan was able to get on the board thanks to a fumble by Caleb TerBush at midfield. The Broncos answered immediately with a 49-yard touchdown pass from Alex Carder to Jordan White to open the scoring with 9:14 left. The play came on a toss back to Carder on a flea-flicker. The Broncos then went with a little trickeration, as the holder on the extra point tossed the ball to kicker John Potter, who rushed up the middle for the two-point conversion.
Purdue's following drive ended in a missed field goal by Carson Wiggs, but the Boilermakers got the ball back on an interception by safety Albert Evans. His third career interception set up a nine-play, 38-yard drive that was capped on a short touchdown pass from Robert Marve to Reggie Pegram.
After the touchdown, Purdue elected for an onside kick, which cornerback Josh Johnson recovered for the Boilermakers.