Purdue’s Caleb TerBush threw four touchdown passes, including three to Gary Bush, Saturday and the Boilermakers ran two interceptions back for scores as they held off Marshall 51-41. TerBush finished 27 of 37 for 294 yards on a day both offenses had big numbers. Marshall (2-3) lived up to its billing as the nation’s No. 1 passing offense.

Marshall’s Gator Hoskins led the offense in the third quarter. He caught two passes for 29 yards and one touchdown, but the Thundering Herd have closed the gap to 45-28. Marshall made the score 42-21 after Rakeem Cato tossed a 28-yard touchdown to Hoskins to finish off an 87-yard drive. The Thundering Herd relied on a run play just two times on that possession.

Twenty-eight consecutive points in the second quarter has given Purdue a commanding 42-14 lead. Akeem Shavers turned a handoff into a one-yard touchdown to break the 14-14 standoff in favor of Purdue. Purdue opened up the lead, 28-14, after TerBush and Gary Bush combined for a 35-yard touchdown to end a five-play, 53-yard drive.

Purdue erupted for 28 second-quarter points against Marshall on Saturday, thanks in large part to the defense’s big-play ability. In the span of 102 seconds, cornerbacks Ricardo Allen and Josh Johnson registered back-to-back interception returns for scores. Allen’s Pick 6 marked the fourth of his career, while Johnson’s was his first. Watch Allen’s latest visit to the end zone now and see Johnson’s in this post.

Purdue’s passing attack looked sharp in the first 15 minutes of action, with 115 yards, and the Boilermakers lead 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. Purdue took the game’s first lead after Caleb TerBush tossed a nine-yard touchdown to Gary Bush on the last play of a 12-play, 89-yard drive.

Earlier this week I helped take a look at who might land in the 2012 Big Ten Football Championship game. Well, the road to that big game starts Saturday as Big Ten teams put a rocky non-conference run behind them and focus on pounding on each other. In this post, I take a close look at all six games, and then I’m headed to East Lansing to cover Ohio State and Michigan State on Saturday.

Every week, BTN.com’s Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) and Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) offer their predictions for each Big Ten football game. We also provide a poll for all of the games so fans can vote for their winners.

Another Saturday looms. And, I have questions. Here are my most pressing queries for the 11 teams in action entering Week 5, the first week of conference play.