down on an amazing effort by WR Taylor Stubblefield but could not advance further, bringing in Jones for a game-tying FG attempt. Unfortunately for Purdue, Jones missed the FG wide left, ending the game. In defeat, Niko Koutouvides led the defense with 15 tackles and two pass defended. Indiana Purdue finished a highly successful regular season at 9–3 to qualify for a New Year's Day bowl, but it was not without struggle against the lowly 2–10 Indiana Hoosiers. The Boilermakers made some uncharacteristic mistakes that turned a comfortable margin into a 5-point game, but then held on to get the 24–16 win. Two of Purdue's senior stars – WR John Standeford (6-151, 2 touchdowns) and LB Landon Johnson – had big days and made key plays. The Hoosiers had turned a 21–3 deficit late in the 3rd quarter into a 21-16 margin early in the 4th quarter with a chance to take the lead by intercepting Kyle Orton twice. On the ensuing Hoosier drive after Orton's 2nd interception, LB Landon Johnson picked off Matt Lovecchio to end the IU threat. Purdue later added a Ben Jones FG, and then ran out the rest of the clock with the help of RB Jerod Void's best game of the season (31 carries, 141 yards). In defeat, IU (and future Ole Miss and NFL) freshman RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a terrific day with 155 yards on the ground, becoming the first RB to gain over 100 yards on Purdue's stout 2003 defense. Georgia In a game that mostly reversed the script of their previous meeting in the 2000 Outback Bowl, Purdue and Georgia played a game that featured a big early lead (Georgia 24–0) and a late rally to force overtime (tied at 27). However, like their 2000 meeting, Georgia emerged as the winner in a truly entertaining 34–27 game. Needless to say, Purdue had a rough start. First, as was not typical in 2003, the Purdue defense – which was playing without seniors Jacques Reeves and Gilbert Gardner – got picked apart for the better part of the first half, as Georgia rolled up 24 points and almost 300 yards of offense led by the effective passing of QB David Greene to a talented receiving corps (that included WR Reggie Brown and TE Ben Watson). Meanwhile, the Purdue offense could not move against the ultra-athletic Georgia defense (30 total yards deep into