BLOOMINGTON – IU coach Tom Allen saw Rondale Moore coming.

He knew about the star Purdue freshman receiver’s speed, and his ridiculous athleticism. He knew Moore would be a constant target for quarterback David Blough and, when he got his hands on the ball, tough to tackle.

So he wasn’t exaggerating Monday when he said it would be a serious challenge for the whole defense, not just the linebackers or the corners or maybe the safeties, to defend Moore. Allen laid out the challenge bare. And it didn’t matter.

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“A difficult matchup,” Allen told reporters after Purdue’s 28-21 win against IU. “Can’t double cover him every single snap. When we didn’t, he won some one-on-ones. Double cover him, weakens other areas. Couple times one-on-ones is when he made his big plays.”

There were moments IU defenders keyed in on Moore and kept his gains minimal. Overall, the Hoosiers tallied five sacks and 11 tackles for loss and kept the Boilermakers under their season averages for points and yards per game. But the two longest plays Purdue’s offense recorded were touchdown passes to Moore.

The first strike came with just under five minutes left in the second quarter. The Hoosiers (5-7, 2-7 in Big Ten) had recently tied the score, 7-7, but at this moment handed the Boilermakers (6-6, 5-4) quality field position at Purdue’s 44 yard line. Blough took the snap, faked a handoff to D.J. Knox and rolled back and right to dead center between the hash marks before he stopped to eye Moore.

Moore was all by himself in a sprint toward the left pylon, and the fact Blough’s pass was under thrown didn’t matter. Moore spun around near IU’s 15-yard line as Hoosiers cornerback Raheem Layne tried to thrown him down and ran into the end zone.

The second strike came with just under four minutes left in the third quarter. Purdue led, 14-7, and had second-and-10 at IU’s 33-yard line. This time, matched up one-one-one with IU safety Jonathan Crawford, Moore sprinted down the right sideline as Blough let another dart fly. Crawford looked back but only to see the pass float just out of his reach and into Moore’s hands, who Moore waltzed into the end zone.

“You have to play a great game,” Moore told reporters when asked what he learned playing for the Old Oaken Bucket for the first time. “You have to limit mistakes. You have to find a way to make plays. It’s really loud, everyone’s moving fast and you just have to continue to dig deep and continue to just try to play your best game.”

Moore finished with 12 receptions, 141 yards and those two scores. Blough and Moore failed to connect on just two targets, and averaged 11.8 yards per reception when they succeeded. At regular season’s end, he has 103 receptions for 1,164 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Allen and the defense saw Moore’s explosive potential coming and coach Jeff Brohm’s prized recruit still tied his season highs for receptions in a game. Moore ran for 13 yards on three carries, too. But his threat in the passing game also helped the Boilermakers run for 130 combined yards.

As Allen said, double him on the outside and that weakens other areas of IU’s defense.

“Playing against great opponents, especially in the Big Ten with great defenses, and nobody stopped him,” Brohm said. “Nobody contained him. Numerous teams tried in numerous different ways. He was a difference-maker for us today.”

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jordan Guskey on Twitter at @JordanGuskey or email him at jguskey@gannett.com.