WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno greeted his protégé with a pat on the back after the game, while Anthony Morelli tucked his arm around the coach's back. The two walked to the locker room like that, exchanging words and a few laughs.

It wasn't a career day for Morelli by any means. But it was a win and a respectable performance -- especially considering the conditions.

"It was terrible, it was hard," Morelli said. "Every pass, the wind made a difference on it.

"It was a rough day with the passing game, but I thought we did well."

The Weather Channel issued a "wind advisory" prior to kickoff that was expected to last until 2 p.m. Gusts up to 50 mph were expected, and a constant stream of 15-to-25 mph winds were felt on the field.

It was so windy that, during the pre-game show, more than a dozen Purdue cheerleaders had difficulty keeping Indiana's oversized state flag close to the ground. At times, the flag looked ready to take off like a kite.

"With the wind, in warm-ups I hit 57," kicker Kevin Kelly said about his practice field goal. "I think I hit the net. I missed it wide."

The wind obviously affected the kicking game, but both passing games also felt the sting of an element that couldn't be mimicked in practice.

Morelli said there were two particular plays the wind played tricks on him. The first occurred when he attempted to throw the ball out of bounds with 52 seconds left in the first half. According to Morelli, the ball got stuck in the air -- and that's when Deon Butler had to make "a nice defensive play to save the interception."

"And on the post, also, I thought for sure it was a touchdown," Morelli said. "And next thing you know, it's 20 yards over his head and the backside safety. I was like, 'Holy heck,' so it was tough."

Morelli threw for 182 yards on 14-for-31 passing, but more importantly, he accounted for no turnovers. Conversely, Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter tossed for 178 yards and was intercepted twice.

Still, he was slow to blame the wind.

"It didn't bother me," he said. "I did see a couple balls that their quarterback threw that hung up in the wind, but I can't say that it had an effect on my passes."

Morelli said he never played in conditions like that, even in high school, but seemed pleased with the overall offensive production.

But Morelli's targets weren't too happy -- the receivers combined for at least four drops and were inconsistent most of the day. But even Butler acknowledged he'd never competed in more windy conditions.

"It's worse than like rain conditions," Butler said. "A lot of our guys, right at the last second, took our eyes off the ball.

"And the ball was dying out at the last second, so you really had to concentrate the whole time until it got in your hands before you can make a play."