WEST LAFAYETTE – Brenden Motley made too many mistakes Saturday. He still found ways to overcome most of them.

The junior quarterback rebounded from three fumbles by throwing for two scores, running for one and nearly catching another as Virginia Tech ran way for a 51-24 victory at Purdue.

The victory sent Hokies coach Frank Beamer past Paul “Bear” Bryant and into a tie for sixth with Nevada’s Chris Ault for most wins at one school in Football Bowl Subdivision history. Beamer and Ault each have 233 wins.

It was a strange game, though.

While each offense produced its share of big plays, each defense scored off of a fumble return and both coaches were frustrated by a seemingly endless series of penalties.

Motley, however, persevered.

Two weeks after taking over for injured starter Michael Brewer, Motley went 15 of 23 for 220 yards, rushed 15 times for 24 yards and led the Hokies (2-1) to a second straight victory.

He had plenty of help, too. Isaiah Ford caught six passes for a career high 128 yards, Bucky Hodges caught two TD passes and Trey Edmunds rushed nine times for 72 yards.

Purdue (1-2) hung close for a while, thanks largely to a series of Hokies mistakes including Motley’s first fumble, which Danny Ezechukwu ran it back 90 yards for a TD — tying the second-longest fumble return in school history. It was the longest return at Purdue since 1966 when Leroy Keyes scored on a 95-yard return against Notre Dame.

But with quarterback Austin Appleby going 9 of 28 for 110 yards with two interceptions, and the Hokies defense stifling the run, Purdue never seriously challenged in the second half.

Virginia Tech wasted no time jumping on the mistake-prone Boilermakers, who were trying to win back-to-back non-conference games for the first time since 2012.

Just 51 seconds after Joey Slye made a 35-yard field goal, Chuck Clark scooped up Appleby’s fumble and returned it 20 yards to make it 10-0.

Purdue answered with Appleby’s 2-yard TD run midway through the first quarter and Ezechukwu’s TD to take a 14-10 lead less than a minute into the second.

Virginia Tech retook the lead on Motley’s 3-yard TD pass to Bucky Hodges and broke a 17-17 tie with Motley’s 5-yard TD run with 1:08 to go in the first half.

That was all the Hokies needed.

They opened the second half with a 42-yard field goal and after Motley caught a pass from Sam Rogers and took it to Purdue’s 1-yard line, J.C. Coleman plowed across the goal line to make it 34-17.

The Hokies sealed the victory with Anthony Shegog’s 15-yard return off a blocked punt for a touchdown.

Purdue’s Markell Jones ran six times for 90 yards, which included a 60-yard TD run in the closing minutes.