MADISON, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- Purdue answered a spectacular play by Wisconsin in the final minutes with one of its own.
Ray Williams made an over-the-shoulder 36-yard catch to set up an 18-yard field goal by Ben Jones with three seconds left as the 15th-ranked Boilermakers extended their winning streak to six games with a 26-23 win over the Badgers.
No. 12 Wisconsin (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) had tied the game at 23-23 with 2:55 left when Jim Leonhard returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, breaking a tackle or two before diving into the end zone.
But Kyle Orton, who threw for 411 yards, quickly moved the Boilermakers downfield and lofted a long pass down the right sideline. Williams glanced back and made a dazzling catch with Wisconsin cornerback Chuckie Cowans in hot pursuit.
"The kid makes a good throw and a great catch," Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. "That was the football game."
The Boilermakers (6-1, 3-0) cautiously ran down the clock before Jones booted the game-winner.
"We were fortunate that we ended up with enough points at the end of the day to get out of here with a 'W,'" Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "We consider ourselves very fortunate."
Orton completed 38-of-55 passes, including his first 15, and was not intercepted.
"He is a real good quarterback," Wisconsin cornerback Scott Starks said. "He puts the ball right where it needs to be."
The main targets were Taylor Stubblefield, who caught 16 passes for 130 yards, and John Standeford, who had 14 catches for 184 yards.
"We came in here believing we could throw the football," Tiller said. "Other people have tried to throw it against them, but not quite with the same passing attack as ours."
Purdue suffered its only loss to Bowling Green in its season opener and joins Michigan State as the only unbeaten teams in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers will visit Michigan next week.
Wisconsin snapped Ohio State's 19-game winning streak last week, but could not overcome four turnovers and the loss of quarterback Jim Sorgi, who left in the third quarter with a knee injury.
Sorgi was hurt for the second straight week in the third quarter and was replaced by Matt Schabert. Last week, Sorgi went down with a neck injury after he was choked by Ohio State linebacker Robert Reynolds.
Schabert threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Lee Evans to beat the Buckeyes, but this week he completed just 5-of-9 passes for 78 yards. Sorgi was 6-of-9 for 118 yards before leaving.
Both quarterbacks spent the day running away from heavy pressure. The Boilermakers had seven sacks, including four by defensive end Shaun Phillips.
"We were fighting the whole game," Schabert said. "It was a great ballgame all around and those guys played really well. We came up short in the end."
Evans caught just three passes for 76 yards this week.
The Boilermakers converted a pair of turnovers by Sorgi into touchdowns to grab a 14-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
Cornerback Jacques Reeves intercepted Sorgi on the first play from scrimmage and the Boilermakers promptly marched 59 yards in seven plays, capped by a two-yard TD run by Jerod Void.
Sorgi completed a 45-yard pass to Lee Evans on the Badgers' next possession, but the quarterback fumbled away the ball at the Purdue 30. Orton then took the Boilermakers 70 yards in the other direction, capped by his nine-yard touchdown pass to Stubblefield.
Wisconsin answered less than two minutes later with a 28-yard TD run by Anthony Davis that cut the lead to 14-7 after one quarter. Davis, who missed last week's game with a lingering ankle injury, had 18 carries for 96 yards.
Wisconsin cut the lead to 14-13 early in the second quarter when linebacker Ben Jones stripped the ball from Orton as the quarterback was trying to throw and raced 55 yards for a touchdown. But Mike Allen missed the extra point, keeping the score at 14-13.
Ben Jones kicked a 42-yard field goal with 4:11 left in the second quarter to give the Boilermakers a 17-13 halftime lead.
Jones kicked a 20-yard field goal to cap an 18-play, 71-yard drive that opened the second half.
