ANN ARBOR, Mich. — First there was Purdue’s victory over Ohio State, breaking a 19-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

Now comes Saturday’s thrilling 38-36 win at Michigan for the Boilermakers, who experienced success in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1966.

What’s next: a bowl game?

It’s hard to put anything past coach Danny Hope’s team after what transpired before a crowd of 108,543 in Michigan Stadium.

With two games remaining — home against Michigan State and at Indiana — the dreams for a postseason berth are alive after Purdue rallied from a 24-10 deficit with 28 second-half points to stun the Wolverines at the Big House.

“You can’t put it to words,” said quarterback Joey Elliott, who finished with a career-best 367 passing yards and accounted for three touchdowns.

“It’s a great effort by our offense, and our defense did a good job of competing in the second half.”

The Boilers built a 38-30 lead on Elliott’s 8-yard TD run with 10:28 to play but had to survive a wild finish to win for the third time in the past four games.

Led by Brandon Minor’s third rushing touchdown of the game, the Wolverines pulled within two points with 2:10 remaining.

But defensive end Ryan Kerrigan helped preserve the victory by sacking quarterback Tate Forcier on the two-point conversion attempt. Fifth-year senior Jaycen Taylor recovered the onside kick and the Boilermakers were on their way to snapping a 17-game losing streak in Ann Arbor.

All this after Purdue was embarrassed at Wisconsin last week, losing 37-0.

“We needed a huge road win for us to get our season back going,” said junior receiver Keith Smith, who caught 11 passes for 84 yards. “After last week’s performance, we had to come out and prove ourselves again.”

There were plenty of game-changing plays, including a third-quarter onside kick and two one-play scoring drives by the Boilermakers, but Kerrigan’s sack was the last in a long line.

“I have no clue how he got back there,” defensive tackle Mike Neal said. "All I know is I’m lined up against my man and I see ‘Superman’ come flying past.

“I already knew we were good. Once I saw him come past me, I stopped rushing. I just watched him.”

It was another in a list of important plays Kerrigan has produced this season.

“I was expecting their read option look,” Kerrigan said. “The tight end released on me and I was able to work a good pass rush. Our secondary did a good job of covering their receivers and I had extra time to get to the quarterback.”

Despite a strong start with 10 points on their first two drives, the Boilermakers were poised to suffer their 12th consecutive road loss by halftime.

Michigan, which has lost five of its past six games after a 4-0 start, had scored on its first four possessions — including two TD runs by Minor (29 and 55 yards) and a 43-yard TD pass from Forcier to former Purdue commitment Roy Roundtree — to open a 14-point cushion.

But fifth-year cornerback Brandon King tipped Forcier’s option pitch and recovered the fumble on Michigan’s first possession of the second half.

Ralph Bolden, who rushed for 98 yards on 16 carries and hauled in a 35-yard TD pass in the first quarter, scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns on a 19-yard run to pull Purdue within 24-17 following the turnover.

His second rushing score capped a 14-play, 91-yard drive to cut Michigan’s deficit to 30-24 with 5:13 left in the third quarter.

That’s when Hope called for an onside kick. Carson Wiggs popped the ball up in the air and senior cornerback David Pender recovered, catching the Wolverines by surprise.

On the next play, Elliott found an open Cortez Smith behind the defense for a 54-yard score with 5:04 remaining in the third quarter.