WEST LAFAYETTE — For all intents and purposes, Saturday night’s 49-20 win over Ohio State was the Boilermakers’ “national championship.”
David Blough passed for 378 yards and three touchdowns, while DJ Knox ran for three more, including two scoring runs of 42 and 40 yards in the fourth quarter as Purdue upended the nation’s No. 2-ranked team at Ross-Ade Stadium.
And it was a convincing win — an unfathomable concept at the start of the season when the Boilers lost their first three games to Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and Missouri.
HJ photo/William J. Ray
Purdue’s Isaac Zico hauls in a 13-yard scoring pass from quarterback David Blough in the first quarter of Saturday’s win over Ohio State. The catch gave the Boilermakers a 7-0 lead at the time.
“It’s amazing how you can be sitting at 0-3 with some hard losses, then find your way to do this,” Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm said. “It just kind of goes to show you what you can do if you put your mind to it.”
More than 60,000 people in attendance watched it, as did millions more on national television. Most of the Purdue faithful in the stands emptied onto the field and mobbed the Boilermakers.
Purdue led by as much as 28-6 early in the fourth quarter. Knox’s two long touchdown runs, and a 41-yard pick-six by Purdue’s Markus Bailey with 2:08 left in the game sealed it.
“It was just a great performance,” Brohm said. “Our guys played as hard as they could. We knew we would have to come in and play for 60 minutes. (Ohio State) is a good football team and they know how to win, and that’s why we played aggressive.”
Case in point: On fourth-and-3 and clinging to a 7-3 lead, Purdue set up for what would have been a 30-yard field goal. Holder Joe Schopper — also the team’s punter — instead ran for four yards to pick up a first down.
That led to Blough tossing a 9-yard scoring pass to Rondale Moore with 27 seconds left in the first half and a 14-3 lead at the break.
“The coaches had been on me to call it,” Brohm said. “It was the right moment. We could have gotten three points but we wanted more. We knew we had to get more. We knew a small lead in the first half wasn’t going to be enough, so we went for it. It was executed perfectly.
“That stuff gives you momentum, it gives you a spark, it gives you life, it gives your fans life and it takes a little bit out of the opponent. Any little thing we could do, we tried to do. It amazes me how good things happen when you’re aggressive.”
HJ photo/Michael Johnson
Purdue cornerback Antonio Blackmon closes in on Ohio State wide receiver Binjimen Victor in the second quarter of Saturday’s game at Ross-Ade Stadium. Blackmon broke up the pass at the last moment, forcing the Buckeyes to attempt a field goal — which they missed wide left.
Ohio State managed to move the ball effectively on the Boilermakers, rolling up 546 yards of total offense, but they fell flat near the end zone. The Buckeyes missed a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter, and Purdue’s defense batted away several balls that had OSU touchdowns written all over it.
Purdue cornerback Antonio Blackmon batted away two balls out of the hands of Ohio State wide receiver Binjimen Victor in the end zone.
“Our defense was aggressive all night,” Brohm said. “It was outstanding today. This was a big-time performance.”
Ohio State came out in the second half and mounted a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard Blake Haubeil field goal to trim the lead to 14-6.
Then Purdue’s offense really got into high gear, with Knox scoring on a 1-yard run in the third quarter and breaking several tackles en route to a 42-yard score early in the fourth quarter for a 28-6 lead.
HJ photo/William J. Ray
Purdue’s Rondale Moore leaves several Ohio State defenders in his wake, turning a screen pass into a 43-yard touchdown reception. Moore broke at least three tackles near the sideline before sprinting away from the Buckeyes’ defenders.
Ohio State answered with and touchdown from QB Dwayne Haskins to Johnnie Dixon for 32 yards to make it a 28-13 game.
Purdue answered on its next series as Knox broke loose for another long scoring run — this time for 40 yards — before OSU’s Haskins delivered a 34-yard scoring pass to Terry McLaurin to make it 35-20.
The Boilers answered that score once again, this time with Blough tossing a 43-yard scoring pass to Rondale Moore.
The back-breaker came when Bailey intercepted Haskins and ran it back 41 yards for paydirt to account for the final scoring.
“They surpassed my expectations by the way they played,” Brohm said. “It’s a testament to them and their hard work. It shows how far we’ve come. Our guys worked hard for this victory and they deserved to win this game.”
Purdue finished with 539 total offensive yards. Knox led the ground game with 132 of those yards.
“We are going to enjoy this. It means a lot to our team and it shows people and recruits around the country that, yeah, you can win games at Purdue,” Brohm said.
The Boilermakers may have been inspired by Tyler Trent, a Purdue football “superfan” who is battling bone cancer. Trent predicted the win over Ohio State and was featured on ESPN’s “College Gameday” broadcast earlier Saturday.
Both Trent and Purdue’s win inspired New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees to tweet, “Congrats @BoilerFootball. You make us proud. @theTylerTrent you willed it to hapen and it did!!!!! Proud to be a Boilermaker! #TYLERSTRONG”
Purdue (4-3, 3-1 Big Ten West), now riding a four-game winning streak, is now in a three-way tie for second place with Iowa and Wisconsin — two teams they’ll play on Nov. 3 and Nov. 17, respectively, at Ross-Ade.
The loss knocked the Buckeyes from No. 2 to No. 11 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. Purdue is No. 33, having received 17 votes.
The Boilermakers will travel to Michigan State (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten East) next Saturday.
