Purdue's upset of Ohio State was an unbelievable, emotional blowout

The Purdue Boilermakers upset No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday in West Lafayette, 49-20. That score’s not a typo, and it’s not misleading in the context of how the game went.

This was a destruction, carried out by a team that hasn’t appeared in the AP Top 25 since 2007 against one of the greatest blue-blood powers in the sport.

Purdue scored 35 points in the second half, including four touchdowns in a row from beyond 40 yards, one of which came on an interception return. Other numbers:

Purdue averaged 7.5 yards per play to Ohio State’s 5.6
Ohio State QB Dwayne Haskins threw 72 passes, for just a 127.5 rating.
Purdue receiver Rondale Moore, a true freshman star, had 170 yards and two touchdowns on 12 catches.
Ohio State, with its blue-chip offensive line and running backs, ran for 3 yards per carry against what had been the country’s No. 81 defense by yards per play.

Obviously, Purdue’s going to return to the AP Poll on Sunday afternoon.

There’s no explanation for Purdue winning so dominantly, except, maybe ...

Purdue was playing for something way bigger than an upset.

“Bigger than the game” is a tacky phrase, and I don’t like using it, but the Boilermakers are at the center of a really special sports story in this game.

Tyler Trent, a Purdue student, has terminal cancer. He’s forged a close bond with the team and head coach Jeff Brohm, and he told ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi he made it a top priority to get to Ross Ade Stadium to watch the Boilermakers play this game. How he prepared for it:

Trent predicted on the ABC broadcast, during the second quarter, that Purdue would win 24-17. Knowing Trent’s story, good luck rooting against the Boilers.

Everything else around this game feels pretty small. But that Purdue beat the hell out of Ohio State in this moment, with this fan rooting on the Boilers, is jaw-droppingly great.

Ohio State’s Playoff hopes aren’t going to collapse now.

The Buckeyes and Michigan are on a collision course to play a Big Ten East-deciding game on the last weekend of the regular season in Columbus.

Either team losing one conference game wouldn’t change that. It would take two surprising upsets against one of them to make that game any less important.

As it stands, the winner of that game will play in the league title game, where it should beat whoever comes out of the Big Ten West. That would land Ohio State, for instance, in the Playoff, despite what’s now happened to the Buckeyes against the Boilermakers.

Purdue coach Jeff Brohm might become the hot coaching candidate.

There really hasn’t been one of those this year. Given Brohm’s success and Bobby Petrino’s struggles at Louisville, calls for Brohm to return to his alma mater will grow louder.

Here’s a detailed scoring log from halftime on, if you want it:

Purdue 49, Ohio State 20

Purdue pick-sixed Ohio State for an exclamation point.

Purdue 42, Ohio State 20

Purdue just scored a 40-plus-yard touchdown for its third drive in the row: this one a 43-yard catch and run by incredible freshman receiver Rondale Moore.

The party’s on in West Lafayette.

Purdue 35, Ohio State 20

Dwayne Haskins threw a 34-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin. Ohio State’s offense has picked up, but there’s probably not enough time left for a full comeback.

4:40 to go.

Purdue 35, Ohio State 13

D.J. Knox just had his second 40-yard touchdown run of the fourth quarter. This game’s over. Purdue’s going to land the most impressive upset win of the season.

6:46 until it’s official.

Purdue 28, Ohio State 13

Ohio State has its first touchdown, a 32-yard Dwayne Haskins toss to Johnnie Dixon. The Buckeyes are down 15 with 9:36 to go.

Purdue 28, Ohio State 6

That might be game, set, and match. On a third-and-9 from the Ohio State 42, the Boilermakers dialed up an inside handoff to D.J. Knox with a fake screen from David Blough. Knox galloped right through the Ohio State defense, and Purdue’s lead is 22.

11:39 to play.

Purdue 21, Ohio State 6

The Buckeyes have a fourth-and-1 from their own 29. They’ll likely go for it.

(Edit: They didn’t! Ohio State’s offensive line is apparently in such disarray that Urban Meyer doesn’t trust it to push forward 1 yard against the nation’s No. 81 defense.)

We’re just inside the start of the fourth quarter.

Purdue 21, Ohio State 6

Purdue made a huge goal-line stand, forcing an incompletion on a Dwayne Haskins throw to K.J. Hill from the 2-yard line. The teams have since traded stops, and Purdue’s got the ball at its own 27 with 3:09 left in the third quarter. Ohio State has yet to score a touchdown against the nation’s No. 81 defense by yards per play.

Purdue 21, Ohio State 6

What a drive for the Boilers: 73 yards in 10 plays, capped with a D.J. Knox 1-yard run to extend the lead to two touchdowns. Ohio State’s offense could wake up any moment, but Purdue’s averaging 6.7 yards per play on offense. Can the Buckeyes stop that?

A roughing-the-punter penalty on Ohio State extended that drive for Purdue. Ohio State had gotten a running-into-the-kicker penalty earlier.

8:36 to play in the third.

Purdue 14, Ohio State 6

The Boilermakers’ defense held after Ohio State got down to the 6-yard line. Blake Haubeil knocked through a 23-yard field goal to make it a one-score game.

12:25 left in the third.

Halftime: Purdue 14, Ohio State 3

The Boilers scored on a 9-yard pass from David Blough to Rondale Moore 27 seconds before halftime. A fake field goal set that up, with holder Joe Schopper bootlegging to his left and beating a couple of Buckeyes to the marker on fourth-and-3.

Let's block ads! (Why?)