Ohio State vs. Purdue football recap

Ohio State defense dominates in 16-3 victory over Boilermakers

There was nothing particularly exciting or memorable about the Ohio State Buckeyes’ performance Saturday against visiting Purdue. While the defense was stout and the special teams opportunistic, the offense was sluggish.

Despite the lack of drama, the 12th ranked Buckeyes (6-1 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) will gladly take the 16-3 victory they earned over the Boilermakers (2-4, 0-2).

Offensively, we didn't get near as much done as we're going to need to get done,” Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said after the Buckeyes produced just three field goals and 222 yards on offense. “But we didn't turn it over, and that's critical in a Big Ten battle.”

The Ohio State defense allowed just one field goal, a 53-yard kick early in the third quarter by Purdue’s Carson Wiggs.

I thought the defense did a great job with their plan,” Tressel said. “I think our defensive guys prepared very well. You could tell that they diagnosed things and broke on the ball, anticipated, knew the formations, the way that Purdue does things, and just kept coming. Purdue made some plays, but I think our defense never got flustered.”

The Buckeyes held standout Purdue tailback Kory Sheets to 67 yards rushing on 20 carries. Purdue senior quarterback Curtis Painter threw for 228 yards, but it took him 51 attempts to do it, as he completed 23 passes on the day.

Not many teams can play mistake-free football, and this defense definitely plays that way,” Purdue’s Sheets said about the Ohio State defensive unit. “The inability to score is baffling for us, but it’s because they are that good.”

Tressel said that the OSU defense “fought all day long and made them take the long path to the goal line and kept them out of the end zone.”

The Buckeyes scored the game’s only touchdown with 11:41 left in the first quarter when senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins a punt and linebacker Etienne Sabino returned it 20 yards to the end zone.

I felt like the ball was never going to come down, Sabino said about waiting to catch the football after Jenkins blocked the punt of Purdue's Chris Summers. "It was in the air forever, and it finally fell into my hands. After that I just remember running as hard as I could to get into the end zone.

You come to a school like this so that you can have a chance to make a difference and make an impact,” Sabino added. “It’s really great to be able to do that and hear all the fans after the play.”

The Ohio State offense was forced to settle for field goals. Ryan Pretorius kicked a 24-yarder with 57 seconds left in the first quarter after an eight-play drive stalled at the Purdue 7-yard line.

The Buckeyes called upon Aaron Pettrey to attempt a 49-yard field goal in the second quarter. Pettrey’s successful kick extended Ohio State’s lead to 13-0 with 4:54 remaining before halftime.

Pretorius added a 22-yard field goal with 14:30 left in the fourth quarter to account for the Buckeyes’ only scoring of the second half.

The Purdue defense held Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor to 97 yards passing and 27 yards rushing. Pryor completed 10 of 14 passes on the day.

Junior tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells rushed for 94 yards on 22 carries for the Buckeyes.

With the victory, Ohio State remains tied for first place in the Big Ten with Michigan State and Penn State. The 20th-ranked Spartans and the undefeated, third-ranked Nittany Lions are the Buckeyes' next two opponents.

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