Biggest wins of Jeff Brohm era? Here's top five

No Purdue fan will forget where they were on Oct. 20, 2018.

That’s the day the Boilermakers didn’t just beat—but curb-stomped—Ohio State in Ross-Ade Stadium. And America got to witness the bludgeoning, as Purdue’s 49-20 victory was broadcast on national television.

Boilermaker quarterback David Blough hit 25-of-43 passes for 378 yards, icing the victory with a 43-yard scoring pass to Rondale Moore with 3:37 to play.

"This win means a lot for this team because it shows everyone around the country that you can win football games at Purdue," said Jeff Brohm. "And we're going to enjoy the game and roll the dice and see what happens."

The victory vs. Urban Meyer’s No. 2 Buckeyes was one of the greatest in Purdue annals. And, without a doubt, it was one of the best wins Brohm has notched in his five seasons in West Lafayette.

A look at the five biggest wins in Brohm’s Purdue tenure.

With super fan Tyler Trent perched in the press box watching and a national TV audience tuned in, Purdue stunned the college football world with D.J. Knox running for 128 yards and three TDs and David Blough throwing for three scores.

Urban Meyer's 7-0 Buckeyes never were in the game, buried by 28 fourth-quarter Boilermaker points.

The last time Purdue beat a team ranked this high was when it took down the second-ranked Buckeyes, 28-23, on Oct. 6, 1984.

"Just a great performance. I tell you what, I don't have anything negative to say," Jeff Brohm said. "We came in and played aggressive and I think you have to play aggressive against these guys.”

Playing without David Bell, Milton Wright and George Karlaftis--among others--Purdue still gutted out a win vs. Tennessee in the Music City Bowl before a partisan Vol crowd.

Purdue won it on a 39-yard Mitchell Fineran field goal after Purdue had turned back the Vols at the 1-yard line on their OT possession. The victory allowed the Boilers to win nine games for the first time since 2003.

Aidan O’Connell threw for 534 yards and five TDs, as the teams combined to score four TDs in the final five minutes of regulation. Both programs combined for 1,293 yards of total offense, second most ever in a bowl game, as the Boilermakers rallied from a 14-point deficit to prevail.

"It's why you love the game, it's why it keeps bringing you back," O'Connell said. "The fact it's unknown. No one knows what's going to happen. It's not a movie or TV show where the actors get retries. It seems like the world's watching and anything could happen."

Iowa had no answer for David Bell. Again.

Bell notched 11 receptions for a career-high 240 yards, as Purdue beat its highest-ranked opponent on the road since a victory at No. 2 Notre Dame in 1974.

This continued a run of dominance vs. the Hawkeyes for Bell, who had a combined 37 catches for 558 yards and five touchdowns against Iowa in three seasons.

"I think the reason he's been able to exploit them is he's one of the best receivers in the country," Jeff Brohm said.

Aidan O’Connell did his part, throwing for 375 yards and two TDs and running for another on a day when Purdue used three quarterbacks to keep 6-0 Iowa off balance.

The loss ended Iowa's 12-game winning streak and gave Brohm a 4-1 vs. the Hawkeyes.

Another ranked team bites the dust.

Jeff Brohm has earned a reputation for slaying giants. And this victory vs. MSU was the second vs. a top five team of 2021. And Purdue used some of Brohm’s famous trickery to pull off the stunner, employing a reverse flea-flicker screen pass to Jackson Anthrop to produce one of three Aidan O’Connell TD tosses vs. 8-0 Michigan State.

"We run a multitude of trick plays, you guys have seen that," Brohm said. "This is one we do, kind of double-reverse stuff, you know, throw it behind the line of scrimmage. To be honest with you, I stole it from a YouTube video of a high school team years ago and the first time we ran it, it went for a touchdown.”

The Boilermakers became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2018 and extended their FBS record for wins by an unranked team over a top-five foe to 17 — three of them coming under Brohm.

"It was just a great day for us," Brohm said.

What a way to cap a debut season for Jeff Brohm, who set the tone for what was possible in West Lafayette.

Elijah Sindelar tossed a 38-yard TD pass to Anthony Mahoungou with 1:44 left in the game to secure victory in the Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif., after Purdue had blown a 17-point halftime lead vs. Arizona.

Sindelar threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns, with Mahoungou (118 yards) and Gregory Phillps (149) each topping the 100-yard receiving mark and catching two TD passes.

The win allowed the Boilermakers to post their first winning record since 2011 and first bowl victory over a major conference team since beating Washington in the 2002 Sun Bowl. Purdue had won only nine games in the previous four seasons before Brohm arrived.

"That's a memory you'll cherish for the rest of your life," Brohm said "They definitely earned it because they put in the hard work, have gone through the adversity and continued to hang in there.”

6. Purdue 24, Iowa 15, Nov. 18, 2017: A must-win to keep bowl hopes alive, Purdue stunned the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. Elijah Sindelar threw three TD passes.

7. Purdue 38, No. 16 Iowa 36, Nov. 3, 2018: Another gut-punch delivered to Iowa. This time, a 25-yard field goal by Spencer Evans with eight seconds left secured victory.

8. Purdue 35, Missouri 3, Sept. 16, 2017: Total dominance, as David Blough led the Boilermakers to TDs on their first three drives in Columbia, Mo., in ragdolling the Tigers.

9. Purdue 30, No. 23 Boston College 13, Sept. 22, 2018: The defense picked off four passes, Rondale Moore made two TD grabs and Jeff Brohm beat his first ranked foe.

10. Purdue 28, Indiana 21, Nov. 24, 2018: The Boilers not only won the Bucket but also became bowl eligible, winning in Bloomington. Double bonus.

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