COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the second week in a row, Purdue lost a player to a broken leg, but this wasn't your ordinary football injury.

In the third quarter of Purdue's 35-9 loss at Ohio State Saturday, sophomore outside linebacker Gilbert Gardner went down with a gruesome injury. Gardner broke his leg and is lost for the season, perhaps longer.

Safety Stuart Schweigert was on the field for the play, which resulted in an eight-yard run by Jonathan Wells, and won't soon forget what he experienced.

"I heard a crack and heard someone yelling," Schweigert said. "The bone was almost sticking out. It was pretty nasty. I couldn't look, so I had to get off to the sidelines."

It was clear the injury was serious from the moment it happened. The first medical personnel to reach the field immediately waved for help. Coach Joe Tiller ran on the field as his players quickly took to their knees for a prayer near the sideline.

Fellow linebacker Niko Koutouvides, who started for Gardner after Gardner suffered a concussion in practice earlier in the week, was visibly shaken after the game when talking about Gardner.

"After Gilbert went down," Koutouvides said, "I just tried to play every play like it was my last."

Koutouvides will now step into the starting lineup after recording a team-high 11 tackles against OSU. He's expected to fill in sufficiently, but Gardner will definitely be missed.

"Gilbert is a leader for us," Tiller said, "so this is a big loss for us."

Gardner seemed to be playing his best football of the season. Against Illinois a week ago, he recovered a fumble, which nearly resulted in a touchdown, then returned an interception 51 yards.

Against Illinois, Purdue lost starting right offensive guard Rob Turner for the season, also to a broken leg.

More will be known about Gardner Sunday.