Ryan Walters isn't in the business of finding silver linings and moral victories. At least not after a 45-0 domination handed down by Ohio State. As Purdue saw its record drop to 1-8 overall and 0-6 in Big Ten play on Saturday afternoon in Columbus, Walters wasn't interested in finding the positives of the Boilermakers' showing.

"I didn't come here for that. I came here to win games. I came here to compete at the highest stage, and we will do a dive into find out how to do that," Walters said.

"It's hard to find those right after a game we've lost," Walters said.

Purdue had its back against the wall from the opening kick, facing a massive talent deficit in all three phases of the game and needing a perfect showing to have a chance at competing against the No. 2 Buckeyes.

The opposite occurred.

It began with a blocked punt when the Boilermakers were deep in their own territory, giving Ohio State a gift wrapped scoring opportunity from inside the ten yard line. Then, Spencer Porath's 21-yard field goal attempt was errant, leading to another Buckeye touchdown, putting the Boilermakers in a 14-0 hole early in the second quarter.

Add in a Hudson Card interception in the red zone, a Reggie Love III fumble returned for a touchdown, another missed field goal, and a pair of turnovers on downs on Ohio State's half of the field, Ohio Stadium served as a nightmare for the Boilermakers. The miscues, some unforced, compiled and resulted in what turned out to be a lopsided affair.

"I thought we were able to move the ball, but again, when you play against the number two team in the country, you don't come up with points when you get into the red zone, you get a blocked punt while you're backed up, fumble return for a touchdown. You know, when you're 2-for-12 on third downs, you're not going to give yourself a chance at the end of the game," Walters said.

"I thought we were able to move the ball pretty decently for the most part all day, and we just couldn't capitalize once we got in the red area, and just had some turnovers we can't afford to have against a team like that," quarterback Hudson Card said.

The most recent loss in Purdue's eight-game losing streak is setting in an all-too-familiar feeling for the Boilermaker faithful. One of the worst season's in program history is now officially in sight, as Ryan Walters and company continue to try and right the ship before that becomes a reality.

The story may already be written, however.

It was just over a decade ago that the Boilermakers went 1-11 under the direction of then first-year head coach Darrell Hazell, and the comparisons are eerily similar between 2024 and that era of Purdue football.

Much has been made about not only the losses, but the fashion in which the Boilermakers have fallen this season. Saturday marked the fourth time this season Purdue lost by 35 or more points, following defeats to Oregon, Wisconsin and Notre Dame. That 2013 team had three, and Hazell had four total across his three and a half years at the helm in West Lafayette.

That has turned into the Boilermakers having the second-largest margin of defeat per game in the country at 28.4. Only 0-9 Kent State is below the Boilermakers in that category this season. The average scoring margin in Purdue's last 1-11 campaign? -20.

The Buckeyes also handed Purdue its second shutout loss this fall, and second in the last three games. The last time that happened was in 2013, when Purdue was blanked by Ohio State and Michigan State in consecutive games.

An offense that has been consistently inconsistent this season has now regained the title of worst in the Big Ten and 127th in the nation, averaging just 18 points per game.

It has also been 10+ years since the Boilermakers reached both of those marks. A program with a storied history of quarterback play and offensive success has fallen under the 20 point per game threshold just three times since 2000, with the most recent being 14.9 points per game in 2013, and the other two instances being in 2010 and 2001.

While the Purdue offense has drawn many of the headlines this fall, the defense continues to be worse statistically. The Boilermakers are now surrendering 37.8 points per game this season, which is a mark the program has reached just twice in its history, 2016 (38.2) and 2013 (38.0). The 2016 mark is the worst in program history for the Boilermakers, and one that this Purdue team was over prior to the Northwestern game.

Four offense have eclipsed 40 or more points against the Boilermakers, last-ranked scoring defense in the Big Ten, including three 50-point performances by Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Illinois. That tied the most since the 2013 season, when Ohio State, Indiana and Northern Illinois did so.

The offensive firepower will not subside between now and the end of the season, nor will the competition level for a reeling Purdue team.

The 2024 slate has already been the toughest since 2005 (via Sports Reference - College Football) with a SOS rating of 7.04, which is 12th in the country by ESPN's College Football Power Index. Two of the toughest tests lie ahead, however, with top ten teams Penn State and Indiana still on the slate.

In games against the three other current top ten teams on Purdue's schedule, Ryan Walters and company are being outscored 146-7. Penn State and Indiana are both ranked in the top ten in scoring defense and are averaging north of 30 points per game, which could further widen that 139-point discrepancy between now and the end of the month.

Purdue will aim to shock the world and avoid becoming just the third 1-win team in program history when playing 10 or more games in a season, and the third team to go winless in Big Ten play. The last of which to happen? You guessed it. 2013.

"It's frustrating. As a competitor, it sucks to lose. And you know, obviously we haven't had a W in the column in a while," Card said. "I don't think anyone on this team thought the season would go this way. I promise you, the guys in the locker room want to win more than anyone. So yeah, it's frustrating."

The Boilermakers are on track to match the win/loss mark of what is widely regarded as the worst season in program history, and the numbers behind this team could make for an ongoing discussion regarding which was worse. That's unless Walters and company can provide a last minute spark over the last three games of the year.