Buckeye blowout: Purdue upsets No. 2 Ohio State in dominant fashion

The same Purdue Boilermakers who lost their first three games of the 2018 season turned the world of college football upside down Saturday night with a 49-20 upset of No. 2 Ohio State. On a national state, Purdue dominated a Buckeye team which, until Saturday night, had only lost to two conference opponents in 20 games.

The 49 points were the most points in Purdue's school history against Ohio State, breaking a standard set 51 years ago in a 41-6 win in Columbus.

"It's amazing how you can be sitting at 0-3 with some hard losses and find a way to do this," Coach Jeff Brohm said. "A great thing happened. I couldn't be prouder."

Brohm, in just his 20th game at Purdue, pulled off the biggest win since he arrived in West Lafayette and the biggest triumph of his head coaching career. Brohm's offensive attack accounted for more than 539 total yards as quarterback David Blough finished with 378 yards through the air and three touchdowns.

"Knocking off Ohio State, winning our fourth in a row, keeping pace in the Big Ten West, this is special," Blough said. "Having my name getting (the Purdue program) pointed in the right direction was all I ever could've asked for."

And the upset was no fluke.

Instead, it was a fourth consecutive convincing win for Purdue. The Boilermakers (4-3 overall, 3-1 Big Ten), a two-touchdown underdog at kickoff, used a big-play passing game and aggressive play-calling to lead Ohio State for the game's final 46 minutes. Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 in Big Ten) never led Saturday night, as penalties and critical mistakes doomed it for the third time in its last four trips to Ross-Ade Stadium.

"It really goes to show what can happen when you put your mind to something, have a positive attitude and want to do something special," Brohm said.

Purdue's defense held Ohio State out of the end zone for three quarters as sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins still threw for more than 470 yards through the air, but it took a Purdue-opponent-record 73 passing attempts to get it done. Purdue defensive coordinator Nick Holt dialed up constant blitzes to frustrate Haskins and limit him to a short or intermediate passing game for most of the game.

For the first time since 1984, Purdue has earned a win over a team ranked in the top two of the Associated Press poll. On that October day 34 years ago, Purdue knocked off the second-ranked Buckeyes, 28-23.

Purdue earned a14-3 halftime lead and took momentum into the locker room after a fake field goal run by punter/holder Joe Schopper went for a first down. One play later, Purdue found the end zone on a nine-yard rollout pass from Blough to Rondale Moore.

Purdue answered a field goal by Ohio State on the first possession of the second half with a 73-yard touchdown drive that included a critical roughing-the-punter penalty on the Buckeyes. That was a common theme throughout the evening for the Buckeyes, as penalties sustained several Boilermaker drives that ultimately led to points.

Purdue used the running game to seal the upset. In a 28-point fourth quarter, D.J. Knox broke a pair of backbreaker scores on 42- and 40-yard TD scampers. The senior tailback ended the game with 128 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns, the most against the Buckeyes by a Boilermaker back since 2000.

With the win, Purdue now shares the Western Division lead with Northwestern, Wisconsin and Iowa. The Boilermakers will try to make it five wins in a row next weekend when they travel to Michigan State for a noon EST kickoff.

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