MORE TIME WARPS: Sept. 5, 2004: Purdue pummels Syracuse, 51-0 | Sept. 12, 1992: Purdue stuns Cal, 41-14 | Sept. 19, 1998: Purdue stymies UCF and Culpepper, 35-7 | Sept. 26, 1981: Purdue stuns Notre Dame late, 15-14 | Oct. 3, 1970: Purdue shocks No. 3 Stanford | Oct. 10, 1998: Brees throws NCAA record 83 times at Wisconsin

As we wait for Big Ten football to begin, GoldandBlack.com has been looking back at big Purdue games on dates the Boilermakers were slated to play on their original 2020 schedule. Today—October 17—Purdue would be playing at Illinois. Let’s look back at the Boilermakers’ big win vs. No. 7 Ohio State in West Lafayette on that date in 2009, a contest known as the “Ryan Kerrigan Game.”

The set up: Danny Hope was trying to put his stamp on Purdue. It was the former Boilermaker offensive line coach’s first season as head coach. Hope had served as a head-coach-in-waiting in 2008 during Joe Tiller’s final season. Now, it was Hope’s time. But things weren’t going well.

The Boilermakers opened the 2009 season with a 52-31 domination of Toledo in West Lafayette. But Purdue lost its next five games—many in heart-breaking fashion: 38-36 at Oregon; 28-21 vs. Northern Illinois; 24-21 vs. Notre Dame; 27-21 vs. Northwestern. There also was a 35-20 loss at Minnesota the week before Ohio State was set to visit Ross-Ade Stadium.

Per usual, this was an uber-talented Ohio State squad led by sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor along with cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, linebacker James Laurinaitis and running back Beanie Wells, among others.

Did Purdue have any shot to beat the No. 7 Buckeyes?

What happened: Ryan Kerrigan had himself a day.

Ohio State had no answer for the Purdue junior defensive end. The Muncie, Ind., native--a three-star Rivals.com recruit--made three of the Boilermakers' five sacks with a team-high nine tackles. Kerrigan also forced two Pryor fumbles and recovered one. Pryor was flummoxed most of the day, completing only 17-of-31 passes for 221 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

“The guys joke around and call me 'Superman' because I’m kind of strong,” said Kerrigan, who went on to be the 16th pick in the 2011 NFL draft by Washington and still is playing in the NFL with the franchise. “They say I’m like Clark Kent. If they want to call me that, so be it.”

Kerrigan led an inspired Boilermaker defense that held the Buckeyes to 66 yards rushing.

The Purdue offense did its part. Yes, there were three turnovers, but senior quarterback Joey Elliott hit 31-of-50 passes for 281 yards with two TDs and an interception. Wide receiver Keith Smith made a career-high 12 catches for 125 yards despite dealing with stomach flu. Wideout Aaron Valentine had 10 grabs for 97 yards and two scores.

And hat’s off to sophomore kicker Carson Wiggs, who drilled four field goals—including a 55-yarder to end the first half.

It was Purdue’s first win over a ranked team since beating No. 10 Iowa six years earlier.

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Why it mattered: The monster upset provided a lift for the Boilermakers, who won three of their remaining five contests—including a 38-36 victory at Michigan, Purdue’s first win in Ann Arbor since 1966. But it was too little, too late, as the Boilermakers finished 5-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten. There would be no bowl game in 2009.

The aftermath: This game in many ways epitomized the Hope era, which was marked by high-highs and low-lows … and a general lack of consistency. Hope was fired after the 2012 season despite going 13-12 overall and 7-9 in the Big Ten with two bowl bids his final two seasons. Hope left town with a 22-27 overall mark and 13-19 Big Ten record in four seasons in West Lafayette with the two aforementioned bowl bids. Purdue replaced Hope with Darrell Hazell, which proved to be a disastrous move.

Ohio State wouldn’t lose again, winning its final six games, including a triumph vs. Oregon in the Rose Bowl. The Big Ten champs—whose only league loss was to Purdue—finished 11-2 and ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll under Jim Tressel.

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