Ohio State Steamrolls Purdue, 41-7, to Finish First Half of Regular Season Unbeaten

By Dan Hope on October 14, 2023 at 3:39 pm
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There were no Spoilermakers in West Lafayette this year.

In its first trip back to Ross-Ade Stadium since its 49-20 loss to Purdue in 2018, Ohio State took care of business against the Boilermakers this time around, defeating Purdue 41-7 to improve to 6-0 on the season.

Five different Buckeyes combined to score six touchdowns while the Boilermakers scored just once.

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4  
#3 Ohio State 13 7 14 7 41
PURDUE 0 0 0 7 7
OCT. 14, 2023 • ROSS-ADE STADIUM • WEST LAFAYETTE, IND.

Marvin Harrison Jr. led the Buckeyes to an opening-drive touchdown as he caught three passes for 63 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass in the red zone, on Ohio State’s first possession. Jayden Fielding missed the extra point – his first miss on any kick as a Buckeye – leaving the Buckeyes up 6-0 after one series for each team.

After Kyle McCord led the Buckeyes back into the red zone on their second drive, Devin Brown entered the game on 3rd-and-1 at the 13-yard line and ran for eight yards on a designed run. Brown remained in the game and ran the ball into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown run two plays later. Fielding made the extra point to give Ohio State a 13-0 lead two possessions of the game.

Brown re-entered the game inside the 10-yard line on Ohio State’s next drive with a chance to give the Buckeyes a three-score lead, but fumbled just before the goal line and the ball was recovered in the end zone by Purdue for a takeaway.

Ohio State would take a 20-0 lead on its next possession. The Buckeyes drove 73 yards in 11 plays with Cade Stover capping the drive with a 4-yard touchdown catch.

OHIO STATE   METRIC   PURDUE
497 TOTAL YARDS 257
163 RUSHING YARDS 123
39 RUSHING ATTEMPTS 35
4.2 AVERAGE per RUSH 3.5
2 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 0
334 PASSING YARDS 134
17-30 COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS 14-35
19.6 AVERAGE per COMPLETION 9.6
4 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1
23 1st DOWNS 15
69 TOTAL PLAYS 70
7.2 YARDS PER PLAY 3.7
8-13 third down conv 3-17
9-51 PENALTIES 5-41
32:27 POSSESSION 27:33

Purdue did not score on any of its six first-half possessions.

The Boilermakers drove to Ohio State’s 1-yard line on their final drive of the half, but lost 21 yards from there before Julio Macias missed a 39-yard field goal off the left upright to preserve OSU’s first-half shutout.

Ohio State finished the first half with 269 total yards compared to only 120 for Purdue as it took a 20-point lead into the locker room.

The Buckeyes got the ball to start the second half and promptly extended their lead to four scores, driving 67 yards in eight snaps. 

Dallan Hayden capped the drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to make it 27-0 less than three minutes into the third quarter.

Purdue drove to Ohio State’s 10-yard line on its opening drive of the second half, but came away without points again as Macias missed a 27-yard field goal for his third miss of the day.

Stover scored his second touchdown of the game on Ohio State’s second drive of the third quarter, this time on a 14-yard catch-and-run, to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 34-0.

Purdue finally scored its first points of the game 30 seconds into the fourth quarter on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Hudson Card to Deion Burks. The Boilermakers got the ball at the 20-yard line on a strip sack by Nic Scourton, who beat Josh Fryar to knock the ball out of McCord’s hands, and the Boilermakers converted a 4th-and-7 on a 15-yard pass from Card to TJ Sheffield to set up the touchdown.

Ohio State scored its sixth touchdown of the game with 7:35 left to play when Brandon Inniss caught a deep ball from Devin Brown for the first reception of his Ohio State career and took it all the way to the house for a 58-yard touchdown.

With the first half of its regular season now complete, Ohio State will now begin preparation for its toughest test of the season to date as it hosts sixth-ranked and fellow unbeaten Penn State at Ohio Stadium next Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon and the game will be televised on FOX.

Game Notes

  • Eleven Ohio State players were out for the game due to injuries including running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
  • Xavier Johnson made his first career start in place of Egbuka, while Chip Trayanum made his second second consecutive start in place of Henderson.
  • Trayanum left the game with an injury in the first quarter and did not return. Dallan Hayden replaced him at running back.
  • Denzel Burke left the game with an injury in the third quarter and did not return.
  • Tyleik Williams recorded a tackle for loss for a fifth straight game. He also had two pass breakups in a game for the first time in his career.
  • Jack Sawyer recorded his first 1.5 sacks of the season.
  • Hayden’s third-quarter touchdown run was his first touchdown of the season. Hayden had played in only one of Ohio State’s first five games as the Buckeyes look to potentially preserve his redshirt.
  • Malik Hartford, Brandon Inniss, Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Luke Montgomery all played in their fifth game of the season against Purdue, meaning none of them will redshirt as true freshmen.
  • Marvin Harrison Jr. is now tied with Chris Olave for the second-most 100-yard receiving games (11) in Ohio State history. He also became the 12th player in school history with over 2,000 receiving yards.
  • 57,319 was the game’s attendance at Ross-Ade Stadium.
  • Purdue was the first team to miss three field goals in a game against Ohio State since California in 2012.
  • Ohio State is now 4-5 against the Boilermakers in West Lafayette since 2000.
  • The Buckeyes are now officially bowl-eligible for the 2023 season. They will play in a bowl game for the 48th time in 52 years.

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