Follow along as senior writer Jeff Rapp describes today's action from West Lafayette.
We have a pretty nice fall day here in West Lafayette as the game-time temperature is 46 degrees and it is slightly overcast but not particularly windy. When we were last here two years ago it was literally twice as warm as the temp reached 92 degrees at one point and was in the 88-90 range at kickoff for a night game.
That was the infamous Purdue "blackout" that didn't go well for the hometown Boilers as OSU dominated the evening and left with a 23-7 win. More like "black eye."
Last year, OSU also shut down Petey Boiler in a 16-3 win. That was an ugly display by the offense, which failed to get in the end zone. As fate would have it, OSU enters this contest off another forgettable offensive display in the 31-13 win over Wisconsin as the Buckeyes benefitted from three returns for touchdowns.
12:07 p.m. -- Well, the 'Wagen and I arrived just in time and before I can post the first entry we have a development (also having wireless issues here in the press box). Terrelle Pryor, embattled this week after completing just five passes against UW and pitching another unsightly interception, fumbled on OSU's first possession. Carson Wiggs converted a 32-yard field goal off the boo-boo and Purdue opened up a very quick 3-0 lead.
12:14 p.m. -- Quick answer time for the Buckeyes as Pryor looked downfield and actually went underneath to Brandon Saine, who earned the start at tailback. Saine saw the dump off just in time, stuck out a paw, spun away from a defender and rambled 40 yards to set up first-and-goal. Pryor got OSU on the board with a 6-yard TD run around left end and the Buckeyes now lead 7-0.
We'll see what Purdue does with a longer field. They start their next drive at their own 19.
12:24 p.m. -- OK, I apologize for the technical difficulties. The Internet here has been very spotty but seems to have settled down. For those of you who don't even have Big Ten Network, I will try to paint a picture.
So far both teams look to be attacking the perimeter. A fumble by Bolden was recovered by OSU's Kurt Coleman, but the Buckeyes did not take advantage and Jon Thoma's punt was an uncharacteristic shank out of bounds. Purdue is now trying to move and is at midfield.
BTW, Jim Cordle started the second series at left tackle, so he is back well enough to play. Unfortunately, as I type this, Cameron Heyward, who is having a big year along OSU's defensive line, is on the ground in obvious pain with some sort of injury. Heyward was hurt trying to defend an inside receiver screen to WR Aaron Valentine that picked up a first down to the OSU 39.
The Boilermakers may be 1-5 but they are playing with good tempo now. The biggest question with their offense is can they take care of the ball. The Bolden fumble on the previous series was PU's 21st this season. That's right, I typed a 21.
12:30 p.m. -- Coleman, who is coming off perhaps his best game as a Buckeye with 14 tackles and an 89-yard interception return for a TD last week, just blew up a screen pass in the left flat. OSU was offsides on the next snap, though, to turn third-and-10 into third-and-5. Ross Homan snuffs out the same play to Valentine and Wiggs is forced to try a 52-yarder.
Wiggs, who has a 59-yarder to his credit this season, had enough leg on the kick but missed it wide. Ohio State still leads 7-3 with 3:06 to go in a very fast-paced first quarter.
Heyward, BTW, did walk off on his own and may try to re-enter this game.
12:36 p.m. -- Well, this is the offense we're getting used to. Pryor looks very dangerous on one play and extremely mortal on the next. He is running well today and clearly is giving this defense problems with his feet. However, on the next play he bounced a weak screen pass to Ray Small while he was still backpedaling. On the next play, OSU was so disjointed with receivers in motion and a changing alignment that Pryor had to burn a timeout.
On third down, Pryor appeared to call an audible, stepped away from pressure and instead of running for the first he threw a very short completion to Small, which came up short of the first down. Thoma, though, redeemed himself with a great punt down to the PU 6. The Boilers will have to start from there.
Incidentally, there are a lot of empty spaces in the bleachers where fannies are supposed to be. OSU fans dominate the south and north ends of the stadium and there is lots of red on the sides as well.
12:41 p.m. -- Well, the answer to the question of whether or not Purdue can hang onto the ball is a big "no" so far. A completion to receiver Keith Carlos appeared to be a big play as Coleman -- there he is again -- stripped the ball from No. 1 as white-shirted Buckeyes stood him up. Gibson recovered the fumble and the offense came out onto the field.
However, officials ruled forward progress to the 19 and that the whistle blew, meaning no fumble. It didn't look like Jim Tressel spent much time protesting the call.
The first quarter is now over with OSU still leading 7-3. PU, though, has six first downs and Elliot is 10 of 14 for 67 yards. The defense is going to keep trying to pry the ball loose but has to be wary of allowing a big play.
12:53 p.m. -- Well, Elliott is a pretty tough customer. He's doing a good job of finding his favorite receiver, Keith Smith, who entered the day with 42 catches. That's twice as many as OSU's leader receiver (DeVier Posey) has for the first half of the season. The OSU defense is delay blitzing and mixing up coverages but Elliott is hanging onto the ball long enough to find Boilers, often taking a vicious hit in the process. This kid is a pretty good player.
Purdue drives to the OSU 34 but can't pick up a third-and-9. Homan blew into the backfield to force a quick throw and Brian Rolle, who had thwapped Elliott earlier in the drive, nearly victimized him with a pick.
A high punt went to Small at the OSU 12 but moments after waving his right arm to signal a fair catch he dropped the ball and Purdue recovers. The Boilers have first-and-10 at the 13. Elliott tried to throw a bullet to a crossing Smith on second-and-7 and we have another big third down.
1:00 p.m. -- Purdue ran a well-designed play as the back in motion occupied Rolle and they isolated a receiver in the corner on Jermale Hines. However, the omnipresent Coleman rushed the throw and hit Elliott, who overshot to the back corner. Wiggs nails the short field goal and it is 7-6 Ohio State with 8:55 to go before halftime. It's pretty safe to say that the six Purdue points have been gift-wrapped by OSU -- namely Pryor and Small.
1:04 p.m. -- BTW, remember we are still doing our postgame call-in show on Bucknuts so give our Dave Biddle a jingle at 614-754-7549 if you want your voice and opinions to be heard. That's right after the game.
OK, back to action. Lamaar Thomas made one of his toughest plays with a return out past the 30 while taking a shot. Purdue also has been killed this season by kick returns and the Buckeyes would like to bust one today.
Pryor throws a bit deep to Dane Sanzenbacher and even though Sanzo made a pull-in near the sideline he stepped out first. Pryor then failed to tiptoe the right sideline on second down when it looked like he could have gotten a first down. On third-and-5 on the Purdue 44 Pryor tries to lob the ball between defenders to Sanzenbacher but the timing of the play isn't there and Thoma has to punt again.
The good news: He pins Purdue back on its own 9. The bad news: This Ohio State offense is borderline awful.
1:10 p.m. -- Purdue manages just 2 yards and punts it away -- a shankola by by Chris Summers that officially registers just 18 yards. He had a 7-yarder last week. Yuck.
Posey makes his first catch of the day on second down and the offense is looking at third-and-5. Pryor hits Posey right at the right hash for 10 on a slant and the Buckeyes have a first down. The Buckeyes are now 1 of 4 on third-down conversions.
Pryor gets maybe a yard on first down on a keeper as he tried to drop his right shoulder into, oh, the entire Purdue defense. These plays are fooling no one.
Saine pops up the middle for a TD and as he's crossing the goal line the referee threw a flag and nailed Bryant Browning for a hold. On the very next play, Pryor is hit while he's cocking the ball after a fake handoff and the ball is recovered all the way back at the 45.
Now this offense is -- dare we say it at Purdue -- a train wreck.
1:20 p.m. -- Elliott zips consecutive passes to his buddy Smith and the Purdue is in business at the OSU 22. He then hits Valentine out to the sideline for another first down as the PU offensive line did a great job of supplying him with a pocket.
For some unexplainable reason, Purdue went razzle-dazzle and asked junior running back Dan Dierking, who looks like he can hardly grip a football, to throw a halfback pass. His duck is intercepted by Chimdi Chekwa for the first interception of the season by an OSU cornerback.
The Buckeyes dodge a bullet but can't pick up a first down (shocker) and throw a pass on second down (huh?) which stops the clock with an incompletion. OSU has to punt with the clock stopped at 33 seconds.
1:30 p.m. -- Elliott completed two passes to Smith for 31 yards and Wiggs nails a 55-yard FG at the horn of the first half to provide Purdue with a 9-7 halftime lead.
The Buckeyes really don't deserve the halftime lead anyway. They fumbled three times and lost track of Smith defensively. They also are just a mess on offense right now. The yards at halftime read Purdue 211 and OSU 107. The total plays are in the 2-to-1 range as well.
The Purdue band -- and that big-ass drum -- are now on the field. Whatever is going on in the Ohio State locker room may not be pretty.
Remember, Purdue gets the ball first.
1:38 p.m. -- Halftime stats: Purdue 47 plays for 211 yards, 19:40 time of possession. Ohio State 24 plays, 107 yards, 10:20 TOP.
Pryor 5 of 9 for 71 yards, 2 fumbles lost, 9 carries for 4 yards
Saine 6 carries for 32 yards
Elliott 21 of 33 passing for 177 yards, Keith Smith 9 catches for 92 yards
Rolle has 8 tackles, Homan has 6
1:52 p.m. -- We are back in action. I see some of you are alarmed by the play of the offense. I can't say I'm surprised.
Meanwhile, Purdue, which obviously has carried over a lot of the same philosophies from the Joe Tiller era, is in a nice groove right now. Elliott begins the second half with a pair of completions and is beginning to connect to all areas of the field now.
Bolden follows a hole inside and makes a nice cut for a gain of 8. Purdue is across midfield already.
Elliott hits Smith on third-and-short. Smith now has 10 catches and more than 100 yards receiving, doing the latter for a fourth straight time (tying a school record). PU is 6 for 11 on third-down conversions.
A strong run by Bolden has Purdue at the OSU 15. Wow.
2:00 p.m. -- It's a real threat now. Touchdown as Elliott hits Valentine in the corner of the end zone. Purdue leads 16-7 and the Buckeyes are facing their biggest deficit of the season.
(Another announcement about our live postgame call-in show: If you want to vent or just talk about today's game, call our own Dave Biddle at 614-754-7549 and be heard. You can also send Dave an e-mail to be read on air at dave.biddle@bucknuts.com.)
2:02 p.m. -- Cue the circus music. OSU comes out with a two-tight end look and and Pryor promptly throws an errant pitch to Saine. OSU loses yardage on the "drive" as Pryor is sacked on third down. Thoma's punt is taken at the Purdue 21. There is 8:50 to go in the third.
It will be interesting to see how much the coaches substitute on each side of the ball from here on out. For example, at the end of the half when Purdue was in hurry-up OSU used an all-out pass rush personnel package that included Andrew Sweat at linebacker and Solomon Thomas at defensive end.
2:10 p.m. -- The defense comes up big and gets Purdue off the field as John Simon tips a third-down pass.
However, Pryor's play is so stunted that reporters in the press box are playing Benny Hill music on their iPhones and wondering when Joe Bauserman is going to come in.
Pryor just lofted one up for grabs looking deep for Duron Carter and it is picked off by cornerback Brandon King, who returns the ball all the way to the Purdue 40.
The defense pulls off another government-like bailout as Devon Torrence makes an interception.
Now we have a false start by Jake Ballard -- a senior. Pryor is back in.
2:15 p.m -- On second-and-15, Posey ran wide open up the east sideline and Pryor waited way too long to loft him the ball instead of a connection on a deep out for big yards. The ball should have been picked. On third down, it is, and Purdue has it back on the OSU 47. Once again, he needed to step up and run.
Why Pryor has not been pulled at this point I couldn't explain. If Bauserman doesn't come into this game for relief it can be assumed that he never will.
2:20 p.m. -- Now that is recognition. Elliott does his Drew Brees impersonation and senses everything is covered and heads back through the pressure on the left and gets a first down. On the very next play, Valentine knifes through the defense for a touchdown of 23 yards and the kick makes it Purdue 23-7 with 3:35 to play in the third. This is a complete turnaround from the game here two years ago as well as a complete disaster.
Ohio State has five turnovers (and counting) at the moment.
OSU players and Tressel told us during the week that Purdue was possibly the best 1-5 team in the country and they may have been right. Well, it's possible Ohio State is the worst 5-1 team in the country as well. Clearly, this is not the nation's No. 7 team we are watching right now.
2:26 p.m. -- I don't know what else to write. This is abominable.
2:30 p.m. -- The third quarter is over and it's one of the worst ones for an OSU team in the Tressel era. Seriously. The Buckeyes still have a whole quarter but who in their right mind thinks they can rally at all? Pryor is not recognizing anything, the offensive line is having its worst game of the season by far, the receivers are either running wrong routes or not even looking for the ball while it is in the air, the tight ends, as usual, are nonexistent. This offense looks like it is trying to play without practicing all week. That's how bad it is.
2:34 p.m. -- Heyward, who is back in, obviously, nearly gets to Summers and the punt barely gets into the end zone. Pryor hits Small for a gain of 38 to the PU 42, the Buckeyes' first first down of the half. Bryant Browning flinches and is whistled for a false start. But Pryor comes right back with a connection to Small and a huge run through the right side for a first-and-goal at the 2. Now we get to see how inept the short-yardage offense is.
2:41 p.m. -- Three plays net nothing and yet I can't condone the decision to kick the field goal, which cuts the Purdue lead to 23-10 with 11:50 to go. Not only did Ohio State need to go for it there IMO, the Buckeyes really needed eight points to make it 23-15. They are still breathing, barely, down 13 but an awful lot has to go right from here on out in a game in which very, very little has.
2:44 p.m. -- Elliott to Smith -- does that sound familiar? -- after a long return of a squib kickoff by Aaron Pettrey has PU in Ohio State territory again. Purdue will keep throwing if it has to to move the chains and the clock, but some incompletions could play into OSU's hands.
2:46 p.m. -- Smith (what a nice player, BTW) is tightroping the sideline with his left foot on a completion and it is ruled out of bounds. We are under a review. It looked like he may have gotten it in but I don't know if there is irrefutable evidence, as they like to say. Sure enough, the ruling holds up because you couldn't clearly see green betwen his foot and the sideline.
2:49 p.m. -- Wiggs continues to look like an All-American and easily bangs in a 49-yard field goal. Purdue leads 26-10 and you can alsmost hear Dandy Don Meredith singing "Turn out the lights, the party's over ..." Oh well, I have a good view of Mackey Arena from my seat. Maybe the Buckeyes will come back here in the winter and repay the favor.
BTW, I know some of you are apoplectic right now but it hasn't been a picnic here, either. While I am trying to describe this mess and wonder what is going on with my alma mater's football team there have been all kinds of rubes up here rooting in the press box. I don't know who they are. I don't think they are reporters. But they are annoying, I can assure you.
2:56 p.m. -- OSU picks up its second third-down conversion of the day. Some people believe Pryor looks better in the hurry-up because his instincts have to take over and it's hard for me to disagree. He seems a little more willing to run in these situations.
2:59 p.m. -- Well, well, well. Pryor ad-libs and finds Posey on a 29-yard rainbow. A defensive pass interference penalty is declined and Pryor adds the two-point conversion on an easy jaunt to the pylon. Somehow, OSU is back in this game with 7:14 to go as the Buckeyes now trail 26-18.
3:01 p.m. -- Donnie Evege, who has been a terror on special teams, and Solomon Thomas converge on the kick returner and Purdue has to start at its own 19. However, Elliott easily finds the tight end, Jeff Lindsay, and Purdue moves out to the 30. A run for a loss of 1 and an incompletion set up third-and-11 and Coleman dumps Elliott on the blitz. Time for Purdue to punt and for Boiler Nation to squirm a bit.
3:10 p.m. -- The line play looks a little better and the five-wide look is working to a certain degree but it's still a struggle to watch this offense go downfield when it absolutely has to. Sure enough, the whole thing bogs down and Pryor throws the ball nowhere anyone in white on fourth down. To be fair he had almost no time. Purdue certainly didn't just sit back defensively on that sequence. In fact, the safties were backing off but PU was in base from what I could tell.
3:13 p.m. -- Ohio State stops Bolden for no gain and calls timeout. Unfortunately, Tressel had to burn one before the fourth-down play so OSU has just one left. There is only 2:10 to play and a first down would finally dagger this thing.
On second down, Elliott rolls out and slides down for a gain of just 1. OSU uses its last timeout with 2:04 to play. Purdue has third-and-9 at its own 39. It would be hard to believe the Boilers would throw here but what does Danny Hope have to lose?
3:16 p.m. -- An appropriate ending. Doug Worthington pulls down on Elliott's facemask and this puppy is over. Heading down to do interviews and the post-mortem. This is going to be gloomy.
