Boilermakers bounce Buckeyes

Joey Elliott and Purdue shocked mistake-prone Ohio State.

Elliott threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns, and the Boilermakers snapped a five-game losing streak by beating No. 7 Ohio State 26-18 Saturday to effectively end what national-title chances remained for the Buckeyes.

Purdue dominated the first three quarters, then held on as Ohio State tried to mount a comeback behind Terrelle Pryor, who threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles.

The Boilermakers (2-5, 1-2) had lost five in a row since beating Toledo to start Danny Hope's first season as coach, and fans were starting to get uneasy. But when the clock ran out, joyous students poured onto the field to celebrate a major upset.

"Right now, a win against anybody is good for our football program," Hope said on TV as fans reached from behind to muss his hair affectionately.

It was Purdue's first win over a ranked team since 2003 and its first win over the Buckeyes since 2004. Ohio State (5-2, 3-1) failed to tie the Big Ten record of 17 straight conference road wins.

Purdue led 26-10 in the fourth quarter before Pryor got the Buckeyes back into the game. He avoided the rush, then heaved a 25-yard touchdown pass to DeVier Posey with 7:14 to play. Pryor ran in the 2-point conversion to cut Purdue's lead to 26-18.

Ohio State got the ball back and moved into Purdue territory. Ryan Kerrigan sacked Pryor on a third-and-5, setting up a fourth-and-14 from the Purdue 38. Pryor's inaccurate pass downfield was batted away by David Pender, and Purdue took over.

The Boilermakers appeared to be stopped when a screen pass on third-and-9 went nowhere, but one more mistake ended the Buckeyes chances.

Doug Worthington was flagged for a facemask and the personal foul gave Purdue a first down and the Boilermakers could kneel out the clock.

Ohio State finished with 66 yards rushing and 12 first downs.

Carson Wiggs made four field goals for Purdue, including a 55-yarder at the end of the first half and a 49-yarder in the fourth quarter.

His first came barely two minutes into the game when Purdue took advantage of Pryor's first fumble.

Pryor redeemed himself quickly by directing a 3-play, 66-yard touchdown drive, finishing it with a 6-yard run to give Ohio State a 7-3 lead.

The Boilermakers asserted themselves immediately after the second-half kickoff. Purdue went 67 yards in eight plays, and Elliott's 15-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Valentin gave Purdue a 16-7 lead four minutes into the third quarter.

After Brandon King's second interception of the third quarter, Valentin scored on a 36-yard catch from Elliott that gave Purdue a 23-7 lead.

Also Saturday

No. 11 Iowa 20, Wisconsin 10: The Hawkeyes needed a second-half road rally to keep their perfect season alive.

Trailing by a touchdown at halftime, the visiting Hawkeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) began the third quarter by turning an interception into a tying touchdown pass from quarterback Ricky Stanzi to tight end Tony Moeaki.

Iowa took the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Adam Robinson early in the fourth quarter, and the Hawkeyes' defense kept the Badgers scoreless in the second half.

After appearing vulnerable to the run early on, Iowa's defense clamped down on Wisconsin (5-2, 2-2) and running back John Clay, who might have been slowed by a second-quarter leg injury after a big first quarter. Clay finished with 75 yards rushing and Scott Tolzien threw three interceptions.

Iowa cornerback Amari Spievey had two interceptions.

No. 12 TCU 44, Colorado State 6: Jeremy Kerley tiptoed the sideline, then came to a near stop before finding an open lane to the end zone for his second punt return for a touchdown in three games and host TCU remained undefeated with a victory over Colorado State.

Kerley's electrifying 69-yard return just before halftime made it 17-6, and came less than 21/2 minutes after TCU (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) had finally taken the lead on Joseph Turner's 2-yard touchdown run.

Colorado State (3-4, 0-3) lost its fourth straight game.

No. 14 Penn State 20, Minnesota 0: Navorro Bowman led a stifling defense, Evan Royster ran for 137 yards and Derek Moye had a disputed touchdown catch in Penn State's easy win over visiting Minnesota.

Moye's 12-yard reception in the end zone was initially ruled incomplete, then overturned after an official review for a TD on a drive that gave the Nittany Lions (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) a 13-0 lead late in the first half.

The offense moved the ball well despite being mired by penalties. Royster and Moye still gave the defense more than enough cushion over the struggling Gophers (4-3, 2-2) on a chilly homecoming game at Beaver Stadium.

Texas Tech 31, No. 15 Nebraska 10: Steven Sheffield passed for a touchdown and ran for another in his first road start, and Texas Tech jumped out fast to upset Nebraska.

Sheffield, who passed for 490 yards passing and seven touchdowns in his debut as the starter against Kansas State last week, was nearly perfect early, completing 14 of his first 16 passes against the Cornhuskers. Playing for the injured Taylor Potts, Sheffield went 9-for-16 in the second half and finished with 234 yards.

Texas Tech (5-2, 2-1) won for the first time in four road games since last October. Nebraska (4-2, 1-1) held the Raiders to 259 yards -- 263 under their average.

No. 18 BYU 38, San Diego State 28: Max Hall threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score to lead BYU to the 500th victory in school history, beating host San Diego State.

BYU (6-1, 3-0 Mountain West Conference) beat SDSU (2-4, 0-2) for the eighth time in the last nine games.

SDSU's Ryan Lindley also threw three touchdown passes. SDSU kept pace with BYU into the third quarter, tying it at 21 before the Cougars' massive offensive line wore down the Aztecs, allowing Hall to throw two touchdown passes in less than four minutes.

Running an effective no-huddle offense, Hall was 27 of 39 for his fifth 300-yard game of the season. Lindley was 21 of 33 for 298 yards.

No. 23 Houston 44, Tulane 16: Case Keenum's lowest passing total of the season was still pretty good, and more than enough to help visiting Houston win its first conference game of the season.

Keenum was 30 of 43 for 334 yards and two touchdowns, and the Cougars defeated Tulane.

Bryce Beall and Justin Johnson each ran for two touchdowns for Houston (5-1, 1-1 Conference USA), which pulled away after leading only 9-6 at halftime.

Tulane (2-4, 0-3) now has lost 37 straight to ranked teams since 1982.

Latest Comment View all comments