Buckeye Rosters

Recap

West Lafayette, IN — The visiting Buckeyes spotted the host Boilers a 14-point lead on pass plays of 87 and 55 yards, but then roared back with six unanswered touchdowns en route to a 42-14 win.

Purdue led 14-0 after its first two possessions, but the Buckeyes evened the count in the second quarter on an 11-yard pass from Stanley Jackson to Dimitrious Stanley and a 26-yard run by tailback Pepe Pearson.

The Buckeyes used a series of big plays in the second half to surge ahead and put the game away. Sophomore Kevin Griffin got the ball rolling, his hit causing the Boilermakers to cough up the ball on the opening kickoff. Ohio State recovered at the Purdue 24-yard line and took its first lead five plays later on Jackson’s nitty nine-yard scramble up the middle. The Buckeyes increased the lead to 28-14 late in the quarter when Jackson hit freshman fullback Matt Keller with a screen pass on a third-and-17 play, and Keller raced 63 yards for a score, breaking several tackles along the way. The Buckeyes went on to add a 64-yard touchdown run by Pearson and a 79-yard fumble return by senior defensive back Rob Kelly to close out the scoring.

Ohio State freshman middle linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer led the Buckeye defense with eight solo tackles, three for losses, two sacks, a forced fumble and his first career collegiate interception. The OSU defenders limited Purdue to 74 net yards rushing for the game. Pearson had his fifth 100-yard rushing performance in six games, ending the afternoon with 152 yards on 26 carries and a pair of touchdowns.