Oct. 11, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Malcolm Jenkins blocked a punt and Etienne Sabino returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to lead No. 12 Ohio State to a 16-3 victory over Purdue on Saturday.
Freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor had an erratic day and tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells totaled 94 yards on 22 carries for the Buckeyes (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten).
Ohio State has won four straight since a 35-3 loss at then-No. 1 Southern California prompted coach Jim Tressel to put sixth-year senior Todd Boeckman on the bench behind Pryor.
Pryor completed 10 of 14 passes for 97 yards and ran for 27 yards on 14 carries.
Curtis Painter threw for 228 yards for Purdue, becoming just the fourth Big Ten quarterback to surpass 10,000 passing yards. He was 23-of-51 with one interception.
The Boilermakers (2-4, 0-2) didn't get inside the Ohio State 30 until the final 30 seconds.
It didn't take long for the Buckeyes to gain the upper hand. The offense had to punt after the opening kickoff, but Ohio State's defense forced a three-and-out and Jenkins smothered a punt by Chris Summers before Sabino rumbled in for the score.
Ryan Pretorius kicked field goals of 24 and 22 yards and Aaron Pettrey added a 49-yarder for Ohio State.
Carson Wiggs booted a school-record 53-yard field goal early in the third quarter for Purdue.
The teams had almost as much punting yardage as they did on offense. The Boilermakers' once high-powered attack had just 298 yards and the Buckeyes totaled 222. Meanwhile, Purdue punted six times for 190 yards and Ohio State also punted six times for 211 yards.
The Buckeyes won, but one play sized up the way the day went for them. On fourth-and-8 at the Purdue 36 in the first quarter, they were going to try a fake punt. But just as the snap went to the holder and he bolted upright to run to the right, they were flagged for delay of game. They had to punt on the next snap.
Ohio State failed to score a touchdown after getting first downs inside the Purdue 10 in both the first and third quarters.
Pryor was sacked three times, sometimes holding onto the ball when he was in trouble instead of getting rid of it earlier or throwing it away. Ryan Kerrigan had two of the sacks for the Boilermakers.
All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis had 10 tackles and broke up two passes. Fellow Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman added nine tackles and knocked down a pass.
Kory Sheets had 20 carries for 67 yards for the Boilermakers, who have lost three in a row.