The Ohio State Buckeyes lost at Purdue in stunning fashion Saturday, 26-18, giving them their first loss in the Big Ten.

The offense has struggled all season, relying on defense to make key plays in tight situations. However, on a day when the defense couldn’t win by itself, the offense was still nowhere to be found.

Pryor has another dismal day
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor had a day against Purdue that he would like to forget.

In what might be the most unsuccessful outing of his career, Pryor had four turnovers and seemed to be out of sync much of the afternoon.

The turnovers started early for Pryor, as he fumbled on third down during the Buckeyes’ first possession. The turnovers didn’t stop there, as Pryor would fumble again and also throw two interceptions in the afternoon.

“We didn’t play well, I mean, I didn’t play well,” Pryor said. “You got to put that on me and the offensive side. The defense played well, we just got to capitalize, and it just didn’t happen.”

While mistakes happen, it was also missed opportunities that cost OSU. Pryor said he takes full responsibility for the Buckeyes not scoring a touchdown when inside the three-yard line in the second half.

“I don’t think we had as much intensity as we do going into any other game,” Pryor said. “Not really belittling them, but thinking we were going to walk over them. Every week, you have to fear the underdog, and the underdog took care of us today. There’s nothing else I can really say.”

Pryor was 17 of 31 for 221 yards and a touchdown. However, it was the four turnovers by him that hurt the Buckeyes most.

Despite another difficult day, Pryor isn’t allowing it to affect him. 

“My confidence is still high as ever,” he said. “I think we’ll be fine.”

Penalties, turnovers hold back Buckeyes

The Buckeyes not only lost the game but also key battles in penalties and turnovers.

“Hats off to Purdue. They did the things you need to do to win a Big Ten ball game,” coach Jim Tressel said. “They won the turnover margin, and they did a nice job with their special teams.”

The Buckeyes turned the ball over to Purdue inside the red-zone twice.

After an early fumble by Pryor, return specialist Ray Small also made a costly mistake. His fumble on a routine punt return was lost on the Buckeyes’ 13-yard line and led to a field goal.

“You can’t win when you turn the ball over five times,” senior center Jim Cordle said. “We took a step back as an offense, and you always want to take a step forward. So that’s a concern.”

Key penalties also hampered OSU. They were penalized nine times for a total of 65 yards. The Boilermakers were only flagged once for five yards.

Two penalties, in particular, cost the Buckeyes.

In the second quarter, running back Brandon Saine took a hand off 14 yards into the end zone before a late flag was thrown for holding. On the next play, Pryor fumbled the ball back to Purdue.

Late in the fourth quarter, the defense was looking to give OSU one last chance at tying the game. That chance never came.

Senior captain Doug Worthington was flagged for a face mask on third-and-long. The Buckeyes’ last penalty gave the Boilermakers three kneel-downs and the victory.

“I’ve never felt like this,” Worthington said. “I feel very guilty, especially for the last play. But my teammates are very supportive. It happened. It’s football. The Boilermakers came out to play, and they beat us.”

Offensive line shows youth

The offense has yet to play up to expectations since starting Big Ten play, and it starts up front.

OSU has averaged 172.2 yards on the ground this year, but only mustered 66 yards against Purdue.

Not being able to control the line of scrimmage clearly had an effect on OSU’s ability to run the football.

“They were running a lot of blitzes and twists, and sometimes when you have a young line, it’s harder to pick up,” sophomore center Michael Brewster said. “We expect better than that from ourselves.”

The offensive line also allowed five sacks against Purdue, two of which turned into fumbles.

Brewster said the line’s recent struggles have been frustrating, but that the players need to learn from their mistakes by studying film to get better.

Purdue offense excels

Five Buckeye turnovers kept the defense on the field and allowed the Boilermakers to take advantage.

Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott was 31 for 50 for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Along with having a great day against the Buckeyes, Elliott was only sacked once and used his feet to keep his offense moving.

It was the third quarter when Elliott asserted himself and put Purdue in position to win. Holding a 9-7 edge, Elliot led his team into the end zone twice in the third to give Purdue an insurmountable lead.

“He did a good job of definitely hanging in the pocket and scrambling when he needed too,” senior captain Kurt Coleman said. “He made a lot of third and long, and third and medium plays, so hats off to him.”

National title hopes shattered, still control own destiny for Big Ten

With their second loss, the Buckeyes will likely not be playing for a national championship.
However, despite the upset, OSU can still win at least a share of the Big Ten and represent the conference in the Rose Bowl.

With both Penn State and Iowa still on the schedule, if OSU can win the remainder of its games, it would share the Big Ten with Iowa but own the bowl tiebreaker.

While the Buckeyes won’t be holding up a crystal football, they still have a chance to smell the roses this season.