Ohio State Was Thoroughly Spanked

This was near the end of the devastation, but here’s a perfect example of how Purdue kicked Ohio State’s ass Saturday night:

It was like this for most of the game. If all you desired was Urban Meyer schadenfreude, there were heaps of it. The unranked Boilermakers thumped the No. 2 Buckeyes, 49-20. THE Ohio State University did not reach THE double-digit mark in points until the fourth quarter. It was a historic upset:

Ohio State was able to pull away in the second half against Big Ten foes like Minnesota and Indiana, and got lucky against Penn State with James Franklin’s moronic play-calling, but Purdue had no turnovers and was too smart for that. Although the Buckeyes started the third quarter with a field-goal drive that cut the deficit to one possession, the Boilermakers followed that up with a touchdown drive to build a 21-6 lead. Ohio State responded with an 11-play, 73-yard drive that went limp on fourth and goal when Purdue sniffed out this pick play:

Purdue sealed it with 28 points in the fourth quarter, the final touchdown coming on a Markus Bailey pick-six. Even though the Buckeyes had figured out how to score by then, there was no chance of catching up, anyway. Boilermakers QB David Blough finished the game with 378 yards and three touchdowns; running back D.J. Knox had 128 yards and three rushing TDs. The fans rushed the field, and why the hell not?

“The glaring shortcomings we had were exposed,” Meyer said after the defeat. Yeah, man. (Will he stick around for the end of the season to see those shortcomings fixed?) The Buckeyes still have a chance of getting into the College Football Playoff as a one-loss squad, but they’d probably need to be helped by some other top-ranked teams screwing up. Or, if UCF once again runs the table, the committee can take this opportunity to right a wrong and let them play for the real thing. The Knights deserve this, dammit!