Buckeyes survive Purdue in OT

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
COLUMBUS -- Jim Tressel, the normally stoic, unflappable, unreadable (and nearly unbeatable) Ohio State coach, took a few sips of a Diet Coke after Saturday's game and looked around at the room of reporters.
And he smiled. Big.
"Well, it was quite a football game," Tressel said.
It was.
Again.
The (pick one) experienced, talented, well-coached, senior-led and (let's admit it) really lucky Ohio State football team pulled out another miracle on Saturday, using a missed field goal in overtime to beat the Purdue Boilermakers, 16-13, in a Big Ten battle at Ohio Stadium.
"We never felt we were going to lose that game," said senior defensive end Will Smith. "Even though it was real close, all the seniors, you could just look in their eyes and see confidence that we were going to win."
Kicker misses twice
Purdue sophomore kicker Ben Jones missed wide left on a game-tying field goal attempt in the first overtime -- his second miss of the game -- and the 10th-ranked Boilermakers (8-3, 5-2) couldn't overcome two huge fumbles by quarterback Kyle Orton.
"We feel going into games like this that whoever wins the special teams and whoever wins the turnover margin is going to win the game," said Tressel, whose team beat Purdue last season on a last-minute touchdown catch by Michael Jenkins. "We felt like we were right where we needed to be."
For the third time this season -- and fourth in two years -- the Buckeyes won a game without scoring an offensive touchdown.
Ohio State also achieved the (rather dubious) mark in wins over San Diego State (16-13) and Iowa (19-10) this season and in a (13-7) win over Penn State last year.
"We don't ever get into a position where we panic," Tim Anderson said. "Today we went into overtime. It's not a big deal to us because we've been there before so we don't worry a whole lot about it."
Michigan is next
The fourth-ranked Buckeyes (10-1, 6-1) stayed tied with Michigan (9-2, 6-1) atop the Big Ten standings and will travel to Ann Arbor on Saturday to play for the outright league title.
"It's a huge game," Tressel said.
Ohio State, ranked third in the BCS standings, also has a chance to earn a berth in the national title game. A win over Michigan, combined with the Buckeyes' strength of schedule, may allow them to leapfrog second-ranked USC in the BCS standings.
"We've got another opportunity ahead of us," Smith said.
Craig Krenzel finished 15-of-29 for 226 yards -- including a 60-yard strike to Jenkins to set up a field goal. Krenzel had 39 yards rushing and junior tailback Lydell Ross added 79 yards on 23 carries, falling short of 100 yards for the first time in four games.
"I think we've made progress offensively," Tressel said. "That was a tough defense we were going against. What we've got to do is score more points and I think we understand that.
"We'll go work on it."
Nugent kicks game-winner
Junior kicker Mike Nugent was 3-of-4 on field goals, hitting a game-winning 36-yard field goal in overtime just minutes after missing a 42-yard attempt as time expired.
Purdue sophomore linebacker Bobby Iwuchukwu blocked the fourth-quarter attempt and got a hand on the overtime kick, but it wasn't enough.
"I kind of got up there and was like, this is no different than kicking an 18-yarder," Nugent, who also made a 52-yarder, said of the overtime field goal. "I went out there thinking, we just need to get this and put the pressure on them."
Orton's two fumbles -- the game's only two turnovers -- overshadowed an outstanding performance, as the junior quarterback hit 27-of-47 passes for 249 yards.
Orton's first fumble came early in the fourth quarter, when Smith and senior lineman Tim Anderson hit him at the 1 and linebacker Mike Kudla recovered the ball in the end zone.
"We needed a big play, we needed a turnover," Smith said. "We kind of celebrated, went back and got ready for the next series."
Orton's second fumble was recovered by Tim Anderson on Ohio State's 29 with 2:02 remaining in the game, setting up Nugent's only miss.
Tailback Jerod Void added 60 yards on 22 carries and a 13-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter for Purdue, which was eliminated from the league race.
"We knew they were a great team and we knew it would take every ounce of energy we had," Tressel said. "It was a great Big Ten football game, just like you knew it would be."
scalzo@vindy.com
Purdue33070--13
Ohio St.06073--16
First Quarter
Pur--FG Be.Jones 45, 7:29.
Second Quarter
OSU--FG Nugent 26, 14:50.
Pur--FG Be.Jones 47, 13:01.
OSU--FG Nugent 52, 2:42.
Fourth Quarter
OSU--Kudla fumble recovery in end zone (Nugent kick), 11:23.
Pur--Void 11 run (Be.Jones kick), 4:36.
Overtime
OSU--FG Nugent 36.
A--105,286
PurOSU
First downs2415
Rushes-yards36-10639-125
Passing249226
Comp-Att-Int27-47-015-30-0
Return Yards7454
Punts-Avg.7-39.610-41.3
Fumbles-Lost3-21-0
Penalties-Yards6-359-68
Time of Possession29:0130:59
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Purdue, Void 22-60, Orton 11-53, team 3-(minus 7). Ohio St., Ross 23-79, Krenzel 14-39, Joe 2-7.
PASSING--Purdue, Orton 27-47-0-249. Ohio St., Krenzel 15-29-0-226, team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Purdue, Stubblefield 8-78, Standeford 8-56, Void 4-43, Chambers 3-28, Ingraham 1-18, C.Davis 1-10, Br.Jones 1-10, Bushong 1-6. Ohio St., Jenkins 6-123, Holmes 6-57, Hamby 1-27, Joe 1-10, Hartsock 1-9.