Ohio St offense sputters in 26-18 loss to Purdue

Purdue shut down the seventh-ranked Buckeyes for three quarters, then held on for a 26-18 win that has the Buckeyes scrambling to figure things out.

The Buckeyes gained just 184 yards against Wisconsin, yet won 31-13 because of three returns for touchdowns. Against Purdue, Ohio State gained 110 yards and had four first downs the first three quarters.

Purdue (2-5, 1-2 Big Ten) had been one of the nation's worst teams in turnover differential, but the Buckeyes had five turnovers against Purdue, including four by quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

"You can't give people scoring opportunities, and obviously it takes away from your own opportunities to possess the ball," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "You can't have those and win."

Pryor passed for 221 yards, but was held to 34 yards on 21 carries. He blamed himself for the loss.

"We didn't play well, I didn't play well," Pryor said. "You got to put that on me on the offensive side."

Purdue held the Buckeyes (5-2, 3-1) to 66 yards on 28 carries.

"That was one of our keys to victory," Purdue coach Danny Hope said. "We wanted to stop the run and force some third-and-long situations. At this point in his career, Pryor struggles in those situations. He's a great athlete and a great runner, but we knew we'd have the edge in third-and-long."

Pryor also gave Purdue's defense credit.

"They did a real good job hiding some stuff I didn't see at all on film," Pryor said. "My hat's off to them. They played a great game."

Tressel said Pryor struggled with the mental part of the game early. Purdue consistently pressured the sophomore into poor throws.

"When things aren't going the way you feel they should, you get discouraged," Tressel said, "but I wouldn't use the word rattled."

The Buckeyes gained 171 yards in the fourth quarter, but they had spotted Purdue a 26-10 lead.

Pryor made a valiant effort to get the Buckeyes back into the game. He avoided the rush, then heaved a 25-yard touchdown pass to DeVier Posey with 7:14 to play. Pryor ran in the 2-point conversion to cut Purdue's lead to 26-18.

Ohio State got the ball back and moved into Purdue territory. Purdue's Ryan Kerrigan sacked Pryor on a third-and-5, setting up a fourth-and-14 from the Purdue 38. Pryor's inaccurate pass downfield was batted away by David Pender, and Purdue took over.

"When it came to crunch time, I think we played OK," Pryor said. "We brought the ball down, but we got to punch it in for that last score to go to OT."

Ohio State's defense didn't help. The Buckeyes trailed 26-18 in the closing minutes, and the Boilermakers appeared to be stopped when a screen pass on third-and-9 went nowhere, but one more mistake ended the Buckeyes chances. Doug Worthington was flagged for a facemask and the personal foul gave Purdue a first down and the Boilermakers could kneel out the clock.

Now, the Buckeyes will have to focus on winning the Big Ten instead of pursuing a national title.

"The Big Ten is still there, there's going to be teams losing," Pryor said. "We have a long season left and we just have to come back strong. The Big Ten is still there, and we just have to chase it."