Honors roll in for Purdue after win over Ohio St.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The honors are rolling in for Purdue after the Boilermakers' upset of Ohio State.

Defensive end Ryan Kerrigan won defensive player of the week awards from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Big Ten, and Carson Wiggs was named the Big Ten special teams player of the week. Both played key roles in the 26-18 win, Purdue's first over a ranked team since 2003.

Kerrigan had four tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery against Ohio State. He now leads the Big Ten with seven sacks headed into Saturday's home game against Illinois.

"He keeps getting better and better," Purdue coach Danny Hope said Tuesday. "And he's getting better and better as the competition rises. He's really strong and comes off the ball very physical, very fast."

Kerrigan, a junior, said earlier in the season that he didn't feel he was playing his best. His past two games, he has five sacks, six tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Kerrigan's dominance could free up Mike Neal, a defensive tackle who Hope says is drawing attention from NFL scouts.

"It's a challenge, because if you try to double-team both of them, you'll run out of people," Hope said. "The rest of those guys are turned loose, so they will have to make some tough decisions and we have some other good players, as well."

Wiggs made four field goals, including a 55-yarder and a 49-yarder. He became the ninth player in school history to make four field goals in a game.

Wiggs also became the most accurate kicker in school history last week. He has made 16 of 22 in his career, including three from at least 51 yards. His career long of 59 yards came at the end of the first half against Toledo this season.

Hope said Wiggs likes the challenge of the long kicks.

"He's a good football player and he's an aggressive guy," Hope said. "I think that's good sometimes with a kicker. I think he's super competitive."

Wiggs, just a sophomore, might just be getting started.

"He's a heck of a place kicker and a heck of a specialist, and sky is the limit for him," Hope said. "He's getting a lot of attention on the pro watch, and he's certainly deserving. I don't have any reservations in most scenarios in lining it up and letting him take a long one."

Hope said Wiggs' 55-yarder against Ohio State was impressive.

"The one other day, the 55-yarder, was into a pretty good head of wind, and I thought that was one of most impressive kicks I've been around."

The timing made it more impressive. He hit it at the end of the first half to give the Boilermakers a 9-7 lead. Purdue scored on its first possession of the second half to push the lead to 16-7 lead.

"So all of a sudden, we were out there in two scoring possessions before they got the football back," Hope said. "He's a difference maker for us and we can nail them a long ways."