Ohio St. stymies Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Todd Boeckman passed for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns as No. 4 Ohio State beat No. 23 Purdue 23-7 on Saturday night.

Chris Wells ran for 85 yards on 18 carries and Ryan Pretorius made all 3 of his field-goal attempts for Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten).

Purdue had averaged 45 points and 496 yards per game, but Ohio State held the Boilermakers to 272 total yards. Purdue ran for just 4 yards on 17 attempts, and Jared Armstrong tied a school record with 12 punts.

Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter, who had averaged more than 300 passing yards in his first five games, finished with 268. Much of that was gained in the fourth quarter against Buckeye reserves.

Purdue tight end Dustin Keller caught 7 passes for 101 yards, and Greg Orton caught 10 passes for 91 yards for the Boilermakers (5-1, 1-1).

Ohio State won its 24th consecutive regular-season game and showed why it was ranked second nationally in total defense. It was the Buckeyes' first win against a ranked team this season.

The previous three meetings between the teams had been decided by a touchdown or less, but this game wasn't close from the start.

Ohio State stopped Purdue to start the game, then scored on its first possession. Boeckman threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ray Small to finish a 9-play, 87-yard drive that gave the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead.

The Buckeyes forced a three-and-out, then took over at the Purdue 43 after a poor punt. Five plays later, Boeckman threw his second touchdown pass, a 6-yarder to Brian Hartline.

Pretorius kicked a 44-yard field goal early in the second quarter to stretch Ohio State's lead to 17-0.

Purdue's defense tried to keep the Boilermakers in the game early in the second half. Brandon King intercepted Boeckman at the Purdue 28 on a play that was reviewed and reversed. On Ohio State's next possession, Purdue's David Pender intercepted Boeckman at the Purdue 2.

Purdue failed to take advantage, and Pretorius kicked a 39-yard field goal with 7:43 left in the third quarter that increased Ohio State's lead to 20-0. Pretorius made a 23-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter to make it 23-0.

Purdue finally scored with 10 seconds left. Jeff Lindsay caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Painter to avoid the shutout.