Vance Leads Buckeyes to 35-9 Win Over Purdue – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov 10, 2001
Box Score| Quotes| Notes
COLUMBUS, Ohio-Ohio State (6-3 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) used a pair of safeties and the acrobatic heroics of junior receiver Chris Vance to beat Purdue (5-3, 3-3) 35-9 in front of a record 104,189 at Ohio Stadium Saturday.
Vance finished the day with seven catches for 138 yards-both career highs-and one touchdown. His final catch in the fourth quarter ended the scoring for the Buckeyes. Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari lofted a 7-yard pass to the right corner of the end zone that Vance caught one-handed over his right shoulder while still getting one foot in bounds for the score.
The final score was set up by a 56-yard interception return by Buckeye cornerback Derek Ross. He has seven interceptions on the year for 194 yards and one touchdown. The OSU record for interceptions in a season is nine.
Bellisari connected on 14-of-20 passes for a season high 263 yards and three touchdowns. Senior tailback Jonathan Wells reached the century mark on the ground for the third consecutive game and fifth of the season, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown as the Buckeyes piled up 429 yards of total offense.
Ohio State led 12-9 at the half and proceeded to reel off 23-unanswered points over the final two quarters.
Bellisari connected with sophomore receiver Michael Jenkins on a 53-yard touchdown pass with 12 minutes, 34 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Buckeyes a 19-9 lead. The Buckeyes scored on their first possession of the second half after Purdue was forced to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter.
The Ohio State scoring drive covered 72 yards on three plays. Wells started the drive with an 18-yard run, his longest of the day.
Ohio State free safety Donnie Nickey intercepted Purdue quarterback Brandon Hance on the Boilermakers’ next possession. Nickey returned the interception 42 yards to the Purdue 32-yard line.
The Boilermakers got the ball right back when Purdue defensive end Akin Ayodele sacked Bellisari, forcing a fumble. Defensive end Shaun Phillips recovered, giving the Boilermakers possession on their own 36.
Purdue’s offense stalled, forcing a punt.
The Buckeyes then drove to Purdue 5-yard line before the Boilermakers recovered a Wells fumble.
The OSU drive was highlighted by a pair of circus catches by Vance, the first a 31-yard one-handed grab down the right sideline and the second, a 14-yarder over the middle to the Purdue 9.
On the first Purdue play after the Wells fumble, the Buckeyes recorded their second safety of the game when Hance was sacked in the end zone by Ohio State’s Kenny Peterson, giving the Buckeyes a 21-9 lead.
Ohio State, aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty called against the Boilermakers, scored following the Purdue free kick on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Bellisari to tight end Ben Hartsock with 13:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Ohio State lead grew to 28-9.
Ohio State’s Mike Nugent kicked a 36-yard field goal with 9:08 remaining in the first quarter to put the Buckeyes up 3-0. Bellisari guided the Buckeyes 61 yards on 11 plays for the game’s first score.
The big play of the 11-play drive was a 39-yard pass over the middle to Vance on the first play from scrimmage for the Buckeyes
Purdue started its first offensive series on its own 10-yard line after being called for a holding penalty on the kickoff return. On the second play from scrimmage, a bad snap was recovered and flipped out of the end zone by Hance for an Ohio State safety. The Buckeyes led 5-0 with 8:18 to play in the first quarter.
Brandon Childress returned Purdue’s free kick 37 yards after the safety to the OSU 48. Six plays later, Wells ran 15-yards untouched to the left corner of the endzone, giving the Buckeyes a 12-0 advantage with 5:11 to play in the opening quarter. The six-play drive was helped along by an 18-yard pass play from Bellisari to Hartsock.
Purdue burned the next five minutes of the first quarter on an 11-play scoring drive that resulted in a 41-yard field goal by Travis Dorsch, cutting the Buckeye lead to 12-3 with two seconds to play in the first quarter.
Both teams were forced to punt on their next two possessions.
Bellisari then fumbled following a sack on the OSU 18-yard line with 4:47 left in the opening half. The ball was recovered by Purdue defensive tackle Matt Mitrione.
Purdue scored five plays later when Hance found the end zone on a 1-yard run cutting the Buckeye lead to 12-9 with 2:04 remaining in the first half. Dorsch’s kick failed.
Ohio State will honor its seniors before the final home game of the season next Saturday against Illinois. Game time is 12:10 p.m.
