For a brief, shining moment, it was Camelot.
Braxton Miller had added another miracle to his young resume, and it looked as though Ohio State was going to escape West Lafayette with a dramatic come-from-behind win. And Buckeye 50 was going to have not only another chapter to add to the “Greatest Drives” series, but somewhat unbelievably this rollercoaster 2011 campaign was going to stand as the only season to produce more than one “Drive” entry besides the epic 2002 campaign. All it boiled down to was the PAT…
Two predictable runs between the tackles from Dan Herron started the day’s proceedings, and then on third down Braxton Miller fired a bullet over the middle. T.Y. Williams reached behind himself and tipped the ball. Jake Stoneburner had settled in beyond Williams and had the carom for a second, but safety Logan Link got physical and brought Stoneburner down before he could establish a good position to nab the tipped throw.
Purdue took over and immediately established an upbeat tempo with quarterback Caleb TerBush leading the way. Ralph Bolden set the tone on the first play, circling the left side for 22 and leaving three white-shirted defenders diving and grasping air. Bolden definitely has the quicks, and as we’ve seen time and time again this season Ohio State’s defense, while giving game efforts, is not loaded with speed. Justin Siller and Jared Crank gained another first down rushing, and TerBush went to work on the perimeter, hitting quick outs of 8 and 14 to Gary Bush. The second of those set up first-and-goal at the OSU 4, but the bewildered Buckeye “D” stiffened and forced a 19-yard Carson Wiggs FG. The strong-legged senior was true and the Boilers took an early 3-0 lead.
Ohio State’s second possession was more unimaginative disaster. Herron lost 2 on first down and two Miller runs got one yard back. TerBush revved his offense up once more from his 40, and again Bolden lit the fuse with an 11-yard pickup on an option pitch left. Waynelle Gravesande, who if anything makes the OSU opponents’ all-name team, gathered in a 9-yard toss, and two plays later Akeem Shavers scooted around the left side for 2 and a first down. He got tripped up at the last moment or that 2 yards would’ve been a whole lot more. The Buckeye secondary continued to line up in Illinois against the Purdue receivers, and TerBush and O.J. Ross worked a slant for 15. Antavian Edison latched onto a 9-yard strike, and with a 2nd-and-1, Purdue coach Danny Hope went for the jugular. Justin Siller was open on a crossing route in the endzone but he and Travis Howard got their feet tangled. The hometown crowd hooted for a flag, but the ball was ruled uncatchable. As Jim Lachey put it on the Ohio State football radio network, any ball is uncatchable if the receiver isn’t allowed to get to it. The natives’ howling in the stands might’ve played a part in Purdue drawing a false start, and a promising drive was looking as if it would come down to Carson Wiggs again. But on 3rd-and-6 from the 19, Gary Bush saw TerBush scrambling and broke back toward the middle. TerBush found him for 10 and a big first down. Akeem Shavers did the rest, hitting the middle for 5 (see, Jim Bollman, runs up the middle do work when the defense isn’t expecting it every single play) and capping the march with a 4-yard dash over the left side. Wiggs’ PAT was perfect and for the second straight game the Buckeyes were staring at a 10-0 deficit.
The anemic Ohio State offense actually got a positive start as Herron managed 7 on first down, but he was cut down in the backfield on second down, and then Miller had all day to throw and had no one open on third down and got sacked. It capped off an absolutely putrid quarter for the Bucks, who would be outgained 131-11 in yardage at period’s end. Purdue worked out to near midfield on their next drive, but pressure forced TerBush to throw it away on third down, and the flatlining OSU offense would finally come to life.
Braxton Miller continued to display his shiftiness in the pocket, deftly dancing away from two defenders before finding Dan Herron for a pickup of 20 and the Buckeyes’ initial first down of the afternoon. Miller looked to pull the trigger on play-action on the next snap- the wind must have blown Jim Bollman’s playbook to that page- but he ended up bailing out and sped forward for 7. Two Jordan Hall totes moved the chains to the Purdue 38, but then it looked as if things would go up in smoke as Herron gained nothing and Miller missed Zach Boren on a pass to the right flat. Ohio State went to a bit of a hurry-up before the third-down snap, but Purdue had a blitz on and sent the safeties. Miller found Hall out of the backfield down the right seam and just got the ball past the outstretched paw of nose guard Kawaan Short. Hall picked up a key block from Evan Spencer and angled toward the Buckeye sideline and on into the endzone to complete the 38-yard scoring play, narrowing Purdue’s lead to 10-7.
Antavian Edison hauled in an 11-yard peg from Caleb TerBush to launch the next Boiler series, but the defense began to toughen, even if they tiptoed close to drawing laundry. Travis Howard appeared to be a tick early covering Justin Siller, but forced an incompletion without a flag flying. TerBush went right back to Siller, but Tyler Moeller stripped the ball away and Siller had to dive on it with ample real estate still in front of him. A false start made it 3rd-and-10, and TerBush couldn’t hook up with Edison crossing on third down. As has happened so many times this season, Christian Bryant would’ve had an easy pick had he made the play, but he didn’t turn and the ball hit him in the arm. Ohio State took over and Kawaan Short redeemed himself for missing the throw to Hall with a 5-yard sack of Braxton Miller on first down. Herron managed 4 on an absolutely stupid 2nd-and-15 run call, and Miller missed T.Y. Williams on third down.
Purdue assumed command of the football, and former Hurricane Robert Marve came on to assume command of Danny Hope’s offense. The Boilers were pinned back at their own 12, but facing a 3rd-and-9, Marve fired a frozen rope from the left hash to the right sideline to O.J. Ross to move the sticks. The Boilers did most of the work on the ground as they maneuvered out to the 41, but hit a roadblock with a holding call. Ohio State was in a generous mood and gave the momentum right back as Johnathan Hankins was called for a late hit on Marve. Now in OSU territory, Purdue lost 4 on first down as O.J. Ross was bottled up on a double reverse. Marve found Akeem Shavers on a screen to the right and he ate up 15 as Tyler Moeller completely whiffed on him at the point of the catch. Just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, Moeller missed Justin Siller on another short toss on the next play. Siller avoided two other Buckeye tacklers before being run down at the Buckeye 7. Luke Fickell took a timeout to try and settle down his fundamentally unsound unit, but whatever he said fell on deaf ears. Siller took the “Wildcat” snap and handed to Ralph Bolden, who stormed around the right side without hardly being touched for the touchdown. The lead was back up to 10 once more at 17-7, and the OSU defense was again proving the only tackle they know about is what you take on a fishing trip.
The wheels continued coming off the wagon as the offense retook the field. Herron was spun down on a (surprise!) first down run up the middle and left the game with an ouchy ankle. Bruce Gaston blew by new starter Antonio Underwood and dropped Miller for a five-yard sack to finish the drive.
Purdue called timeout to save some clock, but a good Ben Buchanan punt and a holding call pretty much unraveled any shot at getting a quick score before the break. Instead, the Boilers kept it landlocked, and the Buckeyes burned a couple of timeouts to save themselves some time. Cody Webster could only manage a 31-yard punt and the Bucks had the ball at Purdue’s 49 with 16 seconds left. The Big Ten Network’s Tom Hart had no sooner mentioned that Wisconsin hero Devin Smith hadn’t caught a pass yet when Miller found him along the right sideline for 14 yards. Miller had to take off on the next snap, and kept the play alive as he drifted left, but with no one open and the clock winding down he steamed out of bounds at the 33. Drew Basil had a shot at a 50-yarder and got the necessary leg into it, but he pushed it right. It would get somewhat lost in the aftermath, but those three points would loom large at day’s end.
The Ohio State M*A*S*H unit continued to grow. Corey “Philly” Brown and J.B. “False Start” Shugarts were already missing from the offense and Herron had tweaked the ankle late in the first half. Now on the defensive side, the line- which was already down Nathan Williams for the rest of the season, lost Andrew Sweat as he became very dizzy and was held out for fear of a concussion.
The Boilermakers did nothing with their first drive of the second half and punted. Jordan Hall took the “Wildcat” snap on OSU’s initial snap of the third and sprung free behind Jack Mewhort (who had moved from left guard to right tackle to spare Antonio Underwood any further humiliation) and Zach Boren. Hall cut back in and reeled off 25, but had he taken it outside he probably goes the distance. Carlos Hyde took a pitch left two plays later and carved out 10 to the Purdue 19. The home “D” got tough and forced a 3rd-and-10. Braxton Miller fake pumped out of the gun and sprinted through the middle for 14 yards to the 5. Carlos Hyde got the first call and headed left. He tried to work back right but ran into trouble and got nothing. Had that cutback come a second sooner, he would’ve strolled right in. As it was, Miller closed the deal, taking an option look to the right, then cutting back left and waltzing in for the score, closing the gap to 17-14.
Caleb TerBush came back in at QB and almost met with disaster on first down. His bullet for Antavian Edison was way out in front and C.J. Barnett had an easy pick. Naturally, he dropped it, only about the 38th INT the defense has dropped this season. TerBush wasn’t fazed and fired a laser in between Storm Klein and Ryan Shazier two plays later for a 17-yard strike to Edison. Shazier made TerBush pay moments later on 3rd-and-5. Looping around from the QB’s blindside, Shazier got to TerBush and knocked the ball free, although Purdue was able to get on it.
The offense missed two golden opportunities as they came back on. After Dan Herron pounded out a first down on a pair of carries, he took a “Wildcat” snap for three. Braxton Miller had been split out right on the play and got into it with Josh Johnson, with Miller’s helmet coming off in the process. Back under center, Braxton looked to get even on the next play as Devin Smith had Johnson beaten badly deep down the right sideline. But with the wind at his back, Miller put too much on it and it fell incomplete. After a delay and a false start staggered the drive, Miller had Evan Spencer open deep and overshot him as well.
The defense would also get caught up in the misery of near-misses. Caleb TerBush found tight end Crosby Wright for 13 on first down, but as Wright was sandwiched by tacklers, Ryan Shazier ripped the ball out and headed upfield with it. But Wright’s knee had already touched, and a review negated the fumble. The Bucks forced a 3rd-and-3, but then offered up a double whammy as Travis Howard was called for holding and Shazier was flagged for a late hit on TerBush. Purdue accepted the 15-yarder on Shazier to move into OSU territory. The Purdue “O” appeared to take another big bite as Justin Siller got behind Tyler Moeller to snag a 21-yard aerial, but an ineligible man downfield call wiped it out. TerBush shook it off and found Gabe Holmes for 12 and Siller for 5 to advance the pigskin to the Buckeye 34, but that’s as far as they would go. Carson Wiggs punted down to the OSU 7, and when Reid Fragel was whistled for holding on first down, the visitors retreated to their own 4. The third quarter gave way to the fourth and the Buckeye offense couldn’t do anything. Purdue reclaimed possession at the OSU 45, and on first down Ralph Bolden burst through the left side for 13. Bolden got free on an option pitch a play later, but Bradley Roby made a nice open-field stop to hold the gain to 6. Johnathan Hankins threw Reggie Pegram for a one-yard loss, and then Robert Marve and Justin Siller weren’t on the same page and Marve’s deep ball fell harmlessly incomplete. Carson Wiggs was called on to do his thing and converted a line-drive 44-yard field goal, giving the Boilers a 20-14 lead.
Ohio State opened their next series by actually trying a pitchout to the left, but Dan Herron was snowed under for a two-yard loss. After Braxton Miller was sacked, things were looking awfully shaky. Even the BTN announcers were hip to what was coming- a quarterback draw. Whether Purdue was somehow fooled or underestimated Miller is up for debate, but the Bucks came with the predicted QB draw and Miller stampeded upfield for 17 and a critical first down. Two plays later, Miller waltzed around to buy time and hooked up with T.Y. Williams for 13 to the OSU 47. But again the offensive “machine” sputtered and gasped, and Miller was faced with a 3rd-and-10 and the need to make yet another play. And that he did- taking the snap, Braxton split two defenders through the left side, juked another and angled to the sideline for an 11-yard pickup. Things were starting to click, but the wells ran dry and after an incompletion to Chris Fields on third down, the Bucks were parked at the Purdue 44 and were well out of Drew Basil’s range. Ben Buchanan punted down to the 15 and a nearly eight-minute drive had produced zip.
If Purdue had visions of killing the clock, it quickly became a mirage. Two runs gained six, and then on 3rd-and 4, Bradley Roby made one of the better defensive plays of the entire season. Robert Marve dumped a quick toss to O.J. Ross, not far from where Roby was engaged with another receiver. As Ross ran by, Roby grabbed him literally with one arm, shed himself from the block, and dragged Ross down for no gain. Cody Webster was forced to boot it away and got off a 49-yard bolt. Ohio State set up shop at their 34 with 6:15 to go and their Leaders Division fate hanging in the balance.
OSU went bread-and-butter on the first play- the old “Power O”. Corey Linsley pulled around to seal things, and Zach Boren opened a huge hole for Dan Herron, who motored for 21. Herron came right back with 3 more out of the “Wildcat”, and then Braxton Miller faked to him, drifted laterally and found Evan Spencer for 12 to the Purdue 30. Herron and Hall pounded out another first down via the ground game to the 20, and then Hall got a “Wildcat” shot and made a tremendous spin move to pick up 8. Herron worked the right side down to the 5, but an illegal formation call moved the rock back to the 17. Miller had nowhere to go over the right side and found even more traffic as he cut back, losing a yard. The clock was ticking, but the Bucks caught a break as the officials had to stop play as Purdue freshman DE Ryan Russell was shaken up. The “O” had a chance to catch their breath, and facing 3rd-and-8, the call was another QB draw. Miller darted through a forest of Old Gold jerseys for 5, and with the clock down to a minute-and-a-half, the Buckeyes had a 4th-and-3 from the Purdue 13. The stage was set for yet another step in the maturation of Braxton Miller.
Dropping straight back, Braxton surveyed the field. Boiler D-tackle Bruce Gaston moved in as Michael Brewster hit the deck, but Miller was able to avoid him. Seeing daylight to the right, Miller started that way but Buckeye Nation held its breath as the still-sprawling Brewster was in his path. Miller calmly jumped over him, buying himself extra seconds to scan the landscape. No one was open, and by now a host of Purdue defenders were descending. Miller tried to put the brakes on as he was still rolling right, but his feet almost came out from under him. With heat bearing down and finding himself off-balance, Braxton saw Jordan Hall behind the defense on the backside and launched the ball that way. Hall, who had stayed in initially to block, was behind Josh Johnson and leaped to pull in Miller’s rainbow at the goal line. Johnson laid a stick on him, but Jordan had secured the pigskin and the hit only propelled Hall into the endzone. Just like against Wisconsin, Miller had somehow found a diamond in the putrid coal pile that “passes” for OSU’s throwing game. The game was knotted at 20 and the red-clad OSU contingent in Ross-Ade Stadium had to be having flashbacks to 9 years ago, when “Holy Buckeye” played itself out in that same endzone.
Usually extra points take up no more than a sentence in these game summaries, if they even get mentioned at all. But the euphoria that Buckeye Nation was feeling after another Braxton Miller miracle was about to go up in smoke. Big Bruce Gaston found a seam in the PAT team’s line, and no sooner had the Big Ten Network’s Tom Hart said that “Basil’s perfect on extra points this year” then fans heard that sickening double-thud of foot hitting ball, and ball hitting hand. The ball dropped into the endzone, and the contest was still tied.
Purdue had 55 seconds to work with, which is an ever-loving eternity when you’ve got a Carson Wiggs on your side. Raheem Mostert, the Big Ten’s leading kick returner, snaked his way to his 39. On first down, the Buckeyes sent a delayed linebacker blitz, but Robert Marve just did unload and hit Ralph Bolden for a huge 15-yard chunk. Luke Fickell took a timeout, and apparently Purdue utilized that opportunity to turn to the page in their playbook marked “Stupid”. With three receivers lined up left, Marve instead saw O.J. Ross heading down the sideline ahead of Travis Howard. But the senior put way too much air under the ball and Orhian Johnson was able to come over and nab the errant throw. It was shades of Kirk Cousins earlier this year in Ohio Stadium getting greedy when the situation didn’t call for it. The clock wound down and off to overtime we went.
Purdue won the toss and elected to play defense. Ohio State sent Herron into the pile on first down and he proceeded to lose a yard. Miller looked to pitch it on second down but got forced out of the pocket. Rolling right, Miller couldn’t avoid Dwayne Beckford and the linebacker rode Miller down for a killer loss of 5. Braxton needed 16 yards to move the chains, or at least a big bite of it to get in Drew Basil’s range. Firing one of his best looking throws of the day, Miller hit T.Y. Williams, but Williams had to come back to make the snag and he was stopped a yard shy. It had been 4th-and-1 when “Holy Buckeye” unfolded in 2002, but that was from the 37-yard line. Williams’ catch put his team at Purdue’s 16, and Drew Basil came through with a 33-yard boot, pushing OSU into the lead at 23-20.
Marve pegged Justin Siller for 7 to open Purdue’s overtime possession, but Bolden tried to cut back on a second-down run and ran right into Michael Bennett, who planted Bolden for a yard loss. Out of a timeout, Marve took off on a keeper right. Ryan Shazier had a decent angle and came upon Marve two yards shy of the marker. Marve, though, had up a good head of steam and powered right through the freshman and got the first down. Marve worked a draw for 3, but once again second down became a nightmare as Siller was tumbled down by Tyler Moeller for a loss of 5. With a 3rd-and-12 at the OSU 15, most folks probably felt Purdue would play it safe and set Wiggs up for a tying field goal. But as Marve rolled right on the vital third down, Gary Bush came flashing across with Christian Bryant and C.J. Barnett futilely giving chase. Marve fired a bullet and Bush went out of bounds at the 1-yard line. The defense had let the Boilers wriggle off the hook, and now they had four point-blank shots at a win. They only needed one. Purdue emptied the backfield and Marve took the snap and waited for the lines to crunch together. The senior headed for the left side and stuck the football over the goal line as John Simon arrived too late. The final was 26-23, and for the fourth time in six trips, Ohio State would be heading home from West Lafayette with their tail between their legs.
Purdue will conclude their home slate next Saturday afternoon with a noon get-together with Iowa. Ohio State returns to Columbus for their home finale as they welcome in the Tom Bradley-led Penn State Nittany Lions (never thought I’d be typing that). Kickoff is 3:30 over ABC. To land a spot in the inaugural Big Ten championship game, Ohio State needs to win out over PSU and TBGUN, and hope that Illinois rises from the dead to beat Wisconsin this Saturday. Outback Bowl, anyone?
RANDOM THOUGHTS - Perhaps our readers can add to this, but as I re-watched the finish of this game, I tried to recall other times when the Bucks snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. I thought of guys who may have been recalled more fondly in Buckeye annals for a shining moment, only to see it evaporate. I recalled the Oklahoma game in 1977. The Sooners quickly had OSU down 20-0, but the Scarlet and Gray fought back and took a 28-20 lead. Oklahoma scored late and went for two to tie it, but Mike Guess made the stop and it was up to the “good hands” team to field the onside kick and kill the clock. Guess’ huge play was lost in the sands of time as Mike Strahine, a backup QB and shortstop on the baseball team, couldn’t handle the onside kick. The Sooners recovered and got a field goal at the gun to stun the Bucks 29-28.
How about the Michigan game in 1988? Again, the Buckeyes found themselves down 20-0 and stormed back. The game see-sawed in the second half, but late in the fourth quarter Bill Matlock, a journeyman fullback, powered up the middle into the endzone to give the Bucks a 31-27 lead. But you’ve all seen this movie before, I’m sure. Demetrius Brown and John Kolesar hooked up on an unbelievable “Hail Mary” touchdown pass and Matlock was reduced to a footnote.
Heck, you could even harken back to a 2000 afternoon at Ross-Ade. Drew Brees was putting up numbers, but a few of his passes had wound up in Buckeye arms. Mike Doss was a recipient very late in the game of a pick, and his return set the Buckeyes up on the doorstep. Jerry Westbrooks, who ran somewhere between Jonathan Wells, Derek Combs and assorted others at times on the tailback depth chart, coasted over for a go-ahead score. But Drew Brees and Seth Morales hooked up on a 64-yard TD pass and Westbrooks’ contribution was for naught as Purdue’s Rose Bowl season continued.
Purdue 26 Ohio State 23 (OT)
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Ross-Ade Stadium
West Lafayette, IN
Attendance 43,334
November 12, 2011
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By 'Joe-S-U' Hylton
OSU March '90
Buckeye50.com
