West Lafayette, IN (My Sportsbook) - Craig Krenzel completed a 37-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-1 to Michael Jenkins late in the fourth quarter, keeping the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes' national title hopes alive with a 10-6 comeback victory over the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium.
The Buckeyes (11-0, 6-0 Big Ten) came into the game ranked third in the Top-25 poll, but second in the BCS standings. Ohio State faces just two more games this season, with a road contest at Illinois and a highly-anticipated matchup versus Michigan remaining.
Krenzel completed 13-of-20 passes for 173 yards with an interception, while Jenkins finished with five catches for 87 yards in the victory. Krenzel was forced to win the game for the Buckeyes, as freshman tailback Maurice Clarett was held to just 52 yards on 14 carries. Clarett played in the game despite a shoulder injury he suffered two weeks ago against Penn State.
Kyle Orton completed 18-of-28 passes for 169 yards, but was intercepted three times for the Boilermakers (4-6, 2-4), who have lost by seven points or less in all of their defeats this season. Brandon Kirsch, who was limited by an injured hand, completed 9-of-11 passes for 116 yards and guided Purdue for a go-ahead score, but the Boilermakers could not hold the lead.
Purdue broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth quarter behind the arm of Kirsch, who completed a 58-yard pass to a wide open Ray Williams, pushing the ball to the Ohio State 22-yard line. The Boilermakers worked the ball to the four and faced 3rd-and-3, but Kirsch was tackled for a six-yard loss. However, Berin Lacevic snuck a 32-yard field goal just inside the right upright to give Purdue a 6-3 edge with 7:50 left to play.
Krenzel guided the Buckeyes to midfield on Ohio State's ensuing possession, but could not get any farther. After Andy Groom's punt pinned Purdue at the eight-yard line, the Boilermakers took possession with 4:50 remaining.
The Ohio State defense held and forced Purdue to punt. Chris Gamble returned the kick 22 yards to give the Buckeyes the ball at the Purdue 47-yard line.
Facing 4th-and-1, Krenzel avoided the pass rush, stepped up in the pocket and lofted a pass down the middle of the field to Jenkins, who had a step on his defender and hauled in an over-the-shoulder catch at the goal line for a 37- yard touchdown.
The Boilermakers got the ball back trailing by four points with 1:36 remaining. Orton got the call under center, and faced a prevent defense from the Buckeyes. On 3rd-and-4, Orton saw a man open deep down the middle, but Gamble dropped out of his coverage to play safety, and came over the top to seal the victory with a huge interception.
Purdue took the game's first possession to the Ohio State 15-yard line, but Dustin Fox anticipated Orton's pass into the left corner of the end zone, and got one foot inbounds for an interception.
After exchanging a pair of punts, the Boilermakers regained momentum when Niko Koutouvides hauled in a tipped pass from Krenzel and returned the interception 21 yards to the Ohio State 23-yard line. Orton worked the ball inside the Buckeyes' five-yard line, but Purdue stalled there, and settled for a 21-yard field goal by Lacevic.
The Boilermakers continued to move the ball on offense, but were not able to add to their lead, as Lacevic missed wide right on a 36-yard field goal with 9:50 remaining in the second quarter.
Ohio State was finally able to get on the scoreboard after taking advantage of a Matt Wilhelm interception of an Orton pass over the middle, giving the Buckeyes the ball at the Purdue 41-yard line. Krenzel got the Buckeyes into field goal range with time running out in the half when he rushed 15 yards to the Purdue 13-yard line.
With just 19 seconds left and facing 3rd-and-9, Krenzel thought he had enough room to get into the end zone on a quarterback draw, but he was tackled short of the first down marker, and the clock kept running. However, the Ohio State special teams unit got on the field quickly, and Mike Nugent drilled a 22-yard field goal to even the score at the half. The play was just in time, as the long snap came just before the last second ticked off the clock.
Momentum swung in favor of the Buckeyes when Jenkins blocked a punt with about three minutes remaining in the third quarter, and Ohio State took over at the Purdue 37-yard line. However, the Boilermaker defense held and forced the Buckeyes to punt away with the score knotted at 3-3 heading into the final frame.
Ohio State is 11-0 for the first time since 1995. The Ohio State defense has held the opposition to a combined 37 points in its last five games.
Clarett remains 55 yards short of Robert Smith's Ohio State freshman rushing record of 1,126 yards set in 1990.
Nugent has made a school-record 22 consecutive field goals, including 21 straight this season.
Purdue gained 341 yards on offense, and held Ohio State to just 267 yards.
