College Football Old School Game of the Week: Holy Buckeye! Ohio State Pulls Out Win Over Purdue

Michael Jenkins makes the "Holy Buckeye" touchdown catch which gave Ohio State a win over Purdue, preserving their undefeated season.

After a college football team wins a national championship, the team and its fans usually look back and pick one moment from the season that showed that they were destined to be that year's national champion.
For the 1980 Georgia Bulldogs, its the game-winning 93-yard touchdown pass from Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott with over a minute left to give them a 26-21 win over Florida.
For the 1998 Tennessee Volunteers, its when defensive tackle Billy Ratliff recovered a fumble from Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner when it appeared the Razorbacks were on their way to victory, only to have the Vols drive down the field for the winning touchdown.
That leads us to the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes, whose moment of destiny came in their 10th game of the season on a play which lead ABC broadcaster Brent Musberger to yell "Holy Buckeye!".
The Buckeyes entered the 2002 season as the #13 ranked team in the country as they were set to begin their second season under head coach Jim Tressel, who had led the Buckeyes to a modest 7-5 record the year before but included a win over Michigan in Ann Arbor, the first time the Buckeyes had defeated the Wolverines in Ann Arbor since 1987.
Despite their high preseason ranking, the Buckeyes needed replacements for starting quarterback Steve Bellisari and running back Jonathan Wells.
They found those replacements in junior quarterback Craig Krenzel and freshman running back Maurice Clarett who helped lead Ohio State to a 10-0 record as they traveled west to West Lafayette, Indiana to face the Purdue Boilermakers.
The Boilermakers entered their game with Ohio State with a 4-5 record, but with all five of their losses coming within a touchdown or less.
Coached by Joe Tiller, who had led Purdue to the Rose Bowl with quarterback Drew Brees during the 2000 season, the Boilermakers were hoping an upset of Ohio State could be the highlight of otherwise mediocre season.

Ohio State freshman sensation Maurice Clarett would carry the ball 14 times for 56 yards before leaving the game with an injury in the second half.

 The Boilermakers got the ball to start the game and behind the right arm of quarterback Kyle Orton drove from their 20-yard-line to the Buckeyes' 15-yard-line as Orton completed his first six passes for 55 yards.
But on 3rd & 7 from the Ohio State' 15-yard-line, Orton was picked off in the end zone by Buckeyes cornerback Dustin Fox, ending the Purdue scoring threat and keeping the game scoreless.
After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Buckeyes took over at their nine-yard-line and were able to drive to their 41-yard-line until Krenzel was intercepted by Purdue linebacker Niko Koutouvides, whose 21-yard return set up the Boilermakers offense at the Ohio State 23-yard-line.
Two straight completions by Orton totaling 17 yards set up a 1st & goal at the six-yard-line, but the Boilermakers only picked up two more yards on the next three plays, forcing to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Berin Lacevic to give Purdue a 3-0 lead with 42 seconds left in the first quarter.
After forcing another Ohio State punt, the Boilermakers got the ball at their 20-yard-line and quickly drove into Buckeye territory as Orton hit running back Joey Harris for a 30-yard gain to give Purdue a 1st down at the Ohio State 39-yard-line.
Harris would carry the ball on the next three plays picking up nine yards, setting up a 4th & 1 at the 30-yard-line when Tiller decided to go for the 1st down.
Orton handed the ball off to Jerod Void, who ran for just two yards, but enough to pick up the 1st down.
Orton would complete his next two passes to set up 3rd & 1 when Orton's pass for Taylor Stubblefield fell incomplete.
This time, Tiller sent in the field goal unit to attempt a 36 yard field goal but Lacevic's kick sailed wide left, keeping the score 3-0 with 9:50 left in the second quarter.
Ohio State took over at its 20-yard-line and drove to the Boilermakers' 33-yard-line where they had a 3rd & 1 when Clarett was dropped for a two-yard loss, forcing the Buckeyes to punt the ball back to the Boilermakers who took over at their 15-yard-line with less than five minutes to go before halftime.
The Purdue offense only got to their own 30-yard-line when Orton was intercepted by Ohio State linebacker Matt Wilhelm, giving the Buckeyes the ball at the  Boilermakers' 41-yard-line with 3:15 to go in the first half.
The Buckeyes would drive down the field with their running game as Clarett carried the ball three straight times for 11 yards to begin the drive, which was followed by two straight Krenzel runs, the last being a 15-yard run to the Purdue 13-yard-line, when Krenzel put the ball in the air for the first time on the drive, only to have the pass fall incomplete.
Two more runs picked up eight more yards to set up a 22-yard field goal by Mike Nugent, which he made as time expired in the first half, tying the game 3-3 after 30 minutes of play.

Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel would complete 13 of 20 passes for 173 yards and throw one touchdown.

The game was still tied 3-3 when wide receiver Michael Jenkins blocked a Purdue punt, giving the Buckeyes the ball at the Boilermakers' 37-yard-line with 2:53 left in the third quarter.
However, a quarterback sack by Boilermakers defensive end Shaun Phillips took the Buckeyes out of field goal range and forced them to punt the ball back to Purdue as the third quarter came to a close with the score still 3-3.
After another exchange of punts, the Boilermakers got the ball at their 20-yard-line with 12:08 left in the 4th quarter.
That is when Brandon Kirsch, who had taken over for Orton at quarterback during the second half, connected with wide receiver Ray Williams for a 58-yard pass completion to give Purdue a 1st down at the Buckeyes' 22-yard-line.
From there, Brandon Jones would carry the ball five straight times, gaining 18 yards, to set up a 3rd & 3 from the four-yard-line, when Kirsch was dropped for a six-yard-loss by Wilhelm and was followed by a false start penalty, forcing the Boilermakers to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Lacevic to break the 3-3 tie and give Purdue a 6-3 lead with 7:50 left in the 4th quarter.
Ohio State begins its ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line and were quickly at the 50-yard-line thanks to three straight pass completions by Krenzel, the first two to Jenkins for 23 yards and the last to Bam Childress for seven yards.
But after Maurice Hall was stopped after a one-yard gain on 2nd & 3, disaster nearly struck for the Buckeyes as Krenzel fumbled the ball while trying to run for the 1st down, only to have Hall recover the ball for the Buckeyes, forcing a Ohio State punt which pinned the Boilermakers down at their eight-yard-line with 4:50 to go.
The Ohio State defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back at the Purdue 46-yard-line with a chance to tie or take the lead with 3:10 remaining in regulation.
The drive got off to an auspicious start as Krenzel was sacked for a four-yard loss on 1st & 10, which was followed by an incomplete pass.
Then on 3rd & 14, Krenzel hit Ben Hartsock for 13 yards, setting up a critical 3rd & 1 at the Purdue 37-yard-line with less than two minutes to play.
With time running out and the Buckeyes out of field goal range, Tressel had no choice but to go for the 1st down.
Expecting a run, the Boilermakers were surprised when Krenzel dropped back and threw a bomb that was caught by Jenkins in the end zone for a shocking 37-yard touchdown to give Ohio State its first lead of the game and lead ABC broadcaster Brent Musburger to make his famous call.

After Nugent successfully made the extra point, the Buckeyes had a 10-6 lead with just 1:36 left in the game.
The Boilermakers took over at their 20-yard-line and Tiller inserted Orton back into the game at quarterback in hopes of leading Purdue on a game-winning touchdown drive.
Orton completed two out of three passes for 19 yards before throwing his third and final interception of the game, this time by Ohio State cornerback Chris Gamble on a deep pass at the Buckeyes' 11-yard-line with 45 seconds left.
The Buckeyes were able to run out the clock and escape West Lafayette with a 10-6 win to extend their record to 11-0 while the Boilermakers fell to 4-6 with all six of their losses decided by a touchdown or less.
Purdue would win their final two games of the regular season to earn them a trip to the Sun Bowl where they defeated the Washington Huskies 34-24 to finish the season with a 7-6 record.
As for the Buckeyes, they stave off another upset attempt the following week as they defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini 23-16 in overtime then defeat their arch-rivals, the Michigan Wolverines 14-9 to earn them a spot in the BCS National Championship Game as they faced off with the defending national champion Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl.
Aided by a controversial pass interference penalty on Miami in overtime and a goalline stand in the second overtime period, the Buckeyes would end the Hurricanes' 34-game winning streak with a 31-24 double overtime win to give Ohio State its first national championship in 34 years.