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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
|  | | Drew Brees atoned for his four interceptions Saturday by throwing three TD strikes in the fourth quarter to lift Purdue. |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- All Drew Brees wanted was a second
chance.
"I stepped into the huddle and told the guys this is the way it
is supposed to be. We will be successful," said Brees, who teamed
with a trio of receivers and carried Purdue one step closer to the
Rose Bowl.
Brees tied his career worst by throwing four interceptions, but
he passed for 455 yards and three fourth-quarter touchdowns as the
No. 16 Boilermakers earned a 31-27 victory over Ohio State (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 12 AP) on
Saturday. With two more
victories, Purdue would be assured of its first trip to the Rose
Bowl in 34 years.
"I didn't know it would happen like it did, but it happened,
didn't it?" Brees said. "It's hard not to think about the
mistakes, but I guess I redeemed myself."
The Boilermakers (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) trailed 27-24 with just over
two minutes to go after Brees' fourth interception set up a 2-yard
touchdown run by Jerry Westbrooks.
But on the second play after the kickoff, Brees passed 64 yards
to Seth Morales, who got behind the Ohio State defense and went in
for the winning touchdown with 1:55 to go.
The Buckeyes (6-2, 3-2), who had not lost to Purdue since 1988,
fumbled a bad snap on their next possession, and Purdue ran out the
clock as fans poured onto the field to celebrate.
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Sat, October 28
Before the loss to Minnesota, there were a lot of people pumping up the Ohio State Buckeyes, saying they were a BCS championship kind of team. Offensively, they were never good enough to live up to those lofty expectations. Defensively, they truly were solid, then Minnesota took them apart and hurt their confidence in the process. I never thought the Buckeyes had enough consistent offensive play to be considered one of the top two or three teams in the country, and this season, especially the loss to Purdue, has proven that to be true.
With the big win over Ohio State, Purdue is in control of its Rose Bowl destiny and should be able to win out over Michigan State and Indiana. This game was a testament to Drew Brees. He had a terrible game, throwing four interceptions, but he came back from adversity. Each and every time he made a bad play, he came back and made a good play. Of course, he got some help from Vinny Sutherland. But the important thing remains: He never quit when he got behind. Brees' performance today provided the kind of senior leadership the Boilermakers have needed and lacked in recent years. Now they are truly ready to run for the Roses, and you have to give the credit to Brees.
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Morales had seven receptions for 115 yards, Vinny Sutherland had
10 catches for 142 yards, and Tim Stratton had a career-high 12
receptions for 100 yards.
"It wasn't designed to go to me," Morales said of the
game-winning touchdown. "Drew looked at Vinny, and he looked at
Stratton, and he just came to me. You kind of talk to yourself,
`Just catch the ball, just catch the ball.' "
Mike Doss, who had two of the interceptions off Brees, was the
defender Morales beat for the touchdown.
"I just blew the coverage," Doss said. "I knew they could
throw for a score at any moment. I looked back at the No. 1
receiver and they threw over the top of me. That was it.
"Drew Brees is a great quarterback. If you intercept him four
times, you'd think you would win the game."
Ohio State led 20-10 late in the third quarter after an 83-yard
punt return for a touchdown by Nate Clements. But the Boilermakers
moved 73 yards on their next series, scoring on a 5-yard pass from
Brees to John Standeford early in the final period.
On Purdue's next possession, Brees connected with Sutherland on
passes of 17 and 15 yards before the pair hooked up on a 19-yard TD
pass for a 24-20 lead. Ohio state went three-and-out on the next
series, but the Buckeyes got the ball back when Doss picked off
Brees for the second time in the game, setting up Westbrooks'
touchdown run.
"We had to beat them twice," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "I
really did think we had them on the next to last possession. But as
luck would have it, we threw the interception and things didn't
look too good. But our guys came back and made a big play, did what
they had to do."
Brees, the Big Ten career leader in touchdown passes and
yardage, had never thrown a TD pass against Ohio State before
Saturday and finished 39-for-65.
"It was a tough way to lose a ball game. They did what they had
to do to win," Ohio State coach John Cooper said. "I don't know
if I have ever seen a quarterback put on a better performance than
Drew Brees.
"Obviously, he made some mistakes, but he came back, and give
him credit."
Brees was effective in the first half, repeatedly hitting
Stratton for short gains. But three first-half drives were stopped
by interceptions, including one that set up the Buckeyes' only
first-half score, a 35-yard-field goal by Dan Stultz.
Then, after Akin Aodele intercepted Ohio State quarterback Steve
Bellisari's pass, Purdue scored its only points of the first half.
Brees passed twice to Stratton, then hit A.T. Simpson for 19 yards
to the Ohio State 8. Brees ran once to the 2, and Steve Ennis
scored on the next play for a 7-3 lead.
David Mitchell intercepted a pass by Brees with just over a
minute to go before halftime. Bellisari was sacked twice, however,
and Ohio State was forced to punt away with five seconds left,
keeping Purdue's slim lead at the break.
Stultz and Purdue's Travis Dorsch traded field goals early in
the third quarter before a 1-yard TD run by the Buckeyes' Jamar
Martin and Clements' long punt return.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Ohio State Clubhouse
Purdue Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Purdue's Seth Morales catches this 64-yard bomb from Drew Brees for the game winning TD.(courtesy: ABCSports)
avi: 574 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Purdue's Drew Brees throws a 19-yard pass to Vinny Sutherland for the TD.(courtesy: ABCSports)
avi: 1408 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ohio State's Nate Clements sprints 84 yards for the TD on this punt return against Purdue. (courtesy: ABCSports)
avi: 1673 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Purdue's Steve Ennis runs 2 yards for the TD.(courtesy: ABCSports)
avi: 930 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ohio State's Jamar Martin muscles his way into the end zone for the 1-yard TD against Purdue.(courtesy: ABCSports)
avi: 1120 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Drew Brees says he atoned for his interception late in the 4th quarter.
wav: 167 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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