WEST LAFAYETTE, Ohio -- With 15,000 empty seats in Ross-Ade Stadium, OSU never showed up in West Lafayette either.
Ohio State fell behind 23-7 in the second half and fell to previously 1-5 Purdue 26-18.
It was the Bucks’ first loss on the road against a Big Ten team since 2005 -- the end of a 16-game win streak.
QB Terrelle Pryor started the game in brutal fashion, fumbling on the second play from scrimmage as Purdue recovered the ball at the OSU 20. That turned into a 32-yard field goal by Carson Wiggs.
Ohio State's response was swift and direct.
The Bucks took 3 plays to march 66 yards, ending in a 6-yard touchdown run by Pryor for a 7-3 lead.
Another OSU miscue led to Purdue points when Ray Small muffed a punt at his own 12. Purdue pulled within a point on another Wiggs field goal.
Ohio State made crucial errors on consecutive plays in the second quarter.
A Brandon Saine touchdown run was negated by a holding penalty. Then on the next play, Pryor fumbled for the second time, and Purdue's Ryan Kerrigan recovered.
As the first half ended, the Boilermakers hustled downfield and set up Wiggs for a 55-yard field goal try. Wiggs hit it with room to spare, and for the first time this season OSU trailed at halftime 9-7.
Purdue took the Bucks for a 67-yard drive to open the seconnd half. QB Joey Elliott found Aaron Valentine for a 15-yard touchdown pass and a 16-7 Boilermaker lead.
Pryor threw two interceptions within three minutes, both to Purdue's Brandon King. The second resulted in touchdown toss from Elliott to Valentine which lifted PU into a stunning 23-7 lead.
Despite committing four turnovers Pryor stayed in the game.
"We didn't protect him well... We didn't win the game so our grading will not be good." said OSU coach Jim Tressel.
In the final quarter, the Bucks managed a short field goal from Aaron Pettrey to bring OSU within two touchdowns.
Then after Wiggs kicked a fourth field goal for Purdue, OSU rallied back downfield.
Pryor threw a wild TD pass to Devier Posey then ran in a 2-point conversion to bring the Bucks within 26-18 with 7:14 to play.
OSU got the football back with five minutes to play, but a Pryor pass on fourth down fell incomplete, and the Boilermakers celebrated their biggest win in years.
"They won the turnover margin and did a nice job with special teams... We felt as if we could've played better," Tressel said. "The true test of a team is how you handle adversity, and that's what we'll try to do."
Ohio State falls to 5-2 overall and returns home to face Minnesota next Saturday.
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