Ohio State Gets Past Purdue

For the last five weeks, no one has heard much from injured Ohio State tailback Keith Byars. And for the first three quarters of Saturday’s game with Purdue he was almost as silent.

But with the game on the line in the last five minutes, Byars, making his first appearance since breaking his foot on Labor Day, scored two touchdowns as the 11th-ranked Buckeyes defeated the Boilermakers, 41-27, in a Big Ten game.

Byars had just 25 yards in 7 carries in the first half while sharing time with John Wooldridge. But that all changed in the second half, as the senior tailback finished with 106 yards in 23 carries and the two scores.

“It was hard to get into the flow of the game, being substituted a lot,” said Byars, who led the nation in scoring and rushing a year ago. “I told my position coach, Lenny Willis, that I’m a blue-collar worker and to let me get in and play a little bit more.

“I got stronger as the game went on. That’s the way I condition my body.”

Ohio State Coach Earle Bruce, whose team improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten, said: “Can you imagine any athlete who can come back after being out six weeks and performing the way he did today?”

With quarterback Jim Everett completing 35 of 55 passes for a career-high 497 yards, Purdue (3-3, 1-2) came back to tie the game, 27-27, with 8:35 left.

But the last two Boilermaker drives came to a halt when Everett had passes intercepted by Ohio State linebackers Byron Lee and Chris Spielman.

After the first interception, Byars added a nine-yard clinching score with 2:10 remaining.

Ohio State rolled to a 17-0 lead in the game’s first 16 1/2 minutes.

But Purdue came back late in the second quarter to score 10 straight points, on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Everett to Rodney Carter and a 22-yard field goal by Jonathan Briggs.

Ohio State made it 24-10 on its first possession of the second half, with Jim Karsatos passing four yards to Cris Carter for a touchdown.

But Everett led Purdue back, and James Medlock’s two-yard touchdown run made it 27-27 and set the stage for Byars’ late touchdowns.

Purdue managed just 43 yards on the ground but outgained Ohio State in total offense, 540-433. Ohio State had 259 rushing yards, with Karsatos adding 174 yards passing in a 14 of 26 performance.