Welcome to the year 2000, and with it a Purdue Football season with high expectations and some unbelievable results. One of the most memorable results was a night in late October when Ohio State came to town.

The Scene: A season many Purdue fans had been waiting for for many years. The program had been seeing a steady rise under Head Coach Joe Tiller and people were ready for a great season. Purdue had already played an up and down season with so many close calls (@Notre Dame (L), and the last-minute win at home against Michigan). Now the Boilers were welcoming what many thought was the last big hurdle in this season where the Rose Bowl was in sight. Win, and the Boilers had a runway to Pasadena. Lose, and the door almost assuredly closes.

The Question(s): Could Purdue continue to win the games it needed to win the Big Ten and go to the Rose Bowl? That was the only question most Boiler fans going into this showdown with OSU. Could they win the Big Ten? Could this be the year they go back to the Rose Bowl? Only 60 minutes of game time could answer that question, and a sold-out Ross-Ade Stadium couldn’t wait to find out!

The Video: (This is an abridged version of the game and doesn’t include every snap as well as the opening drive by OSU of the first quarter.)

The First Half: The game starts with Ohio State taking the opening kick and immediately you’re reminded that this was an era of college football where you knew they would be trying to use their size and strength to bully Purdue. It also feels like OSU is just getting whatever they want on offense as they are marching down the field getting chunk yards on every play. We have our first instance of how respected Purdue and their passing game was, OSU Head Coach John Cooper said in an interview before the game about the keys to winning,

”We gotta run the football. We gotta run the football and keep it away from their high powered offense. There is no way we can get in a scoring contest with Purdue. If we do, we lose the game.” - John Cooper

Cutting away from the interview only to see the Purdue Defense and Matt Mitrione getting into the backfield on 3rd down forcing an OSU field goal attempt that holds wide left and it’s Purdue’s turn on offense! After a couple of failed plays, Brees finds Tim Stratton to pick up a first down as well as his first completion fo the night. It continues to look as though the Buckeye defensive game plan is to take away what little run game Purdue had and try to bring pressure and disrupt the high powered passing offense.

Then with 11:25 remaining in the second quarter Brees throws his second interception throwing into triple coverage and OSU takes over on the Purdue 25 yard line. Not the start that Purdue needed on offense that’s for sure as they are still yet to find the endzone. Luckily, Purdue’s defense seems to have settled in and get’s a 3-and-out forcing an OSU field goal. Buckeyes lead 3-0.

There is a jump in the action skipping forward to about 4:30 left in the quarter and we see Purdue finally finding success on offense and quickly moving into a goal-to-go situation and Purdue will score on a quick toss play to take the 7-3 lead! The way the offense moves the ball on this drive shows what it was capable of doing when things were finally clicking. After a scoreless first quarter, on both sides, as we move towards halftime Purdue leads by 4 and will look to build on this drive going into the second half! It should also be of note that with about 1 minute remaining in the half, Brees threw his 3rd interception of the day.

Halftime Thoughts: Only having this video to experience this game makes it hard to feel the full effects of the game on me. You only get to see the opening drive of the game and that’s the entirety of the first quarter experience. In a game of this magnitude, I want to see every snap! Even though I know that neither team scored, I feel like that would only enhance the tension through the screen as you wait for one side to break the seal. I think I would happily watch the full broadcast and I’m not sure I would skip a single second!

I think that is because this is one of those games where I was too young to see it when it happened and didn’t see the game until many many years later. But, when speaking to Purdue fans, and especially about the history of Purdue football. This year and this game are brought up the most. Now that I’ve grown up and could go back in time via the internet. I want to experience it as possible to how it would have been back then. I can only begin to imagine what this season would have been like to experience as a fan. It’s something I hope we get to experience again soon!

The Second Half: Purdue starts the second half with the ball and they come out throwing! The drive highlighted by a 40-yard pass from Brees to Sutherland! You can tell why the Boilers trend to passing the ball, every time they hand the ball off to run the ball, OSU is right there to meet them at or behind the line of scrimmage. Almost nothing has developed in the ground game. That doesn’t seem to cause Purdue much stress as the offensive line seems much more adept in pass blocking than run blocking. The Purdue drive stalls and they have to settle for a long field goal from Travis Dorsch. Purdue extends the lead 10-3 as Ohio State gets the ball back.

Here on the ensuing drive, we have a controversial moment in this game, and we’re reminded that instant replay and review were not a thing back in 2000. There is a “completed pass” for OSU before the ball pops out of the hands of the receiver and it’s unclear whether or not he was down before the fumble. The refs huddle and determine he was down and award the first down to the Buckeyes. Even looking at it myself, I can’t tell what the right call was supposed to be. Things happen and you have to move on! The Purdue defense came to play in this one as OSU has to make some impressive plays just to move the ball at all, routinely being pressured by the physicality of the Boilers. Thanks to a false start penalty the Bucks respond to Purdue’s field goal with one of their own and the lead is back down to 4 as it becomes 10-6 Purdue! OSU forces another punt to get the ball back with 6:30 to go in the 3rd quarter. The Buckeyes offense seems to be finding some footing against this Purdue defense as they begin to rack up first downs on consecutive plays, routinely with play-action and finding WR’s and TEs towards the sidelines. Before you know it, they find themselves with a goal-to-go before the FB breaks the plane and OSU leads again for the first time since the score was 3-0 and suddenly it’s 13-10 OSU.

After taking the lead you can tell the Purdue offense is now dealing with an energized Buckeye defense as they attack looking to hit someone hard! Joe Cooper the OSU ILB streaks through a gap in the OL on the ensuing 3rd down to sack Drew Brees and force a 3-and-out of this high powered offense. Then, disaster, Nate Clements returns the punt 89 yards and suddenly Purdue finds themselves down 20-10 and with no momentum going forward. It looks like OSU is finally imposing their will on Purdue to open up a ten-point lead. Even knowing what happens, it’s still this moment where I can feel the momentum and energy drain from the Boiler faithful. Thinking back on even recent games up to 2020, these moments as Purdue fans come all too often, playing well and just can’t seem to hold on long enough. A forced pass falls incomplete and Brees looks frustrated. Then another blitz is failed to be picked up, Brees scrambles and finds Standeford for 40 yards! After a batted pass and short completion, a great catch by Winston and it’s a first down! Purdue has been forced into some long 3rd downs and found ways to convert, they will need to continue to find those answers to keep themselves in the game. The 4th quarter starts and the Boilermakers have 15 minutes of game time to overcome what is currently a ten-point deficit. Another very important 3rd down conversion by Seth Morales moves the good guys within the OSU ten! Morales comes again on a quick 5-yard pass moves them inside the 5! Unfortunately, a false start erases the gain and its 2nd-and-goal, then 3rd-and-goal. Purdue needs 7 here badly, and they get it to Standeford on what looked like a broken play as Brees had to fade to his right and avoid oncoming rushers, then off his back foot, he finds John Standeford in the back of the endzone. 17-20 OSU lead.

12:40 remaining and Ohio State get’s the ball back and immediately picks up a first on the ground. Then a false start by OSU! A completed pass for a first down is negated by a holding penalty and Purdue gets another break. It’s 2nd-and-25 before a 12-yard pickup on the ground. Purdue needs this stop to keep the score close! They get the stop and Boiler fans are back in it! They know what Brees is capable of and eagerly await him getting the ball back in his hands. 11:20 left, Purdue ball, a quick WR bubble screen goes for 20 and the tension starts to rise! Tim Stratton catches his career-high 11th catch on a 3rd & 5 situation. We eclipse the 10-minute remaining mark and the sun starts to set over Ross-Ade Stadium as Purdue goes run on back to back plays, attempting to run some clock? It seems to be working as they continue to carve up the OSU defense as they make their way down the field trying to tie the game or take the lead with a touchdown. 8 minutes left and Purdue still has the ball, this has been the longest that they have held the ball as another first down comes from Sutherland on an out route to the OSU 25. Then, and I feel like I’m saying this a lot, another crucial 3rd down to go with 6 minutes to play, Vinny Sutherland makes a spectacular play, breaking multiple tackles and diving for the pylon for the Purdue touchdown! Purdue leads 24-20! The energy returns to Ross-Ade as suddenly Purdue is back in the driver’s seat! There is that such highly touted high powered offense!

5:40 remaining and OSU has the ball. Another almost fumble nearly seals the game for Purdue! Instead, it goes down as a sack, and now its 3rd & 14 before an incomplete pass! Purdue will get the ball back trying to seal the game with 4:51 remaining! Surely nothing bad could happen that could jeopardize this win, right?

…right?

………..

We all know what comes next.

Purdue naturally starts the drive on the ground to get the clock under 4 minutes. On 2nd down, they keep it on the ground. At this point, you keep it on the ground to force OSU to use timeouts and then trust your defense, right? No, Purdue elects to throw. Brees falls off his back foot trying to get the ball out. And throws an absolute duck that I think almost anyone could have intercepted. It’s Brees’ 4th interception on the day and it set up OSU on the 3. 3 plays later on a toss to the right, retakes the lead 27-24.

Purdue would need a miracle. Thankfully, they had Drew Brees under center, and all he needed was a shot. A batted down pass on 1st down wasn’t the start they wanted.

Then, Brees dropped back to pass. First read - not open, Second read - not open, Third Read - not open. Then he lets fly a bomb to the Butler transfer Seth Morales. As the camera pans over, you see there is no one within 15 yards of him. If he catches this ball, he will walk into the end zone and the Boilermakers will retake the lead with less than 2 minutes remaining…..

”Wide-open! Got him! Touchdown Purdue! Seth Morales! Holy Toledo!”

Boilermakers score. Drew Brees, who all he wanted was a chance at redemption, drops to a knee. You witness one of, if not THE most clutch play in Purdue football history. Whether it be the first time you see it, the second or even the 1000th. I get emotional listening to it, seeing it, imagining what it would have been like to be there in person. That’s what keeps me coming back to this game. This moment.

On the next drive, OSU, needing a touchdown to win. Fumbles the ball. Purdue recovers. The rest is history. Pasadena awaits.

Final Stats (Sports Reference):

Individual Stats:

• Drew Brees:

  • Passing: 39-65 (60%) - 455 Yds - 7.0 Yds/Att - 3 TDs - 4 Int - 121.7 Rating

• Receiving:

  • Vinny Sutherland: 10 catches - 142 Yds- 1 TD

  • Tim Stratton: 12 catches - 100 Yds

  • Seth Morales: 7 catches - 115 Yds - 1 TD

  • John Standeford: 7 catches - 52 Yds - 1 TD

• Rushing:

  • Montrell Lowe: 14 Att - 38 Yds

  • Steve Ennis: 2 Att - 3 Yds - 1 TD

• Defense:

  • Akin Ayodele: 1 INT

• Kicking:

  • Travis Dorsch: 4-4 XP : 1-1 FG

Team Stats:

Purdue Boilermakers:

• Rushing (Atmps/Yds/TD’s): 28/31/1

• Passing (Completions/Att/Yds/TD/INT): 39/65/455/32/4

• First Downs: 25

• Penalties/Yds: 4/31

• Turnovers: 4

Ohio State Buckeyes:

• Rushing (Atmps/Yds/TD’s): 31/70/2

• Passing (Completions/Att/Yds/TD/INT): 17/29/208/0/1

• First Downs: 12

• Penalties/Yds: 6/63

• Turnovers: 2

The Result: As the game gets started, it still amazes me that the game was played so much different almost 20 years ago. It also proves just how revolutionary Joe Tiller was during his time at Purdue. Ohio State seemed to be run first, like most of the Big Ten at this point, only throwing the ball 29 times in the entire game. Purdue on the other hand with Tiller’s “Basketball on Grass” had Drew Brees throw 65 times!

This picture really does tell the whole story. I think any true Purdue fan could look at this picture and know the exact play, the exact game, and the memorable quote that came from it. That’s why this game became and icon in the history of Purdue football. The result of this game was that the Purdue Boilermakers beat the Ohio State Buckeyes with the miraculous catch by Seth Morales with 2 minutes remaining. In a game where Drew Brees, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play football, threw 4 interceptions. He still made the play necessary to win the game in the end.

This game helped Purdue tie for the Big Ten Championship and get to the Rose Bowl. The game just meant more than the statistics, any individual play (save for one), or any individual player. This was a game that kept all Boilermaker fans hopeful that Pasadena was still within reach and their wait was one game closer to over. I was 6 years old when this game was played, and therefore didn’t see this game live, or even on TV. I didn’t even become aware of it until this game was 5 or 6 seasons gone. But even now, every time I hear the call of “Holy Toledo”, I get goosebumps. I feel what that night must have meant and how I could only imagine what it would have been like to be there. Hopefully, we get the chance again soon. I hear Pasadena is nice that time of year.

Why This Game? This question feels pretty obvious right? This is one of Purdue Footballs’ greatest seasons and one of the most memorable moments in the program’s history. It brought the team one step closer to the Rose Bowl, a place the team has not been in 30 years. It was everything about this game. Brees throwing his fourth(!!) interception of the game and this one seemed to be the back-breaker. This, of course, led to a movie script moment. We saw Brees and the Boilers go out and in 2 plays every Boiler fans’ emotional roller-coaster ride hit the peak. And the radio call made it all the better. A moment not many people will forget. It was football played at the highest level and our Boilers came out on top.

How do you feel? Leave a comment below or tweet at me your thoughts on how you felt watching this game! As well as if you enjoy re-watching old games to re-live them!

What’s Next? Let’s stay on the football track and revisit a different kind of special occasion many fans waited a few years for. Purdue returns to a bowl game in 2017 and takes on Arizona out West.

Out of the darkness once more.