COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Will Howard threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another score, Jeremiah Smith broke the Ohio State freshman receiving record with his ninth touchdown of the season and the No. 3 Buckeyes rolled over Purdue 45-0 on Saturday.
Smith’s 17-yard TD on a crossing route late in the first half broke the tie with Cris Carter, who had eight in 1984. Smith finished with six catches for 87 yards.
Howard also threw touchdown passes to Gee Scott Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. He was 21 for 26 for 260 yards and ran in a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down to open the scoring for the Buckeyes (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten).
TreVeyon Henderson ran for 85 yards and a TD and caught three passes for 43 yards.
The season of woe continued for Purdue (1-8, 0-6), which lost its eighth game in a row. That’s the longest losing streak since the Boilermakers dropped 10 straight in 2013.
Hudson Card had 108 passing yards and threw an interception for Purdue. Devin Mockobee carried 13 times for 73 yards.
Purdue: Came in with the distinction of being the last unranked team to have beaten Ohio State. That was a 49-20 rout in 2018 that kept the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff. Not this time. Purdue just couldn’t string enough good plays together.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes put away Purdue and started looking to next week when they play Northwestern (4-5, 2-4) at Wrigley Field. Then they’ll finish the regular season with critical home games against No. 8 Indiana and Michigan.
Ohio State took care of business and should stay put.
Purdue: Hosts No. 6 Penn State next Saturday.
Ohio State: Plays Northwestern at Wrigley Field next Saturday.
___
This story has been corrected to show that Purdue lost its eighth, not 10th, game in a row.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
