Kyle McCord, No. 3 Ohio State overcomes offensive injuries in 41-7 blowout at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Kyle McCord threw three touchdown passes and Dallan Hayden rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown in relief of an injury depleted running backs room, helping No. 3 Ohio State rout Purdue 41-7 on Saturday.

The Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) won their first road game in the series since 2013 and earned their second victory at Ross-Ade Stadium since 2007.

Purdue (2-4, 1-3) has lost two straight and four of five, this one against a severely short-handed Ohio State offense.

Running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Henderson and receiver Emeka Egbuka all sat out with injuries. The Buckeyes then lost running back Chip Trayanum in the first quarter after taking a big hit and stumbling as he walked across the field

Hayden was pressed into service and didn’t disappoint, running 11 times for an average of 6.9 yards while splitting carries with receiver Xavier Johnson and backup quarterback Devin Brown.

The Boilermakers didn’t have any consistent answers to slow the Buckeyes.

McCord opened the scoring with a 14-yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison Jr., Brown added a 2-yard TD run on Ohio State’s second series. After Brown fumbled the ball away at the goal line, McCord hooked up with Cade Stover on a 4-yard scoring pass to make it 20-0.

Hayden opened the second half with his 1-yard TD plunge, and Stover’s 14-yard TD pass made it 34-0 late in the third quarter.

All the Boilermakers could muster was a 6-yard scoring pass from Hudson Card to Deion Burks 30 seconds into the fourth quarter.

McCord was 16 of 28 with 276 yards, Harrison caught six passes for 105 yards and Stover had four receptions for 53 yards.

Card was 13 of 32 with 126 yards while Devin Mockobee ran 18 times for 110 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Ohio State: Nobody questions the Buckeyes defense, which has only allowed 58 points all season. Now Ohio State’s offense is starting to show some mettle. Despite all the injuries, the Buckeyes seem to be kicking it into high gear, outscoring opponents 68-14 over the last three halves.

Purdue: The Boilermakers wanted to take advantage of playing five of their first seven at home. Instead, they’re 1-4 at Ross-Ade in Year 1 under Ryan Walters, treating fans to some of their worst games of the season.

Purdue’s first three scoring chances ended with missed field goals. Even worse, a student came out during a media timeout and made multiple field goals during a contest.

INJURY REPORT

Ohio State’s medical team took away Trayanum’s helmet following a brief examination in the injury tent. Purdue offensive lineman Luke Griffin was carted off the field with an air cast around his lower right leg during the first quarter. HIs teammates ran to the cart to show their support.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Ohio State helped its case with a lopsided road victory, but until No. 1 Georgia or No. 2 Michigan stumbles, the Buckeyes will have a hard time climbing in the rankings.

BY THE NUMBERS

Ohio State: Harrison posted his fourth 100-yard game of the season and the 11th of his college career. … The Buckeyes are now 4-5 at Purdue since 2005. … Ohio State rushed for 4.2 yards per carry one week after averaging 1.9 against Maryland. … Coach Ryan Day is 34-0 against unranked opponents.

Purdue: Burks caught three passes for 22 yards and now has five TD catches this season. … The Boilermakers are 3-3 in their last six games against top-five foes.

UP NEXT

Ohio State: The Buckeyes host Penn State next Saturday in a key East Division game.

Purdue: The Boilermakers have a bye week before visiting Nebraska on Oct. 28.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll