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I love watching college football overtime… unless it involves my team. Each team gets a possession starting on the 25. You want to play defense first since that way you know exactly what you need to do with your possession. That is how it worked out for Purdue yesterday, as the Boilers forced a turnover and were able to win with only a field goal. Purdue has even won an overtime game without a formal offensive possession, which is incredibly rare in college football.
Yesterday was Purdue’s first overtime game in four years and 13th overall, but how has Purdue done since overtime was enacted during the 1995 bowl season and in the regular season in 1996?
January 1, 2000: Georgia 28, Purdue 25 OT (Outback Bowl in Tampa) – Purdue’s first foray into overtime was not a good one. The Boilers led at one point 25-0 and should have been up 28-0, but Travis Dorsch missed an extra point and Purdue foolishly chased points by going for two on its next two touchdowns. It missed them both. Georgia tied the game late, Purdue missed a field goal in overtime, and the Bulldogs won with a short field goal on their possession.
October 21, 2000: Purdue 30, Wisconsin 24 OT (at Wisconsin) – Jim Sorgi hit John Sigmund on a touchdown pass with 3:50 left to tie the game at 24-24, and Purdue had to settle for overtime. In the overtime the Boilers forced Wisconsin into a 58-yard field goal attempt thanks to a couple of sacks. Craig Terrill blocked it and Ashante Woodyard picked up the ball and returned it 36 yards for a TD. Officially, Purdue did not have an offensive possession, yet still won. I have no idea how many times this has happened, but it is a rarity.
September 29, 2001: Purdue 35, Minnesota 28 OT (at Minnesota) – We all remember this one. Purdue trailed by 3 with 18 seconds remaining and were inside their own five yard line with no timeouts. Brandon Hance completed a pair of passes and after the clock stopped with one second left because of a first down the Boilers were able to run the field goal unit on. They somehow got set and Purdue snapped the ball on the ready to play signal. Dorsch hit a 50-yard field goal, and John Standeford then scored on the first play of overtime. Purdue clinched the win on a Stu Schweigert interception in the end zone. In this day and age of replay the Dorsch field goal may not have held up, but it was an incredible win.
October 12, 2002: Illinois 38, Purdue 31 OT (at Illinois) – This is the first ever overtime game I attended, as some Purdue friends and I went over to Champaign for my birthday. Purdue fell behind 24-0, but stormed back ahead 31-24 before the Illini scored on 4th and goal with 8 seconds left. They then squib kicked and Purdue got the ball at midfield with 4 seconds left. Kyle Orton found Standeford at the goal line on a Hail Mary at the end of regulation, but it was ruled he did not break the plane with the ball. If we had replay he might have been ruled in. The Illini scored on their possession and Purdue did not. It was one of many heartbreaking losses in the 2002 season as Purdue lost 6 games by 26 total points.
November 15, 2003: Ohio State 16, Purdue 13 OT (at Ohio State) – I was also at this game, as the winner was virtually assured of an at large BCS berth and still had a chance to win the Big Ten. It was a defensive slugfest that was 6-6 on four separate field goals before Orton was sacked and fumbled in the end zone. The Buckeyes recovered to make it 13-6, but Orton responded with an impressive drive to tie on a run by Jerod Void. The Buckeyes drove for a field goal that Bobby Iwuchukwu blocked as time expired. In the overtime Purdue held Ohio State to a field goal, but Ben Jones missed his attempt to give the Bucks a win.
January 1, 2004: Georgia 34, Purdue 27 OT (Capitol One Bowl) – Same opponent on New Year’s Day, same result. Purdue trailed late 27-17 when Orton, who was playing with every injury known to man including Legionnaire’s Disease, led a touchdown drive where Taylor Stubblefield scored. The Bulldogs got the ball back and only needed a first down to kill the clock, but Kraig Lumpkin inexplicably fumbled as he tried to make something out of nothing. A wild scramble for the ball followed and Purdue eventually recovered in Georgia territory. Jones hit on a tying field goal, but in overtime the Bulldogs scored and held Purdue on their possession. Purdue’s 9-4 finish included a 1-point loss to Bowling Green and two overtime losses, making this Joe Tiller’s best overall team.
September 24, 2005: Minnesota 42, Purdue 35 2OT (at Minnesota) – Once again, I was at this game and saw the heartache first hand. Purdue looked to be in full control when Dan Bick returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-20 Boilers with 5:45 left. The Gophers responded with a 12-play, 65-yard drive where they scored a touchdown on 4th down, then converted the two-point conversion with 1:34 left to send it to overtime. In the first overtime Kory Sheets scored on a 5 yard run and Logan Payne scored for Minnesota. For the first time Purdue was headed to a second OT, where Gary Russell scored for Minnesota and Purdue could not come up with an answer. This was a significant game because Purdue had multiple chances to end the game with one play, but could not. Minnesota needed 10 plays to go 25 yards on their first overtime possession and scored on 4th down yet again. It was the start of a six-game losing streak as Purdue went from dark horse national title contender at #11 in the polls to missing a bowl game entirely. This team had really high hopes, but the defense was a disaster.
September 9, 2006: Purdue 38, Miami (OH) 31 OT (at Purdue) – This was the first ever overtime game in Ross-Ade Stadium history, as Purdue dodged a home overtime game for 10 years before getting one. Miami (OH) was not a good team, but could have won in regulation before Anthony Spencer blocked their last second field goal attempt. Kory Sheets scored his fourth touchdown of the game in overtime and the Purdue defense got a stop in the overtime for the win.
September 13, 2008: Oregon 32, Purdue 26 2OT (at Purdue) – Sheets started the game strong with an 80-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage, but Purdue could not stop LaGarrette Blount. He had 131 yards and two touchdowns, including one late in the third quarter. The teams traded fourth quarter field goals and Purdue settled for a long field goal attempt in swirling winds instead of trying to get a little closer. Chris Summers missed, but hit in the first overtime to send the game to a second overtime. Once there, Oregon got a stop and Summers missed his attempt, setting up Blount’s winning TD.
November 27, 2010: Indiana 34, Purdue 31 OT (at Purdue) – I hate this game. It is the only overtime game in the Old Oaken Bucket series and Purdue led 31-28 with 5:41 left. The Hoosiers drove 71 yards in 14 plays before Mitch Ewald sent it to overtime with a 26-yard field goal. In overtime Purdue got to the 6-yard line on its first play, but Rob Henry threw an interception, allowing Ewald to win it on Indiana’s possession.
November 12, 2011: Purdue 26, Ohio State 23 OT (at Purdue) – It is strange, but for all his faults Danny Hope owned Ohio State. In a wild game Jordan Hall scored with 55 seconds left to make it 20-20, but Purdue blocked the extra point. Robert Marve then drove Purdue to the Ohio State 46 before he was intercepted with 23 seconds left. In overtime Purdue held the Buckeyes to a 33-yard field goal, but a 14-yard pass to Gary Bush on 3rd and 12 set up a one-yard drive by Marve for the 26-23 win.
October 20, 2012: Ohio State 29, Purdue 22 OT (at Ohio State) – The longest road losing streak Purdue has against Big Ten foes is Ohio State. Purdue has not won in Columbus since 1988, but has twice lost in overtime and once lost on a blocked field goal at the end. This was a painful one though, because Purdue should have broken the streak. Purdue scored on the first play from scrimmage when Akeem Shavers caught an 83-yard TD pass from Caleb TerBush, but Paul Griggs’ extra point was blocked. Purdue later got a 100-yard kickoff return for a score from Akeem Hunt to lead 13-7 after one and led 22-14 on a safety early in the 4th quarter. Remember that blocked extra point, however? It would prove huge. Purdue could not get a first down to seal the win, and with no timeouts backup QB Kenny Guiton led Ohio State 61 yards in 44 seconds to score with three seconds left. He also got the two-point conversion, and a demoralized Purdue couldn’t score after giving up a Carlos Hyde TD in overtime. If not for the blocked PAT Purdue would have led by 9 with 47 seconds left and the late Guiton drive would have meant nothing.
October 8, 2016: Purdue 34, Illinois 31 OT (at Illinois) – It was yesterday, so it was still pretty fresh. Gelen Robinson forced a fumble recovered by Leroy Clark on Illinois’ possession. After a few Richie Worship runs J.D. Dellinger wins it with a 28-yard field goal.
Overall Purdue record in overtime: 5-8 (5-6 in 1 overtime, 0-2 in double overtime)
Record at home: 2-2
Record on the road: 3-6
Record with T-Mill there: 3-5
Vs. Opponents: Ohio State 1-2, Illinois 1-1, Minnesota 1-1, Georgia 0-2, Miami (OH) 1-0, Wisconsin 1-0, Oregon 0-1, Indiana 0-1
Vs. Non-conference opponents: 1-3
Vs. Big Ten opponents: 4-5