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Hello and welcome to another edition of Tressel Tales from Cus Words Sports.
This week in Jim Tressel’s first season as the head coach of the Buckeyes, we find Ohio State returning home for a key three-game stretch in what remains a wide-open 2001 Big Ten race.
After outlasting Minnesota on the road to improve to 5-3, Ohio State played host to a Purdue team that was the defending Big Ten co-champion under venerable coach Joe Tiller, whose spread offense was still a novelty but was starting to catch on elsewhere in different forms.
Star QB Drew Brees was gone, but the Boilermakers remained in the hunt for another conference title after multiple upsets jumbled the race one week earlier.
This would be something of an elimination game with the Buckeyes and Boilermakers both having already lost two Big Ten games, but Ohio State controlled its destiny thanks to getting to play Purdue, Illinois and Michigan — three of the other contenders who were still standing entering the second weekend of November — to close out the season.
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Game recap: Ohio State 35, Purdue 9
A record crowd of 104,189 fans packed newly renovated Ohio Stadium for a noon start. The thermometer read 56 degrees and the sun was shining, though a 12-mph wind from the west made it feel cooler in the Horseshoe.
Ohio State scored first on a short field goal by Mike Nugent, then added two more points on a safety.
Jonathan Wells burst loose for a 15-yard touchdown run to make it 12-0 with 5:11 left in the first quarter, but the Boilermakers got on the scoreboard with a 41-yard field goal just before the end of the opening stanza and drew within three points late in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brandon Hance.
Leading 12-9 at the start of the third quarter, the Buckeyes forced a Purdue punt on the first possession, and Chris Gamble returned the 60-yard boot 20 yards.
On the third play of the drive, Bellisari faked a handoff to Wells then stepped up in the pocket and rifled one to the sideline to Michael Jenkins, who shook one tackler at the Purdue 41 then split two more defenders and outraced the pursuit to the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown that restored a double-digit lead for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes coughed the ball up on two ensuing possessions, but the second left Purdue having to start at its own 5-yard line with 1:51 to go in the third quarter. On the next play, Hance rolled to his left, saw linebacker Matt Wilhelm scrape into his face and had to stop in his tracks, only to be run over by a pursuing Kenny Peterson in the end zone for another safety.
That gave Ohio State a 21-9 lead, and the Buckeyes turned the ensuing possession into a six-play touchdown drive that concluded with Bellisari hitting tight end Ben Hartsock for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 28-9 early in the fourth quarter.
Purdue drove inside the Ohio State 35 on the next possession, but Cie Grant intercepted Hance at the Ohio State 19.
After another Bellisari fumble, Purdue got the ball at the OSU 32 only to see Hance throw it to the Buckeyes again. This time it was Derek Ross, who returned his interception 56 yards to the Purdue 26.
That set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Bellisari to Chris Vance that finished the scoring. Vance made an acrobatic, one-handed catch, his second like that of the game.
“When I looked at the ball, it looked like it was going out of the end zone,” Vance said. “I just decided I’m going to catch this ball no matter what. I jumped and extended my arms. Then when I came down I looked down to make sure I was coming down in the end zone. After that, I just heard the crowd go wild.”
Chris Vance hauls in a one-handed touchdown catch against Purdue. (Photo courtesy Buckeye Sports Bulletin)
Game notes
Purdue’s high-powered offense managed just 211 total yards, including 140 through the air, and 12 first downs while Ohio State enjoyed a balanced 263 yards passing and 166 yards rushing. The Buckeyes averaged 6.2 yards per play and were 4/5 in the red zone while Purdue reached that part of the field only once all afternoon.
“It was good to come out and get a decisive victory,” Tressel said. “We came out of the gate and got up by 12. We had a little setback there and allowed them to get us to 12-9, but we came up with some big plays. We made big plays defensively with the turnovers and safeties. Those are huge.”
Bellisari was sacked three times and lost three fumbles, but he had another efficient day as a passer. The senior southpaw completed 14 of 20 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions while classmate Wells ran for 101 yards and a touchdown. Vance had a huge day with 138 yards on seven catches.
Bellisari passed Mike Tomczak, Joe Germaine and Greg Frey to claim third place on Ohio State’s career total yardage list with 6,116. He still trailed Art Schlichter and Bobby Hoying.
Eddie George’s No. 27 was retired this day.
The victory knocked Purdue out of the Big Ten championship race by dealing the Boilers a third conference defeat. Ohio State (6-3, 4-2) remained alive for a piece of the title and even the league’s automatic bid to a BCS bowl thanks to Indiana upsetting Michigan State that day.
The Buckeyes remained a game back of Illinois and Michigan, but those happened to be the teams left on their schedule.
“I think we’re starting to understand more as we go, as we mature, and we understand what it takes to be successful in these tough games,” Tressel said.
The cover of Buckeye Sports Bulletin 25 years ago this week (BuckeyeSports.com)
Next up:
Ohio State would remain home for a visit from No. 12 Illinois in a battle for both the Illibuck and the right to remain in the race for a Big Ten championship.
“They’re impressive,” Wilhelm said. “They’ve got a veteran running back in Rocky Harvey, Kurt Kittner is a Heisman hopeful, and they have big, physical receivers who get up and go after the ball. You look for a dogfight.”
Illinois had enjoyed a lot of success recently at Ohio Stadium, but the Buckeyes had optimism after putting together perhaps their best all-around game of the season against Purdue.
That included Bellisari playing well in back-to-back games after an uneven career to that point, providing further optimism the Buckeyes could be peaking at the right time. “I think that 11 of his last 12 quarters have been ones that were what I had always hoped for,” Tressel said.
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Today’s perspective
As mentioned, Ohio State improved to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten with this win. Wouldn’t you know it, that is also the mark for Ryan Day’s 2026 team as I write this.
Those numbers might be the only similarity.
The win over Purdue was arguably Ohio State’s best game yet under Tressel after an uneven first two months, but Day’s Buckeyes are coming off one of their worst showings this week.
Going through these old games every week is a great reminder of how much more of a week-to-week show college football used to be. There was no playoff to focus on. There was the BCS championship by this point, but that was one game so there was a general understanding it was pretty hard to get in. Ohio State had played in a BCS bowl in the first year, 1998, but missed the postseason entirely in 1999 and went to the Outback Bowl in 2000. Of course, the Buckeyes were also three decades removed from their last national title, so the tangibility of that goal was a lot different than it has been since 2002. Just playing in another major bowl remained a nice treat, especially if you beat Michigan and won the Big Ten.
But at this moment 25 years ago, neither of those things was a regular occurrence for Ohio State. The Buckeyes had lost 10 of the previous 13 Michigan games and won only three Big Ten titles in the 1990s. (Although they have one so far in the 2020s…)
Two losses before the beginning of November were a shock to the system this season, and three through the first three-quarters of the season feels like a full-on crisis.
With the atrocious 24-team playoff coming next year, that might no longer be the case, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Previous editions of Tressel Tales:
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