Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith propel No. 1 Ohio State past Purdue 34-10 for 13th straight win

By Canadian Press on November 8, 2025.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Julian Sayin threw for 303 yards and one touchdown Saturday and No. 1 Ohio State used four straight scoring drives in the second quarter to pull away from Purdue 34-10.

Jeremiah Smith finished with a season-high 10 catches for 137 yards and caught a 35-yard TD pass to break open the game. It was his 10th scoring catch of the season and the 25th of his career, tying him with Santonio Holmes for sixth on the Buckeyes all-time list.

Sayin was 27 of 33 with one interception. C.J. Donaldson Jr. scored the first and final touchdowns of the game for Ohio State — both on 1-yard plunges — as the Buckeyes (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 13. They also remained on pace for a potential Big Ten championship game showdown against No. 2 Indiana, which rallied in the final minute for its first ever win at Penn State, keeping its unbeaten record intact.

Ryan Browne was 10 of 19 with 76 yards and one interception for Purdue (2-7, 0-7), which has lost seven straight overall and a school record 16 in a row against conference foes. The Boilermakers gained just 186 yards on a day Ohio State had the ball more than twice as long as Purdue.

The Boilermakers took a 3-0 lead with a 40-yard field goal late in the first quarter but couldn’t respond after Ohio State’s second-quarter onslaught.

Donaldson’s first scoring run made it 7-3 less than a minute into the second quarter. Smith’s TD catch gave the Buckeyes a 14-3 lead. Ohio State then closed the half with a 3-yard touchdown run from Lincoln Kienholz and a career long 49-yard field goal from Jayden Fielding in the final 72 seconds of the half to make it 24-3.

Tate out

Ohio State played without starting receiver Carnell Tate.

At halftime, coach Ryan Day acknowledged Tate felt something during pregame warmups without providing details of the injury, and the Buckeyes opted to hold him out for precautionary reasons.

“We didn’t feel comfortable putting him out there,” Day said.

Afterward, Day said he’s hopeful Tate will return next week.

Up next

Ohio State: Heads home to take on UCLA next Saturday.

Purdue: Visits No. 24 Washington next Saturday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Michael Marot, The Associated Press

20
-19