Purdue Is FWAA National team Of the Week

October 23, 2018 by Courtesy FWAA

The Purdue Boilermakers held No. 2 Ohio State out of the end zone until the fourth quarter while senior quarterback David Blough threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns, and Purdue stunned the Buckeyes, 49-20, ending OSU’s 12-game win streak. For winning their fourth straight after an 0-3 start, and for pulling off their biggest upset since taking down No. 2 Ohio State in 1984, the Boilermakers (4-3) earned Team of the Week honors for games held during the college football week of Oct. 18-20.

The award is sponsored this season by Reveal Suits and presented by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

This is the second time that Purdue has earned this honor, which dates to 2002. The other time was the weekend of Oct. 17, 2009, also following a win over Ohio State. The announcement came on "Off Campus with Mark Packer" on ESPNU Radio on SiriusXM. Each Monday during the season, the Reveal Suits National Team of the Week will be unveiled during the program, which airs weekdays from 4-7 p.m. ET. The FWAA's All-America Committee selects the weekly winner and all Division I FBS and FCS schools are eligible to be selected.

The Boilermakers played a complete game in all phases. Their first touchdown came on a season-long 98-yard drive on a Blough pass. Purdue went ahead 14-3 just before the half after executing a fake field goal to extend the drive at the OSU nine. The Buckeyes had closed to within 14-6 before a roughing-the-kicker call extended another Purdue drive, which it took advantage of with a short run by Knox, who finished with 128 yards and three touchdowns. Blough was 25-of-43 for 378 yards and sealed the victory with a 43-yard pass to Rondale Moore with 3:37 to play. It was Blough's third straight 300-yard game and his fourth this season.

"Our defense played lights out," said Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm, gave the game ball to Tyler Trent, a Purdue student who has terminal cancer and was the team's adopted team captain while attending in a wheelchair. "This team is hungry. They want to win. We still have a long way to go."

Purdue's four-game win streak is its longest since 2007. The 49 points were the most the Boilermakers have ever scored in their 57-game series with Ohio State. Purdue has now won two straight against ranked opponents after not having beaten a ranked opponent since 2011 until toppling No. 23 Boston College 30-13 on Sept. 22.

The other National Team of the Week nominees were:

UAB (6-1): In a 29-21 upset of North Texas, the Blazers rallied from a 21-10 deficit, outscoring North Texas 19-0 in the second half as its defense came up with three fourth-down stops, a safety, and a takeaway deep in its own end. UAB is off to its best start in program history and have 14 wins since resuming the program in 2017. UAB is a perfect 10-0 at Legion Field in that span.

Washington State (6-1): The No. 25 Cougars beat No. 12 Oregon for a fourth consecutive season and extended their home win streak to 11, the third-longest in school history. WSU held Oregon to 58 rushing yards. Gardner Minshew II threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, his seventh-straight 300-yard game. WSU had not won four straight over Oregon since 1981-84 and is now the only Pac-12 team with only one loss