Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins set career highs in completions and passing yards, and he even connected on 67.1 percent of his throws.
That Haskins did all that in a 49-20 loss at Purdue was further proof that trying to win by going almost exclusively through the air typically doesn’t work.
Haskins led the nation this weekend and set school records by going 49 of 73 passing against the Boilermakers. But it was all for naught, as Purdue beat a top-two team for the first time since it knocked off the second-ranked Buckeyes 28-23 on Oct. 6, 1984.
Haskins is the national leader with 30 TD passes, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 6-to-1 remains outstanding. But Ohio State, now ranked 11th, will likely need to find more balance if it hopes to fight its way back into playoff consideration.
TIED UP
There’s now a tie atop the national receiving yards leaderboard, as Andy Isabella of UMass and John Ursua of Hawaii have 1,013 yards apiece. Isabella caught up with Ursua by catching 10 passes for 174 yards in a 24-13 loss to Coastal Carolina, while Ursua had seven catches for 123 yards and a score in a 40-22 defeat to Nevada. Ursua remains the national leader with 71 catches and 14 TDs.
TUA TIME
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s remarkable sophomore season kept on going in the top-ranked Tide’s 58-21 dismantling of Tennessee. Tagovailoa threw touchdown passes to four different receivers and now has 25 TD passes without a pick. Tagovailoa also leads the nation with 13.6 yards per attempt — and he’s one of just three players averaging at least 10 yards a try (Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, West Virginia’s Will Grier). Tagovailoa is now 12th nationally with 2,066 yards passing, even though 93 quarterbacks across the country have more attempts.
TOUGH D
Michigan and Iowa could now be on a collision course for the Big Ten title game, and the Wolverines and Hawkeyes showed why with a pair of stellar defensive efforts. Big Blue held rival Michigan State to just 94 yards and 0 for 12 on third downs in a 21-7 win, a game that saw Spartans quarterback Brian Lewerke complete just 5 of 25 passes for 66 yards. Iowa held Maryland to just 115 yards in a 23-0 blowout in Iowa City. The Terrapins ran just 39 plays, the fewest by an opponent in coach Kirk Ferentz’s 20 seasons in charge.
NATIONAL LEADERS
Haskins has now thrown for a national-best 2,801 yards. Gardner Minshew II of Washington State is second at 2,745 yards. ... Darrell Henderson of Memphis has 1,148 yards on the ground despite leaving Saturday’s 65-33 loss to Missouri with an undisclosed injury. Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin is second with 1,109 yards rushing. ... Louisiana Tech’s Jaylon Ferguson has 9.5 sacks in just seven games, while LSU’s Grant Delpit is alone atop the interception leaderboard with five.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Miami (Ohio) lost to Army 31-30 in double overtime despite converting seven fourth downs in nine tries. Army also ran for 374 yards without completing a pass, while Miami’s Gus Ragland went 30 of 53 passing for 329 yards and four TDs.
