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Gus Johnson Had the Saddest Call As a Purdue Mishap Led to Another Ohio State TD

The Buckeyes' dominance dampened the Fox announcer's enthusiasm.

Patrick Andres

Gus Johnson in 2022.
Gus Johnson in 2022. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
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You would be hard-pressed to find a bigger mismatch on Saturday's college football slate than Ohio State's game against Purdue.

On one side: the No. 2 team in the country—a squad with only a one-point loss to No. 1 Oregon under its belt—and a legitimate national championship contender.

On the other side: a 1–7 squad whose sole win this year came against Indiana State on Aug. 31.

The Buckeyes smashed the Boilermakers 45–0, but not before Fox announcer Gus Johnson delivered the saddest call of the college football season. It came with 2:59 left in the third quarter, as Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer parlayed a Purdue fumble into an 11-yard touchdown run.

"A fumble on the play. Ohio State is there. They pick it up and run it in for a touchdown," the usually wired Johnson said, with a monotone more suited to PBS than any sports broadcast. "Jack Sawyer. Tough day for the Boilers. Tough season for the Boilers."

May the football gods bless Johnson and color commentator Joel Klatt with a better game next Saturday.

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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

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