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COLUMBUS — Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman did his best to follow his coaches' orders. But after throwing three interceptions on deep passes against Purdue, he might be wondering whether someone handed him the wrong instructions.

The Buckeyes figured the Boilermakers would load up against the run and might be vulnerable to bombs, and Boeckman was encouraged by his coaches to take shots downfield, even when his receivers were tightly covered.

"We thought we had some advantages with our receivers with height and jumping ability," Boeckman said. "They said, 'Don't overthrow the ball.' We thought our receivers could make some plays on the ball. Unfortunately, their DBs made some plays."

Boeckman was picked off twice when his passes floated long enough for safeties to intervene, but coach Jim Tressel wants his wideouts to do a better job at becoming defenders on balls that can't be caught.

"We told Todd, 'Don't overthrow it. Those (receivers) will break it up,' " Tressel said. "I thought one of those could have been broken up."

Saine comes back

Running back Chris "Beanie" Wells has had a recurring ankle injury and limped off in the third quarter. He could have played again, but Tressel didn't want to put him at risk, choosing instead to give freshman Brandon Saine some action.

Saine rushed for 20 yards on six carries in the fourth quarter after missing the last two games while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.

"It was important to show them I'm ready to go," Saine said.

Asked about Wells, Saine joked, "Beanie will be fine. He wanted to get me in the game."

Kickers strong

Backup kicker Andrew Good and punter A.J. Trapasso shared kickoff duties for the first time and combined for three touchbacks.

Kicker Ryan Pretorius is accurate on field goals but doesn't have an overpowering leg. He had produced four touchbacks in the first five games.

Asked about the change, Tressel said, "The thinking was we weren't kicking it far enough. We knew we'd have some consistency problems because it was those guys' first time in the game, but both of them have a rocket leg. The ones they miss-hit, they miss-hit hard, and those are hard to return, too."

Interceptions blown

The Buckeyes' defense dropped at least five potential interceptions. Safety Anderson Russell let three slip through his hands.

"I heard Anderson Russell say he needed to cut his hands off," Tressel said. "What are you going to do? Our kids are playing fast. And sometimes when you're playing fast, that happens."

Russell muffed two other possible interceptions earlier in the season.

"He's my roommate," cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said, "and I told him every time I see him, I'm going to throw him a ball and see if he can get a pick."

Orton has big day

Purdue's Greg Orton, a junior receiver from Wayne, had a game-high 10 catches for 91 yards. But the Buckeyes shut down deep threat Dorien Bryant, holding him to two receptions for minus 4 yards.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or at dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.