No one has had more of a whirlwind 24 hours than Tyler Trent. Trent, a passionate Boilermaker fan and former Purdue student who is stricken with terminal cancer, is ingrained into this Purdue football team, which pulled out its signature win of the season in a 49-20 drubbing of No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday. Trent began watching the big game in a suite, but by the end of the monumental upset, he was down on the field. Eventually, he was headed to the locker room to celebrate the big win with the players themselves.
Trent even rocked a unique hair style for the matchup.
WE MADE IT! #boilerup #OnlyTheStrong pic.twitter.com/xaiZm6pmQ3
— Tyler Trent (@theTylerTrent) October 20, 2018
All of Purdue nation -- and the college football world in general -- rallied behind Trent to support him as he took center stage amid the Boilermakers' miraculous win.
Boilermakers come in all shapes and sizes, ethnicities and nationalities, ages and incomes. Saturday brings us together and tonight we unite in support of one of our own.
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) October 20, 2018
This one's for you, Tyler. #CancerSucks pic.twitter.com/x6G798tiFI
No way he was missing this one. #BoilerUp #TylerStrong #CancerSucks pic.twitter.com/fUVDzh3zEB
— Purdue Athletics (@PurdueSports) October 20, 2018
While the entire nation was stunned by the win, for Trent, it was never in doubt. He had already predicted the victory to ESPN's Tom Rinaldi.
Tom Rinaldi: “How do you see the future?”
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) October 21, 2018
Tyler Trent (@theTylerTrent): “Well the immediate future in my mind... Purdue beats Ohio State Saturday”
*Chills*#TylerStrong #Boilermakers #Boilerup pic.twitter.com/9oyR4Uu3f7
Purdue fans in attendance inside Ross-Ade Stadium even had a special chant for Trent, one that everyone can agree with. The fans belted "cancer sucks," something that was already planned by the university.
CANCER SUCKS. #Purdue student section replacing the traditional IU sucks chant at kickoff with cancer sucks in honor of @theTylerTrent and others like him battling the disease. Pretty cool. #TylerStrong pic.twitter.com/D4GT5t0xLA
— Taylor Tannebaum (@TaylorTannebaum) October 20, 2018
Let's do it for @theTylerTrent 💪@rossadebrigade@LifeAtPurdue #BoilerUp / #TylerStrong pic.twitter.com/g3ZHseRJZp
— Purdue Athletics (@PurdueSports) October 17, 2018
The NFL's all-time passing leader and former Purdue standout Drew Brees also took notice of Trent both before and after the game.
Your school loves you too, @theTylerTrent We all feel your strength and are inspired by your will. You are special, and you make us all better. We are with you. Boilermaker4Life
— Drew Brees (@drewbrees) October 20, 2018
Congrats @BoilerFootball You make us proud. @theTylerTrent you willed it to happen and it did!!!! Proud to be a Boilermaker! #TYLERSTRONG
— Drew Brees (@drewbrees) October 21, 2018
The craziest part? Trent wasn't even supposed to be at the game in West Lafayette, Indiana. He didn't think that he'd be able to make it to Purdue after his condition worsened late in September.
update: I'm sad to say I will not be making it back to #Purdue. 💔 My health has taken a turn for the worse and the level of care I now need is too great. While I may not know how many days I have left, I'm trusting the one who does! #onlythestrong #boilerforlife #godsgotthis
— Tyler Trent (@theTylerTrent) September 29, 2018
At the time, the Purdue team simply would not settle for Trent not seeing them again, so they graciously paid him a visit.
Delivering the #GameBall from yesterday’s win to our team captain - @theTylerTrent! #BoilerUp #LetsPlayFootball @mb_boiler21 @blockknox1 @david_blough10 @ElijahSindelar @KirkBarron73 pic.twitter.com/7U5kyPcdLn
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) September 30, 2018
It's safe to say that Trent's presence Saturday returned the favor in kind. For Trent, just being there was a "wave of emotions," particularly seeing all the support and all the signs, as he expressed to Rinaldi.
Tyler Trent made it to the Purdue game tonight to root for his beloved Boilermakers as they take on Ohio State! #TylerStrong pic.twitter.com/5SdBx9pl2l
— ESPN (@espn) October 21, 2018
"24 hours ago, I was in my bed, trying to sleep, puking all over the place," Trent said. "It was not great, I did not wanna be there. Thankfully my family was..."
As for when he saw the Boilermakers, Trent was overwhelmed.
"My eyes definitely started tearing up, just because I didn't think I was gonna be here 24 hours ago."
Trent's journey to become a Boilermaker was more difficult than what's imaginable on the surface, as his College Gameday piece detailed on Saturday morning.
Purdue student and super fan Tyler Trent fought hard to become a Boilermaker.
— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2018
Now, as he battles bone cancer, his Purdue football family is fighting for him.
(📍 @exxonmobil) pic.twitter.com/fYnfEXX0dx
If you want to see the raw emotion that only college football can bring, then man, just look at what took place at Ross-Ade when the clock hit 0:00.
Cue the strobe lights! Set off the fireworks! 🎆
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 21, 2018
They'll be partying all night in West La, and the entire @BoilerFootball family will remember it for much longer than that: pic.twitter.com/WYG1rJAdlU
After all of the celebrations, Trent himself was calm talking to Rinaldi on the Purdue sideline.
THIS is what sports are all about 👏
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 21, 2018
Thank you for sharing your story with us, @theTylerTrent. pic.twitter.com/YNyrz9Ngen
"I knew we had a chance," he said. "But I didn't know it was gonna be 42-20 (this was before a Purdue exclamation point made it 49-20), that's for sure."
This game is, without question, Purdue's signature win. The Boilermakers are 4-3 on the season, but no matter what happens the rest of the year, this game has an asterisk next to it. The bottom line is this: It's special. When quarterback David Blough and the entire team saw Trent after the game, it served as a reminder for how truly special it all is.
The moment #Purdue QB @david_blough10 saw @theTylerTrent after upsetting No. 2 Ohio State 49-20. This one was for Tyler. #TylerStrong @BoilerFootball pic.twitter.com/JJXS20X9g7
— Taylor Tannebaum (@TaylorTannebaum) October 21, 2018
That winning locker room feeling... 🙌
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) October 21, 2018
This one was for you @theTylerTrent!#BoilerUp // #TylerStrong pic.twitter.com/CN3ize74X7
Trent is now indelibly a part of Purdue's 2018 season. Saturday's win was a lot more than a football game -- it was preordained by Trent. Once Trent predicted Purdue was going to pull off the upset, this was the only way that Saturday night could unfold.