Ohio State wraps up its first half of the regular season today when the Buckeyes play on the road at Purdue for the first time in five years.
Purdue
Boilermakers
While the Boilermakers are just 2-4 this season, Saturday’s game carries plenty of intrigue nevertheless as the Buckeyes look for better results than their last trip to West Lafayette in 2018, when they lost 49-20 to Purdue. Ohio State is just 3-5 at Ross-Ade Stadium since 2000, so it’s important for the Buckeyes to bring their A-game on the road even though they are sizable favorites over their unranked opponent.
With that in mind, we dive into the biggest questions, players to watch and best bets for today’s game, which kicks off at noon and will be broadcast on Peacock.
Biggest Questions
Can the Buckeyes find consistent yardage on the ground?
Ohio State's subpar – or perhaps abysmal, more like – rushing numbers against Maryland have been well-documented to this point, with the Buckeyes rushing for 62 yards on 33 carries, an average of 1.9 yards per attempt.
If TreVeyon Henderson is healthy, getting him back this week should help, but still OSU is averaging 4.4 yards per carry on the season. It's just the second time since 2011 that the Buckeyes have fallen below 5 yards per tote. Purdue ranks 87th nationally in rushing defense, and with an elite Penn State ball-stopping unit on tap for next week, there's a lot of urgency to make headway running the football.
– Andy Anders
Will Ohio State’s offense break its trend of slow starts?
Ohio State hasn’t scored a first-half offensive touchdown in either of its last two games, and the Buckeyes are averaging only 5.6 first-quarter points per game this year. Against FBS opponents, Ohio State is averaging just 3.5 points per first quarter, which ties the Buckeyes for 98th among all FBS teams.
Those slow starts haven’t cost the Buckeyes yet, but they certainly could – as soon as this week – if Ohio State continues to stumble out of the gates. The Buckeyes never recovered from a scoreless first quarter in their last trip to Purdue, and another slow start would be a great way to give the Boilermakers belief that they can upset Ohio State on their home field again.
– Dan Hope
Will Ohio State's defense continue to force turnovers?
In 2022, Ohio State's defense forced 18 turnovers, a number that ranked 68th in the FBS. This season, the Buckeyes have already forced seven turnovers in five contests, with interceptions from Josh Proctor, Steele Chambers, Lathan Ransom, Denzel Burke and Jermaine Mathews Jr. and fumble recoveries from Tyleik Williams and Davison Igbinosun. Three of those takeaways (from Proctor, Mathews and Williams) resulted in touchdowns for the Buckeyes.
Purdue quarterback Hudson Card has thrown five interceptions in 2023 and the Boilermakers have fumbled the ball 13 times overall, losing five of them to their opponent's defense. That said, it stands to reason that Ohio State's defense should have chances to generate turnovers in the Big Ten West matchup. Will the Buckeyes capitalize?
– Chase Brown
Can the Buckeyes finally have a happy memory at Ross-Ade Stadium?
Playing on the road against Purdue has been a house of horrors for Ohio State in the last two decades or so, with the Boilermakers having a 5-3 record against the Buckeyes when playing at home since 2000.
Ohio State saw its perfect season end in 2018 after Rondale Moore torched the Buckeyes' defense, and OSU certainly would not like history to repeat itself. Fortunately, neither Moore nor Jeff Brohm are walking through that door, and the Buckeyes have a clear talent advantage over the Boilermakers on Saturday.
– Garrick Hodge
Players to Watch
Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar
The offensive line has taken a lot of criticism over Ohio State's first five games due to the Buckeyes' above-mentioned rushing struggles. Fryar and Simmons need to take the next step in their respective games if the Buckeyes are to achieve their goals this season, and they are running out of time to do so. Getting some movement and protecting the edge against the Boilermakers would be a start.
– Andy Anders
Jack Sawyer
JT Tuimoloau got on the board with his first 1.5 sacks of the season last week, but Sawyer remains at zero sacks for the year. There should be opportunities to get to the quarterback against a Purdue offensive line that allowed six sacks to Iowa last week, and Sawyer is overdue to make a big play.
– Dan Hope
Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers
After Ohio State's win over Notre Dame, some fans criticized Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers for their performances, wondering if the veteran linebackers even made the trip to South Bend, Indiana. Similar criticism was directed toward them after last week's win over Maryland despite Eichenberg's 13 tackles and Chambers' seven stops, which ranked first and third on the team. A second consecutive week of high-volume production could put their doubters at ease – perhaps a couple of sacks or tackles for loss, too.
– Chase Brown
Wide receivers not named Marvin Harrison Jr.
Ohio State will be without Emeka Egbuka on Saturday, as the talented wideout didn't make the trip to West Lafayette after suffering a lower-body injury against Maryland last week. This creates plenty of opportunities for other wideouts not named Marvin Harrison Jr. to step up against the Boilermakers, including Julian Fleming, Xavier Johnson and Carnell Tate.
– Garrick Hodge
Best Bets
Kyle McCord to throw for over 2.5 TDs (+165, FanDuel)
I predicted a 42-14 Ohio State win over Purdue. That means six touchdowns, no field goals for the Buckeyes. For Ohio State's offense to achieve the balance that Ryan Day so desperately desires, it would make sense that McCord would generate half of those scores, yeah? Yeah, I think so.
– Chase Brown
Xavier Johnson to score a touchdown (+200, FanDuel)
With Emeka Egbuka out, Johnson is likely in line to make his first start of the season at slot receiver. He hasn’t yet scored a touchdown this season, but he scored three touchdowns on just 25 offensive touches a year ago. Johnson consistently stepped up last season when Ohio State needed him to play a bigger role due to injuries, and I’m betting on him to do so again today.
– Dan Hope
Ohio State to score over 34.5 points (DraftKings)
As maligned as parts of the rushing game have been, I think a developing Ohio State passing game and a Purdue offense willing to take some risks gives the Buckeyes enough opportunity to eclipse this team total. Even with all their hiccups, they still average 35 points per game, and the Boilermaker defense ranks 87th in points allowed nationally.
– Andy Anders
Cade Stover to have more than 40.5 receiving yards (DraftKings)
Ohio State's tight end has tallied more than 40 receiving yards in four of Ohio State's five games so far this season, and without Emeka Egbuka on Saturday, you'd have to figure Kyle McCord will be targeting Marvin Harrison Jr. and Cade Stover early and often. The potential gloomy forecast might put a damper on this a bit, but Stover going over 40 yards seems pretty safe to me.
– Garrick Hodge
