Ohio State’s Run Game Makes Strides Against Purdue Despite Injuries to Top Three Running Backs

Ohio State was already without two of its top three running backs going into Saturday’s game against Purdue. By the end of the first quarter, all of its top three running backs were done for the day.

Even so, Ohio State made clear strides in the run game in Saturday’s sixth game of the season in West Lafayette.

Coming off of a dismal performance for the running game against Maryland in which the Buckeyes averaged just 1.9 yards per carry, improving in that area was a major point of emphasis this week. The results of that work paid off on Saturday, at least in the first half, as the Buckeyes ran for 136 yards on 23 attempts before halftime – an average of nearly six yards per carry – including four runs of 10-plus yards and a touchdown.

“We put in a lot of work through the week to try to correct the mistakes we had earlier on in the year, and we just tried to put it on the field,” Ohio State left guard Donovan Jackson said after the game. “It's good if you do it in practice; it’s even better if you do it on the field. So that's what we were trying to aim for today.”

After the opening drive of the second half, on which Dallan Hayden had a 19-yard run and finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush, the Buckeyes’ rushing numbers weren’t as strong the rest of the day. As a result of taking multiple sacks in the second half with few runs of significance, the Buckeyes finished the day with an average of only 4.2 yards per carry, which was actually Ohio State’s second-lowest rushing mark of the season.

But considering Ohio State was already up 27-0 after that opening drive of the first quarter, and played even further down its depth chart as the second half progressed, the numbers with the game still on the line are the ones that really matter. Given that, Ryan Day came away pleased with the Buckeyes’ overall rushing performance against the Boilermakers.

“I feel much better about the way that we ran the ball,” Day said after Ohio State’s 41-7 win. “To be able to run the way we did without having three of our guys was a good sign.”

TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State’s leading rusher for the season in both yards and yards per carry, did not play for the second week in a row due to injury. Miyan Williams, Ohio State’s leading rusher last season, was also out against Purdue. Chip Trayanum, Ohio State’s second-leading rusher this season, was expected to carry the load against the Boilermakers with Henderson and Williams out, but he left the game in the first quarter with an injury of his own.

Day was admittedly worried about how effectively the Buckeyes would be able to run the ball with all three of them sidelined. But he felt Hayden and Ohio State’s offensive line stepped up in a big way.

“When you're down Trey, you're down Miyan and Chip’s your guy and then all of a sudden you lose him in the game, it's like ‘OK, how are we gonna run the ball here?’ So we got Dallan in there and Dallan started running well, but I thought, I’ll have to look at the film, but it seemed like we were rocking off the ball pretty good, even though it was a pretty loaded box (from Purdue’s defense) at times again,” Day said.

Hayden was the star of Ohio State’s rushing attack against Purdue, gaining 76 yards on 11 carries in his first extended action of the season. Hayden played in only one of Ohio State’s first five games because the Buckeyes want to leave open the possibility of redshirting him this season, but just as when Henderson and Williams were sidelined by injuries last year, Hayden stepped up when the Buckeyes needed him to step in.

“It shows his mental preparation, because he hasn't played a bunch this year,” Day said. “To be able to go do that says a lot about his preparation. And the things that we did today are things that are day one installation kind of plays. Had the stretch play going, we had the counter play going and a few other things, couple of tosses. But he put it on the field, he took care of the ball, that's the number one thing.”

Dallan Hayden highlights vs Purdue pic.twitter.com/1N6y7uXIbO
— Colton Denning (@Dubsco) October 14, 2023

Hayden said “it means a lot” to him to get the opportunity to play a big role against Purdue and perform well when his team needed him to, but he gave credit to Ohio State’s offensive line for leading the way to his success.

“O-line did a great job today,” Hayden said. “They were getting movement off the ball, rocking off the ball, so it made my job a little easier.”

Day said he hopes Henderson, Trayanum and Williams will be able to return for next week’s game against Penn State, but also said the coaches will discuss whether Hayden – who could still play in two more games and redshirt – should see more playing time after his performance against Purdue.

“I think we got to look at and just see what that room’s looking like and we'll kind of play it week to week,” Day said. “We didn't know how this season was going to play out, but we wanted to at least have the choice to be able to save his redshirt if possible. But we'll sit down and talk, if it's something that we got to go play and do what's best for the team and there's opportunities to go play, then we'll go from there.”

It wasn’t just Hayden who sparked Ohio State’s running game against Purdue, though.

Xavier Johnson, who started the game at slot receiver, also saw some work out of the backfield and gained 39 yards. The Buckeyes also got some key rushing production out of both of their top two quarterbacks.

Ohio State introduced a new wrinkle on its second drive of the game when it brought Devin Brown into the game to run the ball on 3rd-and-1 from the 13-yard line. Brown gained eight yards on the keeper, then stayed in the game and ran for a 2-yard touchdown two plays later.

Another @OhioStateFB TD this time by @dbrownqb33.

: Peacock pic.twitter.com/6v0Iq1rDJ9
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 14, 2023

Brown continued to mix in over the course of the game and finished with 24 yards on seven running plays (excluding a late-game sack), though he did lose a fumble just before the goal line on what would have been a 7-yard touchdown run on Ohio State’s third drive.

The Buckeyes also converted a 3rd-and-1 by running a quarterback sneak with McCord – complete with a Philadelphia Eagles-style push – for the first time this season, which came one play after McCord ran for nine yards on a keeper.

Day said the Buckeyes introduced the red-zone package with Brown this week because they knew they would need to be able to make plays on the ground on a rainy and windy day in West Lafayette.

“Certainly didn't want to have the same situation that happened last year and wanted to make sure that we had a good plan. And Devin is very explosive with his feet. He's strong, he's big, he's powerful, he's athletic. We feel like he gives us a little bit of something there,” Day said. “So we'll keep looking at it. Keep building his package. Because we do feel like it gives us a little bit of a different changeup.”

While Purdue entered Saturday’s game ranked 87th in the FBS in rushing yards allowed per game, Ohio State’s running game will face a much tougher test next week against a Penn State defense that entered Saturday ranked seventh nationally with only 74.2 rushing yards surrendered per contest. But while Saturday’s performance certainly doesn’t guarantee that the Buckeyes will be able to run the ball effectively against a much stouter defense, it at least gives them some positive momentum they can build off.

“I think they came off the field with a bunch of energy and finished off some drives and we ran the ball harder, we got downhill, we created some play-action passes where guys were open down the field,” Day said. “I mean, I felt on the sideline like we were knocking people off the ball at times. I felt like our running backs were running hard. Now, whether that shows up on film, I gotta go take a look at it. But you saw a good demeanor out there.”