Five Things: Buckeyes Burn Boilers With "Very Basic" Offense

Presented by The 1870 Society

Considering the success of Ohio State's run game and overall offense heading into yesterday's matchup with Purdue, one could reasonably understand why Purdue linebacker Nic Scourton described the Buckeye attack as "very basic" ahead of the matchup.

Turns out, when you aren't a "very good" defense it's probably best to hush.

And in the latest episode of When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong, Ohio State throttled the Boilers yesterday in Ross-Ade Stadium, 41-7, behind three touchdowns passes from Kyle McCord, a clutch outing from fourth-string (?!) running back Dallan Hayden and a another solid performance from Jim Knowles' defense.

The victory wasn't without its warts as the Buckeyes committed nine penalties, McCord and backup quarterback Devin Brown lost fumbles, No. 1 corner Denzel Burke left with an injury, special teams again had some problems, and All-World receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. dropped three passes amid his 105-yard, one touchdown day.

At this point however, the health of Burke, TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka, among other banged up Buckeyes, is the main concern as Ohio State gets ready for Penn State next Saturday in the Shoe.

Before we shift focus to the Nittany Lions, here are Five Things from a 34-point win over Purdue.

THIRD DOWN DOMINANCE

Coming into the contest ranked 68th nationally in third down conversions with a middling 40.3% success rate, Ryan Day's offense converted 6-of-7 tries in the first half against the Boilers (85.7%), and 8-of-13 for the game (61.5%). Purdue's defense came in allowing a 43% third down success rate.

The first half chain-moving saw the Buckeyes convert 3-of-4 on 3rd-and-short (1-4 yards) which you're fully aware was an issue in the previous five games. McCord was sharp on third down throws in that first half completing 3-of-3 for 33 yards and two touchdowns and the run game carried it four times for 19 yards.

For the game, McCord was 5-of-6 on third down with the lone incompletion coming via a Harrison Jr. drop. On the five connections, McCord racked up 57 yards, moving the chains twice and scoring touchdowns twice.

Brown's insertion as a red zone quarterback helped on third down as he kept it twice on 3rd-and-1 snaps, moving the chains each time, with runs of eight and two yards. Hayden kept a drive alive with a 3-yard run on 3rd-and-1. The only true run game failure on third down came on a 3rd-and-25 when Day was just trying to get his offense off the field after a dreadful series, opting to run Xavier Johnson on a safe draw play (for six yards).

Two other rushing failures on third down came via sacks of McCord and Brown.

Overall, it wasn't perfect but Ohio State was indeed improved on third down. Day's challenge will be to build on that momentum against a Penn State defense allowing just 26.5% of third downs to move the chains, good for 4th-best nationally.

FIVE'S ALIVE

Dallan Hayden, ladies and gentlemen.

Already without tailbacks TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams due to injuries, Ohio State lost Chip Trayanum to a head injury just before the end of the first quarter which meant the fourth string Hayden would be needed despite Day's stated desire to redshirt him this season if possible (e.g. play him in no more than four games).

To his credit, Hayden clearly stayed ready for action despite his depth chart status and proceeded to lead the Buckeye ground game with 11 attempts for 76 yards (6.9 ypc) and a touchdown.

Hayden's second carry of the day went for 17 yards to set up 1st-and-Goal at the 7 although Brown fumbled into the end zone for a touchback two plays later.

On Ohio State's next possession, Hayden carried it three times for 25 yards within a 11-play, 73-yard touchdown drive giving the Buckeyes a 20-0 cushion midway through the second quarter.

He then recorded three carries for 21 yards on a 6-play, 67-yard touchdown drive featuring his 19-yard scamper to the Purdue 3 before his 1-yard plunge to make it 27-0.

While I can understand Day's initial plan to redshirt Hayden if possible considering the depth in the running backs room, I'm not sure that plan still holds water, even if the others return to health. I admittedly can't speak to his practice body of work or exactly how effective he is in relation to Trayanum and Williams when it comes to pass pro or other facets of the position but as a ball carrier, he looks no worse than the second-best the Buckeyes have.

And it's not like that opinion is shaped just from today. As a true freshman last season, the moments were never too big for Hayden as he went for over 100 yards in three separate games including a clutch 27-carry, 146-yard, three touchdown performance in a tight win over Maryland after Henderson left the game early with an injury and Williams wasn't able to play at all.

Again, I understand Day's initial plan but it feels like opting against playing Hayden no more than four games this year, when the goal in 2023 is to win the Big Ten and get back to the CFP, would be questionable at best.

BULLETS KEEP FIRING

Yeah Purdue's is offense below average but Ohio State's defense continued its strong performance limiting the Boilers to seven points, marking the fourth time in six games the Buckeyes have held opponents to 10 points or less.

The Silver Bullets shut out the Boilermakers in the decisive first half, helping Ohio State enter the locker room up 20-0. In the first 30 minutes, Jim Knowles' group forced three 3-and-outs in six possessions.

The first and sixth possessions resulted in missed long field goal tries but neither drive saw Purdue average over five yards per play and neither went for more than 48 yards. The four first half possessions bookended by those missed field goals saw the Buckeyes hold Purdue to 18 yards on 15 plays.

For the game, Purdue managed just 3.7 yards per play, converted only 3-of-17 third down conversion attempts and its lone touchdown came via a 20-yard drive after McCord's fumble on a strip sack, while up 34-0, gave the Boilers primo field position in garbage time.

Ohio State set season-highs with six tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries while tying its season high with three sacks. Purdue scored once in 13 possessions as quarterback Hudson Card completed 13-of-32 for 126 yards and the one touchdown.

Defensive tackle Tyleik Williams continued his All-American caliber play with three stops, two tackles for loss and a pair of pass breakups. JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer each posted 1.5 sacks as Ohio State's defensive ends have picked up the production over the last few weeks.

On the flip side, weakside linebacker Steele Chambers looks to be struggling particularly in coverage, which continued to provide Cody Simon more snaps in relief. Also, No. 1 corner Denzel Burke, who posted a sweet pass breakup in the end zone earlier in the afternoon, left the game with an apparent injury in the third quarter.

Ohio State's defense now ranks third in scoring defense (9.7 ppg), fourth in pass defense (154.3 ypg) and seventh in total defense (263.5 ypg).

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

Backup quarterback Devin Brown hadn't seen a meaningful snap in well over a month after McCord seized the job. But with Ohio State's offensive line, run game and to a lesser degree red zone struggles, Day and his staff worked on some wrinkles involving Brown primarily as a runner.

If nothing else, it was a nice short yardage / short field package to give Ohio State an extra blocker in the form of a running back in a page out of Urban Meyer's playbook.

From the Purdue 13 on a 3rd-and-1, Brown took a keeper eight yards over the left side to move the sticks. Later on the same drive, from the Purdue 2-yard line, Brown kept again and found the end zone to give Ohio State a 13-0 lead late in the first quarter.

The ensuing OSU possession again reached the red zone and out came Brown. Facing 2nd-and-Goal from the Purdue 7-yard line, the play design worked again as Brown ran 6.5 yards and was set to break the plane but just before that, he allowed the ball to come loose, into the end zone, where it was recovered by the Boilers for a touchback. Yeah, that can't happen but the strategy was again sound right up until the fumble.

If nothing else, the insertion of Brown gives Penn State another wrinkle to prepare for within the overall game plan for next Saturday, particularly in the red zone.

Through the air, in garbage time, Brown also connected with true freshman Brandon Inniss on a 58-yard touchdown to complete the scoring.

(SH)RED ZONE

Speaking of the red zone, Ohio State's struggles entering yesterday's game included a No. 74 ranking in red zone scoring rate (82.4%) and a red zone touchdown rate of just 52.9%, good for only 104th-best in the land.

Against the Boilermakers however, Ohio State bucked the trend scoring touchdowns on 5-of-6 red zone trips (83.3%). The lone fail came on Brown's fumble literally a foot short of making the Buckeyes 6-for-6 in finding the end zone after entering Purdue's 20.

As noted, Brown was also responsible for a red zone touchdown as his 2-yard plunge put OSU in front 13-0. Before that, McCord let one go off his back foot on a 3rd-and-6 snap that found Harrison Jr. for a 14-yard touchdown giving Ohio State an early 6-0 lead.

Brown's miscue at the goal line killed OSU's third red zone trip but was followed with three straight red zone touchdowns: McCord found Cade Stover for a 4-yard score to make it 20-0, Hayden's 1-yard dive pushed the lead to 27-0, and McCord's 14-yard connection with Stover increased the lead to 34-0.

Being as good or better next week might be required to reach the winner's circle. In what could be a defensive struggle, capitalizing on scoring opportunities will be paramount.

Through six games, Penn State has only allowed opponents inside the red zone seven times. For comparison, as great as the Ohio State defense has been, opponents have visited the red zone 13 times in six games. That said, the Nittany Lions have allowed five touchdowns (and two field goals) on those seven trips.

Join The 1870 Society for exclusive access to the Ryan Day Podcast to learn more about what goes into building and running the Ohio State football program. Memberships at The 1870 Society start at just $1.99 per month and help keep Ohio State athletics elite.