The final third of Ohio State’s regular season is about to begin.
Purdue
Boilermakers
With eight games in the books, Ohio State looks to earn its eighth win of 2024 as it hosts Purdue at Ohio Stadium on Saturday in its ninth game of the season.
The game isn‘t expected to be close, as the 7-1 Buckeyes are 38-point favorites over the 1-7 Boilermakers, but Ryan Day has emphasized all week that he doesn’t want his team to take Purdue lightly.
So while today’s matchup isn’t an exciting one on paper, the Buckeyes will nevertheless be striving to play up to their standard and build upon their momentum coming off of last week’s win over Penn State. It could also be a valuable opportunity for players who haven’t made a ton of plays in recent weeks to build momentum individually and for backups who aren’t typically in the rotation to see playing time in what could be one of their final opportunities to play this season.
With that in mind, we break down our biggest questions, top players to watch and bold predictions for today’s game.
Questions
Does the offensive line build on its success against Penn State?
After this revamped offensive line made a statement against Penn State last week (no small feat), can it continue to build momentum against a front seven that will be much easier to block? Ideally, you'd like to see Carson Hinzman and Donovan Jackson continue to build chemistry on the left side of the line in their new positions.
– Garrick Hodge
Will Ohio State's defensive game plan be “vanilla”?
Ryan Day and Jim Knowles “re-engineered” Ohio State’s defense after it allowed Oregon to record 496 total yards in a 32-31 loss to the Ducks. Day said the improvements were noticeable in the team’s wins over Nebraska and Penn State. I agree. The Buckeyes did a better job disguising their looks in those games, leading to an increase in pressure, tackles for loss and sacks. Against Purdue, I wonder Day and Knowles continue to add flavor to their scheme. They probably don’t need to, considering Purdue’s offense has been porous this season, but it also wouldn’t hurt for Ohio State to continue experimenting before the stakes are at their highest.
– Chase Brown
Do the Buckeyes start fast?
In an optimal world, Ohio State would like to put this game to bed early and get starters out of the game by the end of the third quarter. That will require a rapid opening to the game, which the Buckeyes haven't gotten in their last two contests. OSU fell behind 10-0 on the road against Penn State last week and didn’t score against Nebraska until there were 29 seconds left in the first quarter. Remove doubt against Purdue early, kick your feet up later. That should be the goal.
– Andy Anders
Will we get to see Julian Sayin play?
As long as Ohio State does what it’s supposed to do in the first two to three quarters, this game should be the first opportunity in more than a month for the Buckeyes to play their backups who don’t see regular playing time. And it’s one of the last two realistic opportunities, along with next week’s game against Northwestern, for Ohio State to do that this season. Given that Sayin is the favorite to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback next season, the Buckeyes should look to take advantage of the opportunity to get him some game reps in the second half, especially since he can still play in two more regular-season games without burning his redshirt.
– Dan Hope
Players to Watch
Jack Sawyer
Sawyer has been quiet in recent weeks, recording no tackles for loss in Ohio State’s last three games. He has only 2.5 tackles for loss this season – but that’s the same number of TFLs he had last season until he recorded 7.5 TFLs in the final three games. Jim Knowles said this week that he expects Sawyer to have another late-season surge, and today would be a great time to start that against a Purdue offensive line that’s allowed 20 sacks this season.
– Dan Hope
Emeka Egbuka
Purdue's passing defense ranks 104th nationally in yards allowed per game (244.9) and 132nd out of 134 FBS schools in yards allowed per pass attempt (9.3). The Boilermakers' secondary, like many elements of their team, is bad, and that should make way for Ohio State's wide receivers to have a big game. Egbuka enters Saturday with 46 receptions for 577 yards and seven touchdowns.
– Andy Anders
Caleb Downs
There’s no question whether Downs is the best defensive back in college football – he is – but I still want to see him record his first interception with the Buckeyes. A matchup with the Boilermakers could provide Downs with that chance. And even if Purdue chooses to run the ball in an effort to control clock and keep Ohio State’s offense off the field, look for Downs to be in the backfield often, as he has six tackles for loss in eight games this year.
– Chase Brown
James Peoples
Very presumptuous of me, I know, but if Ohio State builds enough of a lead in the first half, I'm hopeful that we can see the true freshman running back get extensive work in the second half.
– Garrick Hodge
Predictions
Jeremiah Smith will break two more records
I went just 1-for-3 on last week’s prediction that Smith would break all three of Ohio State’s single-season freshman receiving records against Penn State, but I’d be surprised if he doesn‘t break the other two this week. He’s caught at least three passes in every game this season and he’s scored a touchdown in every game until last week, and that’s all he needs this week to break Cris Carter’s freshman records for both receptions and touchdowns, having already broken his receiving yards record a week ago.
– Dan Hope
The game is over by halftime
Maybe it's not exactly going out on a limb here, but this is a truly terrible, stinky Purdue team. Ryan Day can go out of his way to say the Boilermakers are better than their record so far, but they're really not. This game should be over by halftime, and unless that bad Nebraska voodoo carries over, I expect it will be.
– Garrick Hodge
Four sacks on defense
Ohio State is eager to continue building upon recent gains in its pass rush and Purdue offers a prime opportunity. The Boilermakers have allowed 2.5 sacks per game, tied for 98th-worst in the country. With it being likely that Purdue will fall behind early, it should be trying to throw the ball plenty, too.
– Andy Anders
At least three running backs rush for 50+ yards
Purdue ranks No. 120 in total defense (446.5 yards allowed per game) and No. 121 in rushing defense (203.3). We know how much Chip Kelly likes to run the ball. We also know how talented TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins are. While I don’t expect either of Ohio State’s star ballcarriers to put up massive numbers – mostly because the Buckeyes could pull them in the third quarter – I expect both to collect at least 50 yards on the ground. Look for either James Peoples or Sam Williams-Dixon to surpass that total, too, as Ohio State runs out the clock in the second half.
– Chase Brown
