Gameday Skull Session: Get Dumped Then, Purdue

It's almost time.

Work Week Done pic.twitter.com/qHPrZNIq3s

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 8, 2024

Have a good Saturday.

 MORE LIKE PURDONT. Purdue stinks. It stinks out loud. However, similar to how Ohio State couldn’t call Penn State a must-win game, it can’t call Purdue a terrible team — or at least it doesn’t want to.

“I think that this team is much better than their record shows,” Ryan Day said Thursday. “They’re playing good football. We have to play hard. We have to play physical. We have to execute.”

No offense, Coach, but no. Purdue is not better than its record shows. (I think he knows that and his comment is a form of gamesmanship.)

This season, the Boilermakers are 1-7 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten competition. Their lone win is Indiana State. Their losses are Notre Dame, Oregon State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oregon and Northwestern. They were outscored 295-113 in those contests, with almost half of their points coming in a 50-49 overtime loss to the Illini. 

Looking deeper, Purdue ranks No. 111 in total offense (334.8 yards per game) and No. 120 in total defense (446.5 yards allowed per game). There are also four FBS teams — four! — that allow more yards per play than the Boilermakers (6.9), including Utah State (7), New Mexico (7), Kent State (7.1) and Ball State (7.2).

So, no, Purdue is not better than its record shows — and that’s fine!

Short and sweet, simple and effective, Ohio State's latest Game Trailer shows Seth McLaughlin, JT Tuimoloau and Will Howard to set the tone for the Buckeyes' matchup with Purdue on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/W8yvLFYtMp

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 7, 2024

When the Boilermakers and Buckeyes meet inside Ohio Stadium on Saturday, ant will meet boot. Translation: Ohio State smashes Purdue for all four quarters. 

I think the Buckeyes will look to assert their dominance in the run game in the contest, as the Boilermakers have the No. 121 rushing defense in college football, allowing 203.3 yards per game. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins won’t receive enough carries to run wild, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Henderson, Judkins and James Peoples all record 50+ yards on the ground. Sam Williams-Dixon could reach that number, too. Heck, let walk-on quarterback Mason Maggs get some touches, too!

In addition to the run game, Ohio State should work on its deep ball against Purdue, who has the No. 103 passing defense in the sport, allowing 243.3 yards per contest. (More proof that this team does, in fact, stink out loud.) Will Howard’s throws to Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith at Penn State still haunt me — the former because Howard’s pass was inaccurate, and the latter because Smith slowed down on his route. I’d like to see Ohio State look better in that area on Saturday, as it will be crucial in beating Indiana, Michigan and whoever it faces in the postseason.

Overall, what I really want to see from Ohio State is a nice, clean game. I want to see no penalties, no turnovers, no three-and-outs — just some good, clean football. Get in, get out and move on to Northwestern, where the gameplan should be identical to what I mentioned. But that’s a conversation for next week. For now, it’s all about ants and boots.

Ohio State 56, Purdue 6

 THE MENU. There’s a lot to love about this week’s college football slate.

• Purdue at No. 2 Ohio State, Noon on FOX
• Michigan at No. 8 Indiana, 3:30 p.m. on CBS
• No. 3 Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
• No. 11 Alabama at No. 15 LSU, 7:30 p.m. on ABC

And much, much more…

Sounds like a great Saturday to find a comfortable spot on the couch — or a comfortable angle on the recliner — and take it all in!

 MY PICKS. Mark me down at 2-1 last week. Oregon crushed Michigan and Indiana crushed Michigan State. But Nebraska… what happened? I was certain Nebraska would bounce back from their losses to Indiana and Ohio State with a blowout win over UCLA. Alas, the Cornhuskers fell flat and lost 27-20 at home to the team from LA. 

This week, I’ve decided to roll with Georgia, Indiana and BYU.

• Michigan at No. 8 Indiana (-14.5): Yes.
• No. 3 Georgia (-2.5) at No. 16 Ole Miss: I almost didn’t want to pick this one, but then I remembered how fun it can be to pick against Lane Kiffin, college football’s ultimate troll. Georgia’s one loss this season came on the road at Alabama, and while the Bulldogs haven’t looked great against other SEC opponents (Kentucky and Florida come to mind), I think Kirby Smart will have a great gameplan to limit Jaxson Dart’s impact, particularly with what he can do with his feet. I should note that Carson Beck could ruin those plans with turnovers, but without them, the Bulldogs should win comfortably in Oxford.
• No. 9 BYU (-4) at Utah: I’ve rolled with BYU twice this season. Both times, the Cougars covered with ease. I think that trend continues on Saturday. BYU is more than four points better than Utah, yet oddsmakers seem to have respect for Kyle Whittingham and the hostile environment at Rice-Eccles Stadium. That respect, while well-deserved and well-earned, cannot make up for Utah’s inefficiencies on offense, however, as it continues to look lost with Cam Rising at quarterback. Give me the Cougars to continue their push for a CFP spot (and bye!) with a convincing win over the Utes.

 BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. I continue to love how Ohio State football cares about more than football. This week, cornerbacks Denzel Burke, Davison Igbinosun, Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Jordan Hancock visited the James Cancer Hospital with secondary coach Tim Walton and other staff members. Ohio State posted pictures of their visit to social media on Friday.

BIA continuing tradition of Friday Home Game visits to the James Cancer Hospital this morning pic.twitter.com/vpFRPElHVn

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 8, 2024

Ohio State’s post comes a week (or so) after Seth McLaughlin announced he would sell “Run the Damn Ball” hats and donate 100 percent of the proceeds to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. It comes a few months after Lorenzo and Sonny Styles participated in the “Sleep Out” to raise funds for the Huckleberry House. I am sure there were several other fundraisers and initiatives that occurred in between those two.

I love to see that. You love to see that. We all love to see that!

 SONG OF THE DAY. "How You Remind Me" - Nickelback.

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