The Ohio State Buckeyes pick up a 34-10 road win against the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday. Ohio State moves to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in Big Ten Conference play, and likely will remain the number one team across the various polls.
Quarterback Julian Sayin continues to add to his Heisman case with another 300-yard performance, throwing one touchdown and one interception. His top target, Jeremiah Smith, hauled in a career-high 10 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown. Running back CJ Donaldson punched in two short touchdowns on the ground.
Carnell Tate did not play out of precaution because of tightness during warmups, so tight end Max Klare stepped up in his homecoming game. The former Boilermaker was the second-leading receiver with 5 catches and 59 yards.
The team as a whole gained 473 yards while going 9-13 on third down. A key statistic was time of possession, as the Buckeyes held the ball for 40 minutes and 53 seconds, over two-thirds of the game.
Defensively, the Buckeyes allowed just 186 yards and was stellar on third down. They combined for three tackles for loss and one turnover, an interception from Jermaine Matthews off a deflected pass by Caleb Downs.
Kicker Jayden Fielding had a career day, nailing a pair of 40+ yard field goals, including a career-long 49-yarder.
TOP TAKEAWAY
Sluggish and frustrating performance still leads to domination.
Let’s be real. This team was very sluggish today. No need for three takeaways, because we can lump this performance into one simple fact: to quote the late great Bobby Knight, “It’s Purdue.”
This is no disrespect to Purdue, not meaning to throw any shade. It’s a program with a new, really good head coach in Barry Odom that needs time to resurrect this program. There are already some solid pieces in place on a Boilermaker roster that was completely overhauled during the offseason.
That being said, throw out what the stat sheet said. This Buckeye team did not put its best foot forward today. Yes, it’s Purdue. They have two wins, and statistically, they are not that impressive.
Yet, there were missed opportunities on top of missed opportunities, and the overall aggressiveness felt like it was lacking, especially on the lines. Sayin was running around a lot more than usual today. Only four sacks had been allowed by the o-line all season long, and today they gave up two. The defensive front didn’t generate much pressure and only came away with three tackles for loss. This is the second straight week these lines have not been as sharp as we have seen them throughout the majority of the season. Penalties were also a problem today
Now bring the stats back in. The Buckeyes outgained Purdue by almost 300 yards, converted all but four of their third-down tries, and held the ball for over two-thirds of the game.
Was it mentioned that they seemed uninspired and flat today? They dominated a Big Ten opponent on the road and played probably their worst game of the season. That speaks volumes about what this team is capable of and just how dominant they’ve been this year.
GAME RECAP
1st Quarter
11:59 – Penalty Negates Touchdown
1st & 10 – Bo Jackson runs for a 70-yard touchdown on the first play of scrimmage, but it’s called back because of a block in the back on Jeremiah Smith.
10:48 – Purdue Sack
2nd & 7 – Mani Powell gets home on the pass rush. Just the fourth sack all year given up by the Buckeyes leads to a punt.
5:30 – Third Down Stop
3rd & 2 – Malachi Singleton runs right into a wall built by Arvell Reese. Buckeye defense makes a huge stop.
4:23 – Purdue Field Goal
4th & 3 – A Spencer Porath 40-yard field goal caps off a 12-play, 70-yard drive over five and a half minutes. Boilermakers strike first. (PUR 3-0)
End of Q1 – Jeremiah Smith Puts Buckeyes Close
Two impressive pitch-and-catches from Julian Sayin to Jeremiah Smith combine for 49 yards and set the Buckeyes up with 1st & Goal at the one to begin the second quarter.
2nd Quarter
14:16 – Ohio State Touchdown
2nd & Goal – CJ Donaldson punches it in from one yard out for his eighth of the year to claim the lead for the Buckeyes. 9-play, 75-yard that took up just over five minutes. (OSU 7-3)
7:18 – Ohio State Touchdown
1st & 10 – Julian Sayin finds Jeremiah Smith on a go route for a 35-yard touchdown to extend the lead. 10-play, 89-yard drive that spans 5:44. (OSU 14-3)
6:33 – Ohio State Interception
2nd & 15 – Caleb Downs deflects a pass that gets picked off by Jermaine Matthews Jr, who returns it to the 30-yard line. Buckeyes in business again.
1:12 – Ohio State Touchdown
3rd & Goal – Lincoln Keinholz subs in at quarterback and runs it in from the three. Buckeyes now pouring it on. 9-play, 30-yard drive over 5:21. (OSU 21-3)
0:03 – Ohio State Field Goal
2nd & 2 – Hayden Fielding hits a career-long 49-yard field goal for extra cushion into the lock room. (OSU 24-3)
3rd Quarter
6:26 – Purdue Interception
3rd & Goal – Julian Sayin throws an interception to the waiting arms of CJ Nunnally IV in the endzone. A 15-play, 68-yard drive that took up eight and a half minutes comes up empty.
4th Quarter
13:40 – Purdue Sack
3rd & 10 – The Purdue defense comes up with another big play, sacking Julian Sayin for the second time today. Breeon Ishmail was the perpetrator this time.
12:41 – Ohio State Field Goal
4th & 23 – Following the sack, Jayden Fielding connects on a 45-yard field goal to extend the lead. 11-play, 58-yard drive that eats six minutes of clock. (OSU 27-3)
6:25 – Ohio State Touchdown
3rd & Goal – CJ Donaldson punches it in the endzone again from a yard out. 9-play, 65-yard drive in 5:22. (OSU 34-3)
1:45 – Purdue Touchdown
Malachi Singleton finds Jeese Watson in garbage time for the first Boilermaker touchdown of the day. (OSU 34-10)
The Buckeye will be back at home for a night game against the UCLA Bruins. Pregame starts at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Listen live on 98.3 WPKO HERE.
