Game Preview: Ohio State vs Purdue

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Buckeye50_Josh Leave a comment

Ohio State was ranked number 2 in the first CFP rankings show on Tuesday, and are on of 4 Big Ten teams ranked in the top 10, trailing just Oregon, and ahead of Georgia. There is a saying that November is for the contenders, and an emphatic win against Penn State is keeping the Buckeyes in a position to be a contender in the Big Ten Championship race, and are a near lock for the playoff.

All of their goals are still in front of them, and cannot overlook any opponent, despite their record. The goal will be to go undefeated from here, and Purdue is in their way this weekend at home.

The Buckeyes will be playing in their third straight noon kick off, just wont have the fan fair of Big Noon of College Game Day on campus when their hoist the Boilermakers. For Ohio State, this weekend will be about taking care of business and getting out of this game with confidence, answers at

Know The Opponent:

Head Coach: Ryan Walters (2nd season)
2024 Record: 1-7
Conference: Big Ten
Location: West Lafayette, IN

Ohio State Preview

The 2nd ranked Ohio State Buckeyes enter this game with a lot of momentum, and feeling good after a big win on the road against Penn State last week, and are in control if there own destiny moving forward. Win out, and they will likely face Oregon for the Big Ten Championship. For as much time as Day spent answering questions this week about the Penn State game, he stressed that his team has got to move on and run over Purdue. Ohio State has been tripped up in mid-season before, notably in 2018 when the unbeaten No. 2 Buckeyes were stunned 49-20 by unranked Purdue at West Lafayette, Indiana.

“If our guys think they’re just going to go out and play on Saturday, they’re wrong,” Day said. “I think (Purdue is) a much better team than their record shows. If anybody here in this building is thinking about last week, they’re distracted and that can’t happen.”

Will Howard leads the team, and despite not playing his best game against Penn State, has stepped up as a leader and is an invaluable piece to this offense. He has passed for 1977 yards with 19 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He has rushed for 115 yards with 5 touchdowns on the season as well. We have not seen Devin Brown the past few weeks because of how close the games have been, but there is a good chance he gets a chance to play this week.

Quinshon Judkins was the first running back in the starting line up last week, and that trend might continue as he has been more of a vocal leader the past few weeks. He leads the team in rushing with 615 yards on 95 carries and 6 touchdowns. TreVeyon Henderson has been even more physical this year, and has made some amazing blocks. He is second on the team with 72 carries for 503 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Jeremiah Smith was held without a touchdown for the first time this season last week, but is the leader in this group. He has 39 catches for 687 yards and 8 touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka has 46 catches for 577 yards and 7 touchdowns. Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss have been involved more in the passing game the past few weeks, and combined have 31 catches for 454 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Purdue Preview

Purdue enters this game on a 7 game losing streak and arguably have the hardest final stretch in anyone else in the country, starting with this week against Ohio State, and will have to play Penn State, Michigan State, and closing their season against Indiana. The lone win this season is a shut out against FCS opponent Indiana State, where they won 49-0, but have lost to some talented teams, including Notre Dame, Illinois, and Oregon, Their closest game to a second win was against the Illini to where they lost 50-49 in overtime.

Despite the record, Ryan Walters likes what he has seen from his team, especially the last few weeks.

“Two of the last three games, we’ve been there right at the end, in overtime,” Purdue coach Ryan Walters said. “That wasn’t the case early in the season.”

The offense is led by quarterback Hudson Card, who started the first 5 games of the season, but has been dealing with some injuries. He has passed for 1005 yards and 8 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. He does have a long run of 23 yards this season, but has -6 yards rushing on the season. If he is not able to play, backup quarterback Ryan Browne has had some playing time this year, and has 473 yards passing with 3 touchdowns to 1 interception. He is a little more of a dual threat with 174 yards rushing as well on 38 carries.

The lead running back for the Boilermakers is Devin Mockobee, who has 539 yards on 91 carries and 3 touchdowns. He also is 4th on the ream in receiving yards with 11 catches for 109 yards and 1 touchdown. Behind him is Reggie Love III who has 60 carries for 325 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Like Penn State, the leading receiver is a tight end with Max Clare. He has caught 30 receptions for 462 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jahmal Edrine is next on the team with 15 catches for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns. The third receiver is Jaron Tibbs who has 20 catches for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Buckeye Spotlight

Quinshon Judkins. Judkins impressed me last week with his aggressiveness, and I think that is the type of player he will be for this team moving forward. After the loss to Oregon and the weird blip against Nebraska, I think this team needed new voices to help steer the ship in a new direction, and I think he is starting to feel comfortable being that leader.

Boilermaker Spotlight

Hudson Card. The Texas transfer is their best weapon on offense, and the success of the Boilermakers will be if Card can make any type of plays to extend drives, and keep the ball out of the hands of the Ohio State offense.

Water Cooler Stat of the Game

14 vs 121. The Buckeyes enter the game with the 14th best total offense in the country, while Purdue is ranked 121 out of 134 teams in total defense. This game could get ugly.

Prediction

Ohio State is entering this game coming off of an emotional win, but Ryan Day has already indcated this this team is focused and ready to prepare for the Boilermakers. Purdue has has a season to forget so far, with only 1 win, and the chances of earning their second on Saturday seems pretty slim. For Ohio State, the biggest challenge would be the 11 players lined up against then on the field, but themselves, and they will dictate how successful they can be. If Ohio State plays to their potential, this game is decided by halftime, and we get a chance to see some of the young talent get a chance to earn live reps as the Buckeyes prepare to take on the last third of the season, and trying to bank that experience when they enter post season play.

Ohio State 56 – Purdue 6

tagged with Football, Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, Purdue, Ryan Day, Will Howard