Purdue defense ready for toughest challenge to date against Ohio State

Despite being the home of the second-worst defense in the Big Ten, Purdue has started to see progression from its Air Strike defense over the last two weeks.

The Boilermakers allowed just north of 32 points per game over their first four outings, but have reduced that number to 20 points surrendered per game against Illinois and Iowa, which would be good for 7th in the conference.

While it may not have been against the same level of competition, Purdue is still taking steps in the right direction and now has a better understanding of where it's at as a team and what improvements need to be made down the stretch.

"We're halfway through the season, and we've kind of adjusted. Alright, who are we, what's our personnel and how do we have to make the right adjustments based on that personnel," defensive coordinator Kevin Kane said.

Breakout outside linebacker Nic Scourton has taken notice of the improvements made by the group he helps lead, which has been a result of building cohesion after adding eight new starters to the defense in 2023.

"I feel like we are. Obviously we have a lot of transfer guys. I feel like the D-line, outside linebackers and linebackers are finally starting to click, understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. And the guys on the back end are holding up their own," Scourton said.

In its most recent performance against Iowa, a 20-14 defeat, Purdue's defense had success, but got burned on a handful of explosive plays. Running back Kaleb Johnson had a 67 yard burst to score the first touchdown of the night, while Deacon Hill leaned on tight end Erick All to give the Hawkeyes enough production to edge out a six point victory.

That wound up being the difference in the game as Hudson Card and the offense struggled on the flip side of the ball. Scourton feels that it is the defense's responsibility to pick up the offense when it needs to, although the Boilermakers were unable to do so in the loss.

"Obviously the offense only scored 14 points, but I feel like our part as a defense is to stop them from scoring at all. And I feel like we just have to eliminate big plays, eliminate explosive plays and we come out of that game on top," Scourton said.

It was only a handful of mental lapses and missed assignments that cost Purdue its third win of the season, which Kane says has been a constant theme throughout the year, most notably in a pair of one score losses against Iowa and Fresno State.

“That's kind of been our M-O, man," Kane said. "We're one play here, two plays there. If we get guys doing what they're supposed to do and execute and we coach them better, I think we're gonna be a very good defense."

While the defense has taken a step forward in recent weeks, there's still a lot of walking to go before the Boilermakers have the defense they expect under Ryan Walters and Kevin Kane.

Defensive lineman Isaiah Nichols wants his teammates to understand the importance of stacking solid outings on top of each other and not getting complacent with just a couple of good games.

"Just understanding that the success we have this week is not the success we're going to have next week. Just stacking weeks and not getting complacent, just if we had success doing one thing like last week, we gotta do even more to have success this week no matter who the opponent is," Nichols said.

That will be even more important heading into this weekend's matchup as top ranked Ohio State comes into Ross-Ade Stadium for a Big Ten showdown on Saturday.

The Buckeyes, in what feels like a yearly occurrence at this point, boast one of the top offensive attacks in the nation this season. Ryan Day's group is averaging 35 points per game, which is in the top 30 across college football.

Kane echoed the statements of head coach Ryan Walters, who said that the Buckeyes do an impressive job at putting their top playmakers in the best position to do what they do best. Make plays.

"They're extremely talented. You know, I think they understand who they are and how they need to go win games. I think they're gonna highlight the players that are highly touted and as they should," Kane said. "That's what we have to understand is where are these guys at all times and having an awareness of it.”

At the top of that list of difference makers is of course, future NFL Draft selection Marvin Harrison Jr., who Kane identified as a standout from Ohio State's attack. While arguably the top receiver in all of college football will garner attention, the Boilermakers can't sell out to only stop him because of the Buckeyes' depth across the board.

"Obviously, No. 18 is a really good football player and they find ways to get him the ball early and often. And then they got to divvy it up among the other guys, you know, so I think you can't just pinpoint one because they got a bunch of them," Kane said.

Harrison Jr. is the Big Ten's leader in yards per game with 99.8 and is coming off an 8-catch, 163-yard performance with a score in last week's win over Maryland. Quarterback Kyle McCord's other top weapons include tight end Cade Stover and fellow NFL hopeful Emeka Egbuka. That duo has combined for over 40 catches, 609 yards and four scores through five games this season.

Ohio State's receiving corps gets much of the shine, and deservedly so, but Kevin Kane isn't neglecting the Buckeyes' rushing attack which features three outstanding backs. The group is headlined by Treveyon Henderson, while Chip Trayanum and Miyan Williams also see reps out of the backfield for Ryan Day.

The key to stopping the ground game of Ohio State according to Kane? Simple. Be physical and don't allow them to break tackles.

"We got to be physical. I mean, you're in the Big Ten, that's what you got to do, it's what you got to be. We have to tackle, we got to run our feet, we can't be diving at people this week. And that's been a point of emphasis. So, you know, we got to do a good job of just playing physical football," Kane said.

Being sound tackling has been a major focal point for Kane and the Purdue defense heading into Saturday's tilt after having allowed a number of big plays throughout the season.

"Our job as a defense is to get the ball down and play again. I think that's got to be our battle cry this week is get the ball down, let's limit these big plays and make them earn it," Kane said.

Another key for the Boilermakers is getting the pass rush back to what it was in the 44-19 win over Illinois two weeks ago. Purdue had six sacks in the victory, but were limited to just one against Iowa last Saturday.

Nic Scourton, the Big Ten's leader in sacks Kydran Jenkins and the Purdue front line have an opportunity to wreak havoc on Kyle McCord and give the Boilermakers an opportunity to have success.

"They know they have to be able to attack the quarterback and that's part of the plan this week is how can we hit, harass and confuse the guy," Kane said. "I think the more stuff we can do to make that picture cloudy for that quarterback, the harder it's gonna be for them. So I think it's gonna be fun for those guys.”

Purdue may not see another offense that boasts as much NFL talent at the skill positions than the Buckeyes, with the exception of potentially Michigan, and will have its hands full on Saturday afternoon.

Can the Boilermakers turn the page and produce a season-best showing defensively? That may be what it takes to notch a season altering upset win in Ross-Ade Stadium.