Purdue football dropped its seventh-straight game on Saturday afternoon, falling to Northwestern 26-20 in overtime at Ross-Ade Stadium. The favorable matchup didn't translate to a victory and now the Boilermakers are faced with an even bigger challenge, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Boiler Upload takes a first look at Buckeyes ahead of Purdue's matchup trip to Columbus next weekend.
Game, Broadcast and Betting Details:
Where: Columbus, Ohio
Stadium: Ohio Stadium (Official capacity of 102,780)
When: Saturday, November 9th, 12:00 p.m. ET
Television: FOX - Gus Johnson (PxP), Joel Klatt (Color), Jenny Taft (Sideline)
Odds: Purdue is currently a +38.5-point underdog, over/under is 52.5 points. (via FanDuel)
Buckeyes in the thick of it once again:
It was shaky there for a moment with Ohio State, falling to Oregon in Eugene and narrowly escaping an upset bid by Nebraska after the loss, but Ryan Day and company quieted the outside noise on Saturday by knocking off formerly No. 3 Penn State in Beaver Stadium.
The Buckeyes perhaps had their College Football Playoff hopes on the line in Happy Valley, but solidified themselves as one of the top dogs in the conference, once again.
With the win, Ohio State now sits at 7-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play, having an inside track to another College Football Playoff appearance and a chance for redemption against Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game, should both reach Indianapolis in December.
As has been the case for the Buckeyes for the last decade, they are once again a legit National Championship contender, which poses a mountain of a challenge for Ryan Walters and the 1-7 Boilermakers.
Three key Ohio State stats/notes to know:
No weaknesses in sight:
Ohio State has shown no weaknesses, and that shouldn't come as a shock, considering the Buckeyes are the No. 3 team in the nation. Ryan Day is leading a group that is top 15 in scoring offense (37.8 points per game) and in total offense (457.6 yards per game), as well as top three in scoring defense (12.0 points per game) and total defense (256.4 yards per game), nationally.
Weapons galore:
Ohio State's offensive weapons should be of particular concern to the Boilermakers, with perhaps the most talented group of skill players around quarterback Will Howard in the country. Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka are both in the top ten in the conference in receiving yards and touchdowns, while the running back tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Jenkins have been an explosive duo out of the backfield.
Ryan Day's near perfect B1G stat:
Since head coach Ryan Day took over for Urban Meyer for the 2019 season, he has been nearly unbeatable against conference foes. Across his first five full seasons, he was 41-0 against Big Ten teams not named Michigan. That trend was snapped this season when the Buckeyes fell against Oregon, but the Buckeyes have been at their best in conference play since 2012, and Day is continuing that success.
Series history:
While Ohio State has dominated against the Big Ten in recent memory, the Boilermakers have actually had a fair amount of success over the last 20 years. A 4-7 mark since 2004 isn't exactly something to be over the moon about, when you consider both teams' level of success during that time, it is certainly respectable.
Purdue has upset the Buckeyes in 2018, 2011 and 2009, with the Tyler Trent game being the most memorable of the bunch. Ohio State has won the last two meetings by a combined 62 points since that meeting, however. Purdue will need some magic of that October night in 2018 to show up again if it is to have a shot at taking down the Buckeyes this time around.
