Purdue at Ohio State

Written by Steve Janus

This Saturday the 10-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will look to rebound from a tough loss on the road at Wisconsin when they host the Purdue Boilermakers. Just one week after being recognized as the No.1 team in the country, the Buckeyes got blown out on the road by the Badgers 31-18. The Boilermakers remained unbeaten in conference play with a 28-17 win over Minnesota last week. Ohio State will be looking for some revenge against the Boilermakers this year, as Purdue beat the Buckeyes 28-16 last season. If you are thinking about betting on the game this weekend, the current college football lines have the Buckeyes favored by 23.5-points over the Boilermakers at home.

Purdue (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten): The Boilermakers scored a touchdown in each quarter in their win against the Golden Gophers, and defensively really put a hold on the Minnesota offense until late in the game. The Boilermakers dominated the ground game against the Golden Gophers, as they ran for 230 yards while allowing Minnesota just 65 yards on the ground. Running back Dan Dierking led the Boilermakers with 126 yards on the ground, but it was quarterback Rob Henry who got Purdue in the endzone, as he threw for 163 yards and a score, and ran for another 57 yards and three touchdowns.

For Purdue to beat Ohio State this weekend they are going to have to be able to run the ball, and while Wisconsin ran all over the Buckeyes last week, I don’t know that the Boilermakers are as strong on the offensive line to push the Buckeyes around. Defensively I don’t know that the Boilermakers stand much of a chance of stopping the Ohio State offense, so they are going to need to force at least a couple turnovers to make a game of it.

Ohio State (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten): The Buckeyes got off to a terrible start against the Badgers, falling behind 21-0, but were able to make a game of it late, as they pulled within three with a little over 11 minutes to go in the game. Defensively the Buckeyes couldn’t make the stop when needed, as Wisconsin scored a touchdown on their next possession, and that proved to be all the Badgers needed.

Outside of the first quarter, the Buckeyes played pretty well against the Badgers, as Wisconsin finished with just 25 more yards of total offense. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor didn’t have a very good game, as he threw for just 156 yards with an interception, it was the first time this season Pryor didn’t have a touchdown pass. Running back Dan Herron had a pretty good game with 91 yards and two touchdowns, and wide out Dane Sanzenbacher finished with six catches for 94 yards.

Looking at the Odds: I think we are going to see a very pissed off Ohio State team this Saturday, and I would not want to be the Boilermakers. I think you have to take Ohio State to cover the 23.5 point spread, as they not only want to gain the respect back of the voters, but they want to show everyone why they were the No.1 ranked team in the country. I think it is going to get ugly quick for Purdue, as my final score prediction is Ohio State 45, Purdue 17.

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