Ohio State Buckeyes Roll Past Purdue, Look Ahead to Penn State Nittany Lions
Whether they'd like to admit it or not, the Ohio State Buckeyes have likely heard the end of the all the upset chatter surrounding another trip to West Lafayette.
Instead, they let their dominant play do the talking on Saturday against the Purdue Boilermakers, as the No. 3 Buckeyes left no doubt in a 41-7 blowout win over their unranked Big Ten rival.
In rainy and windy conditions, Ohio State (6-0) used a stout defensive effort and balanced offensive attack to remain undefeated. This sets up a potential battle of unbeatens and College Football Playoff contenders next week in Columbus against the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions, who host 1-6 UMass on Saturday.
Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord went 16 of 28 passing for 276 yards and three touchdowns while Marvin Harrison Jr. finished with six catches for 105 yards and one touchdown, who was the main man for an offense that was missing standout receiver Emeka Egbuka and running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams. Tight end Cade Stover added four grabs for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
This helped complement a Buckeyes ground game that, despite injuries, had a solid day. Running back Dallan Hayden didn't have a carry coming into the game, but finished with a touchdown to go along with a game-high 76 yards on 11 carries.
The Buckeyes held Purdue scoreless until the start of the fourth quarter, but it was the offense that go things started with back-to-back touchdown drives to jump out to a 13-0 lead on the road.
Backup quarterback Devin Brown was used as a goal-line option, and scored from two yards out to give Ohio State its second touchdown of the game. He nearly gave the Buckeyes a third score to open up the second quarter before fumbling at the one -yard line.
But the Boilermakers were never able to capitalize on some of Ohio State's mistakes. Purdue Julio Macias kicker missed three field goals, which was lowlighted by misses on back-to-back drives at the end of the second and start of the third quarter.
Purdue's field goal issues started on the game's first drive, as Macias missed left on a 48-yard attempt after a solid drive. The lack of points and production was the story of the game for Purdue's offense, which had five three-and-outs.
The Buckeyes were able to balloon the lead in the fourth quarter, as Brown found Brandon Innis for a 58-yard touchdown. This gave Ohio State a 41-7 lead in a game that already felt decided early on.
The Buckeyes will now look ahead to their biggest game up to this point in the season when they host Penn State next Saturday.
