Purdue’s impressive five wins over Ohio State this century, including the all-time upset in 2018, have one thing in common — they were played in West Lafayette, Ind.
The struggling Boilermakers (1-7, 0-5 Big Ten) won’t have that luxury in Columbus on Saturday against the Buccaneers, ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff’s preseason rankings released Tuesday.
In the first ever CFP poll in 2014, Ohio State was ranked 16th due to a home loss to Virginia Tech. Two months later, the Buckeyes defeated Oregon in the national title game.
The Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1) have the same destination in mind this season after a 20-13 win over No. 6 Penn State on Saturday gave them a clear path to the Big Ten title game and a repeat of No. . 1 Oregon, beating the visiting Buccaneers 32-31 on Oct. 12.
Ohio State needs to win its final four games of the regular season and can’t afford to slip up against the Boilermakers before playing Northwestern (at Wrigley Field), and then-No. 8 Indiana and rival Michigan, both in Columbus.
“We’re focused on Purdue,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. “Whatever happened in the game before, that game is over. Regardless of the ranking, we always said, what matters is those at the end of the year.”
Purdue coach Ryan Walters knows his team is a tough underdog at Ohio Stadium, where the Boilermakers haven’t won since 1988. But he’ll try to find inspiration from six years ago, when the unranked Boilermakers routed the second-ranked Buckeyes 49-20. , albeit in a home game.
“It’s going to be a big challenge,” Walters said Monday. “I’m looking forward to playing at a historic place like Ohio State and I’m looking forward to going and competing against the best. That’s why you play in this conference. That’s why you come to a school like Purdue, so you can go compete. And give it your all against some of the best teams in the country.”
However, in the two most recent matchups in 2023 and 2021, they were outscored 100-38, and there’s reason to believe another blowout is in the offing.
The Boilermakers have been outscored 295-113 by FBS opponents following a 49-0 season win over FCS’s Indiana State.
Add in the fact Ohio State has future NFL picks throughout the program and it could be a long day.
“You look at their team as a whole; it’s a great lineup,” Walters said. “You put together a talented roster and the level of coaching at Ohio State, I have a lot of respect for those guys on their staff. That’s why you get a team like Ohio State.”
Will Howard leads the way at quarterback for the Buckeyes, throwing for 1,977 yards and 19 touchdowns this season, with Emeka Egbuka catching 46 passes for 577 yards and seven touchdowns and Jeremiah Smith catching 39 passes. for 678 yards and eight scores.
The Buckeyes will look to improve on their performance at Penn State, where they denied the Nittany Lions a potential late game despite scoring first and third.
That was followed by the Buckeyes starting on their 1 with 5:13 left and running 11 straight times, including a touchdown, 58 yards and four first downs to end the game.
But Suku is done talking about that.
“I think Purdue’s offense is playing well,” Day said. “If our guys think they’re going to come out and play this Saturday, they’re wrong. (The Boilermakers) are a much better team than their record shows.
“If anyone in this building here thinks last week, that they’re disturbed, that’s not going to happen.”
–Field Level Media
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