Presented by First Bank of Central Ohio
Purdue
Boilermakers
Memories of Spoilermakers past spoiling Ohio State seasons haunt the conscience of Buckeye fans. But the divide between Ohio State and Purdue is as wide as it’s ever been.
The Buckeyes enter the hexed grounds of Ross-Ade Stadium rolling with the No. 1 defense in college football and the nation’s most explosive passing attack. Purdue is in full rebuild mode in its first season under head coach Barry Odom, on a seven-game losing streak and still searching for its first Big Ten win. Even that 2018 Boilermaker squadron had a second-round pick at wide receiver, Rondale Moore, headlining a respectable 6-7 squad. Reaching six wins is already impossible for this year’s Purdue.
Then again, the Boilermakers gave Michigan a one-score scare in Ann Arbor last week. It’s more than enough motivation for Ryan Day to push his team to stay locked in with the same focus that’s seen them dominate opponent after opponent, overmatched or otherwise. Even if, for many Ohio State fans, the next three games all feel like a mere appetizer to The Game at the end of November.
“If you watch the film, which I know everybody in our building is, they're getting better every week,” Day said of Purdue on Wednesday. “I think it's important to watch each team and figure out where they are and then where they've come from. And I think each week you've seen them progress in all areas. I thought they played really well last week. That game came all the way to the end, into the fourth quarter. So I think it's a team that has gotten a lot better. Like you said, they've lost some close games here recently. So we've got to play our best.”
The Headlines
Keep Tweaking the Ground Game
This has been a recurring style of headline in these previews. But it remains the one element of Ohio State’s 2025 team that isn’t elite. Pass defense, run defense, pass offense, all the best in the nation, or at least close to it. The Buckeyes’ rushing offense is still mediocre.
Ohio State’s running game showed improvement against Penn State’s beleaguered run defense last Saturday, breaking off a 51-yard explosive with running back Bo Jackson to pick up 164 rushing yards as a team at a clip of 5.1 yards per carry.
We need to start feeding Bo Jackson more pic.twitter.com/uAD1ZOD2ZI
— Mr. Ohio (@MrOH1O) November 4, 2025
Excluding that long run, however, the Buckeyes finished with 113 yards on 31 carries, an average of just 3.6 yards per attempt. Ohio State is ninth in the Big Ten, 46th nationally in yards per carry this season (4.6) and 11th in the Big Ten, 74th nationally in rushing yards per game (153.3).
While the Nittany Lions’ run defense is 90th nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (159.4) and 77th in yards allowed per carry (4.18), Purdue’s is even worse at 92nd (160.1) and 81st (4.21) in those same categories. Even without considering Jackson’s jaunt, Ohio State’s run game took strides from its 2.9 and 3.5 yard-per-carry outings against Illinois and Wisconsin the previous two games. A time will come when the Buckeyes need to run the ball to close out a close game. The improvements must continue vs. the Boilermakers.
Behind Jackson, the Buckeyes’ split of carries between fellow freshman Isaiah West, senior CJ Donaldson and sophomore James Peoples will be another interesting situation to monitor.
| Ohio State | Pos | PURDUE |
|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE | ||
| JULIAN SAYIN | QB | RYAN BROWNE |
| CJ DONALDSON | RB | MALACHI THOMAS |
| JEREMIAH SMITH | WR | NITRO TUGGLE |
| CARNELL TATE | WR | EJ HORTON JR. |
| BRANDON INNISS | WR | MICHAEL JACKSON III |
| MAX KLARE | TE | CHRISTIAN MOORE |
| AUSTIN SIEREVELD | LT | JOEY TANONA |
| LUKE MONTGOMERY | LG | JALEN ST. JOHN |
| CARSON HINZMAN | C | BRADYN JOINER |
| TEGRA TSHABOLA | RG | ETHAN TRENT |
| PHILLIP DANIELS | RT | BAKYNE COLY |
| DEFENSE | ||
| KENYATTA JACKSON JR. | DE | CJ MADDEN |
| TYWONE MALONE JR. | DT | JAMARRION HARKLESS |
| KAYDEN MCDONALD | DT | DEMECO KENNEDY |
| CADEN CURRY | DE/OLB | CJ NUNNALLY IV |
| SONNY STYLES | WLB | CHARLES CORREA |
| ARVELL REESE | MLB | MANI POWELL |
| LORENZO STYLES JR. | NB | SMILEY BRADFORD |
| DAVISON IGBINOSUN | CB | TONY GRIMES |
| JERMAINE MATHEWS JR. | CB | HUDAURI HINES |
| CALEB DOWNS | FS | TAHJ RA-EL |
| JAYLEN MCCLAIN | SS | MYLES SLUSHER |
Ross-Ade Anxiety
For all the successes of Ohio State’s 42-15-2 all-time record against Purdue, the Buckeyes are 2-3 in their last five trips to Ross-Ade Stadium. They lost in West Lafayette in 2009, 2011 and 2018, with the last of those losses keeping the Scarlet and Gray from a shot at a national championship. OSU finished 12-1, beat Michigan, won the Big Ten Championship and won the Rose Bowl during the 2018 season, but that one 49-28 blemish vs. the Boilermakers left the team out of that year’s College Football Playoff in favor of Big 12 champion Oklahoma.
With that all noted, Day’s first trip to West Lafayette as head coach didn’t catch any whiffs of a Spoilermaker classic. Ohio State trounced Purdue in Ross-Ade Stadium 41-7 in 2023, with star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. collecting six receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. A then-freshman Carnell Tate also posted a then-career high 79 receiving yards on three catches.
Perhaps it’s for that reason that Day said there’s nothing that special about the stadium that ultimately killed Ohio State’s CFP dreams when he was the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator in 2018. Though he still holds plenty of respect for the threat any Big Ten opponent presents on the road.
“I was part of the ‘18 team, so I know what that was like,” Day said on Tuesday. “They have a lot of pride in that program. I think Barry Odom is a very, very good coach. These guys are well-coached, and he is a good man and a good football coach. And I know he's got a good staff there, put the film on and watch them play last week. And so we know we have to continue to get better this week. We have to bring it at one o'clock on Saturday. And I don't know if there's anything in particular (about playing in Ross-Ade) other than Purdue is a program that has a lot of pride. And it's not gonna be any different when we play these guys on Saturday.”
Watch Out For These Guys
Purdue DE CJ Nunnally IV
One thing Purdue does well is pressure opposing quarterbacks, as it’s currently tied for 30th in the country with 21 sacks in 2025. Nunnally is the biggest source of that pass rush, collecting a team-high five sacks this season alongside 32 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
Purdue WR Michael Jackson III
Marc Lebryk – Imagn Images.
Four-year starting running back Devin Mockobee was Purdue’s biggest weapon on the offensive side of the football, but he’s now out for the season after undergoing season-ending ankle surgery. That leaves Jackson as the most threatening skill player in the Boilermakers’ attack, pacing the team with 50 receptions for 456 yards. A possession receiver, he’ll be Ohio State’s top priority to take out on third downs.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith
The Boilermakers are equally bad against the run and the pass, ranking 92nd nationally in both rushing yards and passing yards allowed per game. With Ohio State kicking off Heisman Trophy campaigns for both quarterback Julian Sayin and Smith, expect the duo to try and connect on some downfield passes in this one.
Game Week Talk
“I've looked forward to it. It's gonna be fun to go back. Obviously, my brother's still on the team. So that's very exciting for the family and also for me to see him out there. It'll be cool. So I'm really excited about it.”– Ohio State TE Max Klare on playing against his former school
Tight end Max Klare was Ohio State’s most prized transfer portal acquisition this offseason, coming straight from Purdue to join the Buckeyes. He’s excited to see some familiar faces on Saturday, especially his brother, Luke Klare, a fellow tight end who still plays for the Boilermakers.
“The more time that you would spend on, they’re 8-0, they’re undefeated, the numbers by their school, their rankings, all those things, that’s, to me, respectfully, that’s wasted time. I think you try to look for advantages for your team. Again, I’ll say that I’ve got a lot of respect for how they play the game and the players that they have and the coaches that they have, but it’s about, ‘How good can we get this week to try to go execute the game plan?’”– Purdue HC Barry Odom on facing the No. 1 team in the land
Odom appreciates all the strengths of Ohio State’s program, from its players to its coaches to its scheme, but he’s not emphasizing their undefeated record or No. 1 ranking to his team. Day is known for saying “It’s about us” when the Buckeyes play a lesser opponent, and Odom is using a similar mindset when it seems his squad might be overmatched.
“He’s a good quarterback, they’re a great team, but I feel like we’re gonna try to confuse him and make him see different things. Try to make him uncomfortable back there, because he’s been comfortable all year back there, and we just want to put pressure on him and hit him as much as we can.”– Purdue DE CJ Nunnally IV on Ohio State QB Julian Sayin
Nunnally and company want to throw new looks at Sayin and get after him in pass rush, though the quarterback’s elite processing and pocket awareness might have something to say about that. The Buckeyes have allowed a mere three sacks this season, second-fewest in the country, a massive credit to their offensive line but also those traits from Sayin. He came under pressure on 41.7% of his dropbacks against Penn State, per Pro Football Focus, and still never took a sack.
Get Smart
- Ohio State has a 42-15-2 all-time record vs. Purdue with three straight wins.
- Purdue is 5-4 against Ohio State at Ross-Ade Stadium since 2000.
- Ohio State tight end Max Klare played at Purdue from 2022-24.
- Purdue cornerback Ryan Turner played at Ohio State in 2022 and 2023. He transferred to Boston College in 2024 before transferring again to Purdue this year.
- Purdue has seven players from Ohio, including starting linebacker Mani Powell (Columbus) and six backups: wide receiver Tra’Mar Harris (Cincinnati), offensive lineman Marc Nave Jr. (Toledo), linebacker Owen Davis (Richwood) and defensive linemen Jamarius Dinkins (Columbus), Breeon Ishmail (Cincinnati) and Marcus Moore Jr. (Massillon).
How It Plays Out
More Ohio State vs. Purdue Coverage
Line: Ohio State -29.5, O/U 48.5
If Ohio State enters with the right mentality, as it’s done all year, there’s no reason this game should be close. There isn’t a single area, a single matchup where Purdue has an advantage in this game. Build a big lead, pad the Heisman Trophy stats for Sayin and Smith and keep the key pieces healthy by getting them out of the game by the fourth quarter.
The closest margin of victory predicted by anyone on the Eleven Warriors staff is 31 points, meaning each of us took the Buckeyes to cover their massive spread against the Boilermakers. The most lopsided margin was a projected 56-0 blowout by executive editor Ramzy Nasrallah. Your dear writer of this very preview is close behind him, picking a score of 56-3.
| Eleven Warriors Staff Prediction | ||||
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45 | 6 |
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