Ohio State begins its final third of the regular season on Saturday.
Purdue
Boilermakers
The Buckeyes face their final road test before their regular season-ending trip to Ann Arbor as they take on Purdue in West Lafayette. While the Buckeyes are heavily favored to beat the Boilermakers, who are just 2-7 this season, Purdue is 5-4 against Ohio State at Ross-Ade Stadium since 2000, making this week’s game one that still has OSU’s attention.
If Saturday’s game plays out as hoped, Ohio State won’t need its starters to play four full quarters and it’ll have the opportunity to get its backups some reps on the road. But the Buckeyes still have some issues to work through as the Michigan game and the postseason loom, while they’ll also look to continue building Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith’s Heisman campaigns against a Purdue defense that’s allowed the second-most yards per game (395) in the Big Ten.
With all of that in mind, we’ve highlighted our biggest questions entering the game and top players to watch and made some specific predictions for what we’ll see happen in Saturday’s 1 p.m. game.
Questions
Do the Buckeyes keep making progress in the running game?
Ohio State showed marked improvement running the ball against Penn State after bad outings against Illinois and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes picked up 164 rushing yards at a clip of 5.1 yards per carry vs. the Nittany Lions, though a large chunk of that came on Bo Jackson's 51-yard run in the fourth quarter. Removing that jaunt, OSU had 31 carries for 113 yards, just 3.6 yards per carry.
Purdue's defense offers a chance for more explosives and more consistency. The Boilermakers are 92nd nationally in yards allowed per carry (4.2) and 81st in rushing yards allowed per game (160.1). The distribution of carries between CJ Donaldson, James Peoples and Isaiah West behind Jackson also continues to be an interesting storyline.
– Andy Anders
How do Ohio State’s guards look?
Dan asked Ryan Day on Tuesday to provide updates on potential injuries to Luke Montgomery, Tegra Tshabola and Josh Padilla. Day said he expected two of the three to practice later that afternoon, while the Buckeyes would monitor the progress of the other throughout the week. Asked again about the injuries on Wednesday, Day said he had “no update.” No matter what combination of Montgomery, Tshabola and Padilla play against Purdue, I will be curious to see how the rotation shakes out, as Ohio State’s interior offensive line seems to be one of the only question marks remaining about the No. 1 team in the nation.
– Chase Brown
Will the backups see extended action?
Even though Ohio State has dominated all season, winning its last seven straight games by at least 18 points, its backups haven’t gotten a ton of playing time due to the slower pace Ohio State has played with. Second-string quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, for example, has played just 35 snaps this season with only two appearances in the last five games.
If Ohio State dominates Purdue the way it‘s supposed to, the Buckeyes should be able to take their starters out of the game at some point in the second half. Ryan Day said this week that the Buckeyes “want to play depth,” so he’ll presumably be inclined to give the backups multiple drives on both sides of the ball if possible, especially considering they’ve had minimal opportunities to play on the road this season. But whether that happens will depend on whether the Buckeyes can pull away early, especially if they continue to milk clock.
– Dan Hope
Players to Watch
Jeremiah Smith
As spectacular as Smith is, he’s going to need to put up monster numbers for the next five weeks to have a real shot at winning the Heisman. Ohio State should be inclined to give Smith playmaking opportunities after launching a Heisman campaign for him last weekend – even if winning the game is the primary focus – and he should have plenty of them against a Purdue defense that ranks 128th out of 136 FBS teams with 8.8 yards allowed per pass attempt.
– Dan Hope
Arvell Reese
Reese has been one of college football’s breakout stars this season. In fact, he may be the breakout star in college football, considering he has ascended from Ohio State’s No. 3 linebacker in 2024 to Butkus Award frontrunner, Bednarik Award contender and potential No. 1 overall pick a year later. I expect Reese to continue his streak of dominance this weekend against a Purdue team that has allowed 16 sacks and 48 tackles for loss in nine games.
– Chase Brown
Austin Siereveld
One thing Purdue has done well this season is rush the passer, currently tied for 30th nationally with 21 sacks. Siereveld has been rock solid at left tackle this season but had a few uncharacteristic lapses against Penn State, allowing two pressures and receiving his lowest pass-blocking grade of the season on Pro Football Focus (44.1) – however much stock one puts into the latter. He'll be matched up with the Boilermakers' best defender, CJ Nunnally IV, on Saturday. I expect a bounce-back.
– Andy Anders
Predictions
Ohio State scores a defensive touchdown
I’ve thrown this dart before; I’ll throw this dart again. I feel like Ohio State’s defense is due for another scoop-and-score or pick-six. I can feel it in my bones (though that could just be my body aching from the colder weather). Whether it’s an Arvell Reese strip-sack, a Jermaine Mathews Jr. house call, or something else entirely, I’ll think the Silver Bullets will put six points on the board for the Buckeyes.
– Chase Brown
Max Klare catches a touchdown pass
This prediction didn’t cash when I made the same prediction for Will Kacmarek when he played his former team in Ohio State’s win over Ohio, but I’m running it back for Ohio State’s other top tight end against his former school. Playing a struggling Purdue pass defense should be a prime opportunity for the Buckeyes to get Klare going more in the passing game, even with his younger brother simulating him on Purdue’s scout-team offense this week.
Klare’s selection as the player who gave the team its “Work Week Done” speech on Thursday suggests the Buckeyes aren’t shying away from his Boilermaker connection, so I think they’ll have a red-zone play drawn up for Klare to score his second touchdown of the season.
– Dan Hope
Purdue doesn't score a touchdown
I don't need to sit here and explain how good Ohio State's defense has been. It's been up there with some of the best defenses across college football the last decade, units like Georgia's 2021 and 2022 national title-winning defenses that featured 13 first-round NFL draft picks. Purdue doesn't present many offensive threats to this unit anywhere. Maybe they scratch out a field goal through some luck or against the backups late, but I don't see the squad crossing the goal line this game.
– Andy Anders
