Skull Session: Purdue Hammered Ohio State, What Now?

By Kevin Harrish on October 22, 2018 at 4:59 am
It me, Purdue Pete!
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Another year, another four-touchdown loss to a unranked team on the road, am I right?

As much as I'd like to say this game reminded me of last season's Iowa City debacle, it didn't. I still don't totally understand how Kirk Ferentz punked Ohio State by 31, but I know exactly what went wrong on Saturday night, because it's the same shit that's been happening all year.

This wasn't a trap game, it was a primetime matchup with an opponent that seemed to match up well with the Buckeyes that they notoriously struggle to beat on the road. The warning signs were all there and Ohio State knew what it was walking into – and they got waxed.

Purdue was kind enough to keep it interesting going into the fourth quarter, but then Purdue Pete dropped his hammer firmly and swiftly onto Buckeye gonads with four touchdowns of longer than 40 yards, including a pick six.

Same.

In all honesty, it wasn't that surprising – oh, you mean Ohio State struggled to run the ball, convert in short yardage situations and score in the red zone all while giving up a ton of explosive plays on the other side of the ball? – but there wasn't a soul who thought the Buckeyes would only have a pair of field goals through three quarters. Not even Tyler Trent.

On one hand, it feels absurd to think my team is exempt from the occasional bed defecation, on the other I don't understand what it is that allows this team to absolutely crumble once a year.

The good news is, it's an off week and the Buckeyes are still technically in the playoff race. The bad news is, I'm less than optimistic a team can completely overhaul its entire scheme in two weeks, and I think that's what it's going to take with the current lineup.

I'd like to say I'm praying for Purdue or Iowa to win out and set up a potential revenge game in Indy, but I honestly want no part of that this year, nor am I fully convinced the Buckeyes will make it that far anyway.

ICYMI

Word of the Day: Weltschmerz.

 DON'T LET THAT TEAM STAND IN THE WAY. Even after that debacle, Ohio State ain't out of the College Football Playoff yet, but now any path to a top-four ranking goes through Michigan.

From Heather Dinich of ESPN.com:

When Purdue upended No. 2 Ohio State 49-20 on Saturday night, it opened the door for another great debate on selection day, as the Big Ten is now guaranteed to have a conference champion with at least one loss -- and so are the Big 12 and Pac-12. Instead of the luxury of separation that comes with being undefeated, Ohio State or Michigan needs to finish as a one-loss Big Ten champ -- and even that might not be enough for the Buckeyes if Oklahoma can run the table and wow the selection committee in the Big 12 title game.

In spite of their blemishes, though, both Ohio State and Michigan are still very much in contention to finish in the top four -- and they have the strength of schedule to do it, just not together. Until today, the Big Ten's best chance to get two teams in would have been Michigan winning out and winning the Big Ten. That way, Ohio State's only loss would have been to the Wolverines.

Now? It boils down to one or the other on Nov. 24 -- assuming, of course, neither stumbles again before then. Ohio State is now looking up at Michigan in the Big Ten East standings.

In order to make a title run, Ohio State's gotta fix some shit I don't necessarily believe can be fixed in an amount of time I don't believe is long enough with some players and coaches I'm not convinced they can do it with.

But hey, it wouldn't be the first time the team looked completely different after a loss.

 HAVE A DAY, TYLER TRENT. If my team's going to get absolutely bombed by unranked team in prime time, I'm extremely glad it was to Tyler Trent's team.

If you don't know Tyler's story, watch it. I promise it will make you feel a little better about whatever the hell it was you watched on Saturday night. Warning, it might get a little dusty.

My guy called the win, and did everything within his power to ensure he was there to see it with his own eyes. Folks, the Buckeyes didn't stand a chance.

From Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star:

That wasn’t the miracle. Games never are, you know? But people are miraculous, and what was happening in a suite high above the field at Ross-Ade Stadium was something along those lines. It was a Purdue student named Tyler Trent, a young man from Carmel, a sophomore who has battled cancer and battled it and battled it — and here he was, at this stadium, in this suite, making a return to campus that doctors said couldn’t happen. He withdrew from classes this semester to come home, where he is in hospice care, refusing to give cancer what it has come several times to take from him.

...

“Told you,” is what Tyler tells me, and he’s right, he did. He has been telling anyone who would listen that Purdue would win this game, which is why he had to be here, even as his kidneys are failing him and the nephrostomy tubes placed in his kidneys are failing him — the tubes leaked several times this week, sending him to the hospital — and weeks ago he lost the use of one arm and both legs.

...

This night belongs to Purdue. And because he represents the very best of Purdue, because he has been embraced and championed by Purdue, this night belongs to Tyler Trent. As the blowout is unfolding in the fourth quarter, I visit Tyler one last time. He’s watching from his wheelchair and his Purdue blazer, and he’s beaming, and he’s telling me: “It’s beautiful.”

Have a day, Tyler. The single regret I have is that your Boilermakers didn't go for two after the pick six to get you that crisp 50 spot on the scoreboard. 

 "PICK-SIXING HIS ENTIRE HOMETOWN." Markus Bailey, a three-star linebacker from Hilliard Davidson High School, had himself a game by ruining Ohio State's on Saturday night.

From Mike DeFabo of the Herald Bulletin:

The Columbus, Ohio, native had been playing it cool all week. He downplayed the fact he grew up in the shadow of Ohio Stadium. He brushed it aside when reporters mentioned he was never offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. Finally, behind closed doors, he was ready to tell everyone how he really felt.

“I told them, this did mean something to me,” Bailey said. “I did grow up an Ohio State fan. It did hurt when they didn’t offer me a scholarship.”

...

“This is probably the best game of my career,” Bailey said. "And if I could choose a game I’d want to have it, this is the team I’d want to have it against. So many people from home are watching. My family was here. My friends.

“This is probably one of the best nights of my life right now.”

The Purdue bench justifiably went nuts, and quarterback David Blough got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the celebration.

“I need to apologize for the personal foul,” Blough said. “That was a big thing for him. Kind of pick-sixing his entire hometown and a team that said he wasn’t good enough.”

Blough shouldn't have to apologize for that, he did what he was supposed to do. The apologies should have come in the event he didn't celebrate hard enough to draw the flag.

Also "pick-sixing his entire hometown" is an absolutely money quote.

 WIN OR LOSE. Win or lose, Ohio State knows how to show respect on the road.

I honestly feel like this should be an expectation, but apparently that is not the case.

 PURDUE GOT WILD. If you were worried about Purdue's ability to adequately celebrate on Saturday night, your concerns were misguided.

Live it up, Boilermakers.

 MICHIGAN MEN ARE BACK. With perfect timing, Michigan has not only emerged as a legitimately good team and a title contender, but is also absolutely unbearable once again.

This is from Michigan's director of recruiting, after his team finally notched a win over a rival.

This rivalry had gotten so one sided I almost began to feel compassion for their fans who've only witnessed a Wolverine win over Ohio State once in 15 years, but if this is a sneak peak at what it's like when they have a pulse, I'm praying the Bucks cremate them in November so there ain't even a body to resurrect.

Never in my life have I had to deal with with the Wolverines as a legitimate threat and engage with Michigan Men that aren't just beaten into submission. I ain't about to start this year.

 I'M SORRY, WHAT? You're forgiven if you missed out on Saturday's Old Dominion vs. Western Kentucky matchup – I, also, neglected to tune in – but the interwebs told me was one of the wildest finishes of all time, and it did not disappoint.

Imagine losing a game because your opponent scored 10 points in the final nine seconds thanks to three untimed downs – two of which set up your own attempt at a game-winning field goal.

That's borderline irrecoverable.

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