The lights will be burning bright for a national television audience on Saturday night in Ross-Ade Stadium as Purdue welcomes Ohio State for its biggest game in years.
The surging Boilermakers (3-3 overall; 2-1 Big Ten) will be put to the test vs. No. 2 ranked Ohio State in a game that drips with intrigue. The Buckeyes will be the highest-ranked team to visit West Lafayette since No. 2 Penn State in 1999. The story within the story is the epic quarterback battle between two of the nation's best in Purdue's David Blough and Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins.
Purdue will bring swagger into Saturday, having won three in a row coming off an 0-3 start that threatened to torpedo the season. Credit Blough, a fifth-year senior who has the offense clicking behind an aggressive approach by Jeff Brohm. This offense has myriad weapons and is hitting its stride, averaging 38.8 points the last four games.
Ohio State (7-0 overall; 4-0 Big Ten) is the epitome of a college football super power, arriving in Tippecanoe County with a glossy resume and national championship aspirations. Traditionally a run-oriented team, the 2018 Buckeyes are built around an electric pass game that is the best in the Big Ten. Credit Haskins, a redshirt sophomore in his first year starting. He is hitting 72 percent of his passes with 28 touchdown throws and just four picks with 2,331 yards passing. The 6-3 Haskins is a leading Heisman contender.
Time and again, he finds wideouts like Parris Campbell and K.J. Hill downfield for big plays. And the Buckeyes have weapons behind Haskins in running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber for an attack that's averaging 46.3 points and 556.9 yards—both Big Ten-highs.
A win for Purdue would be another brick in the wall—a very sizable brick—in the impressive rebuild by Brohm. Few could have envisioned the Boilermakers being in a game of this importance less than two years into Brohm's tenure. But, here we are. And, it's fun, it's exciting.
Pressure? It's all on Ohio State, which likely can't afford a slip-up if it wants to make the College Football Playoff. A win for the Boilermakers would be gravy and add juice to a program that is ahead of schedule and in pursuit of a second bowl in succession. Lose, and Purdue's bowl hopes still would be very much alive.
These schools haven't met since 2013, when the Buckeyes prevailed 56-0 in West Lafayette, as OSU has won the last two encounters. But know this: Purdue has traditionally played well vs. the Buckeyes in Ross-Ade Stadium in recent years.
How good? The Boilermakers are 4-3 in their last seven games vs. the Buckeyes in West Lafayette. It's true. Look it up. And Purdue has come oh-so-close to dumping Ohio State on a few other occasions in recent years.
- 2002. Ohio State hit a 37-yard TD pass on 4th-and-one with less than two minutes to play to steal a 10-6 win in Ross-Ade Stadium. The Buckeyes went on to win the national title.
- 2003. Purdue lost 16-13 in OT in the Horseshoe.
- 2012. Purdue let an eight-point lead slip away, as OSU score a TD and game-tying two-point conversion with three seconds left to force OT, where the Buckeyes won, 29-22. Ohio State went on to go 12-0 in Urban Meyer's first season.
Here's a look at the key matchup, the key player and the key position for Purdue.
Key matchup: Purdue offensive line vs. Ohio State defensive line. The Boiler front has played well. Credit o-line coach Dale Williams, one of the best in the business. He has cobbled together another solid front that has helped Purdue average 179.3 yards rushing (eighth in Big Ten). It will be vital for guys like tackles Grant Hermanns and Matt McCann, guards Dennis Edwards and Shane Evans and center Kirk Barron to get a push vs. a great Buckeye defensive line and establish the run. That would do two things: 1. Keep the ball away from Ohio State's potent offense. 2. Set-up the Buckeye defense—which is a bit banged up—for some passes down field for a Boiler offense that's No. 2 in the Big Ten in passing (330.8 ypg). OSU suffered a blow when star DE Nick Bosa announced this week he was leaving school to recover from an earlier injury and to prep for the NFL. Still, the Buckeyes have plenty of studs remaining along the d-line. Buckle-up, Boilers.
Key player: WR Rondale Moore. If Purdue hopes to pull the big upset, it will need some big plays. And no Boiler is better equipped to deliver than Moore. He is the definition of "big play waiting to happen." The true freshman needs to score some TDs on long receptions or runs. Or, perhaps he can run back a punt or kickoff for a score. Regardless, Purdue needs some big-play TDs because it will be difficult to score on Ohio State trying to execute 10-, 11-, 12-play TD drives consistently.
Key position: Linebackers. This unit has played well, led by junior Markus Bailey. Cornel Jones has emerged as one of the defense's top playmakers, while fellow sophomore Derrick Barnes is becoming a versatile stalwart. This trio needs to be active and play a big role in trying to contain the explosive Buckeye attack. Purdue probably won't be able to slow the roll of the Ohio State aerial assault that leads the Big Ten (371.4 ypg), but it may have a chance mute the OSU run game (seventh in Big Ten with 185.4 ypg). (Minnesota had some success vs. the OSU run last week.) Then, Purdue could get after Dwayne Haskins with some timely blitzes and hopefully disrupt his rhythm and force some turnovers.