Ohio State heads to the State of Indiana for a third time; will there be a fourth?

Photo via AP

The Ohio State Buckeyes continue their tour of Indiana with a visit to West Lafayette to face the Purdue Boilermakers this Saturday. Ohio State started the season in Bloomington where they easily defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 23-3 and traveled to South Bend to play Notre Dame in week 4. The Buckeyes narrowly escaped with a 17-14 victory thanks to a magnificent drive by Kyle McCord in the final minute.

Will this weekend be the third and last stop in the State of Indiana for the Buckeyes this season, or will Ohio State make a visit to Indianapolis on December 2^nd for the Big Ten Championship? There’s a lot of football to play before we can make that determination, but Ohio State is in the mix. Purdue is not.

Pur-don’t

Purdue doesn’t have a good football team this year; their record is currently 2-4 (1-2 in Big Ten play) with wins at Virginia Tech and at home against Illinois. Purdue’s opponents in their two victories are not good. Virginia Tech is currently 2-4 and got blown out by Rutgers 35-16. Illinois opened the season with a dramatic 30-28 victory over Toledo, but they’ve managed just one more win. Illinois is 0-3 in the conference and 2-4 overall.

Ohio State enters the game with an unblemished record of 5-0, and the Buckeyes have won both conference games by 20 points. Last week, the Buckeyes scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to run away from Taulia Tagovailoa and the Maryland Terrapins 37-17.

Is TreVeyon Henderson playing?

TreVeyon Henderson is Ohio State’s leading ground threat but was held out of the Maryland game due to an undisclosed injury. His absence was noticed as the Ohio State ground game struggled mightily. Chip Trayanum and Mayan Williams combined for only 84 yards on 26 carries, with a long run of 11.

When Henderson is lined up in the backfield, he’s a threat to take it to the house on every play as evidenced by his 61-yard touchdown run against Notre Dame. Had Henderson suited up against Maryland, the game likely wouldn’t have been close at halftime. Ohio State relied on the passing game in the second half to put the game away.

Field General

Kyle McCord threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns, with fourth-quarter touchdown strikes to star wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr., and Cade Stover. McCord is playing like a field general (a la Craig Krenzel), and Marvin had another monster day with eight catches for 163 yards as he steamrolls toward the Biletnikoff Award for best wide receiver in the country. At this rate, Marvin Harrison, Jr. might be invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City.

Even with home-field advantage, I don’t expect Purdue to give Ohio State a scare. The Buckeyes were upset in West Lafayette in 2018, derailing Ohio State’s chance at making the playoffs. The Buckeyes were overrated at 7-1, however. Purdue exposed Ohio State’s porous defense, a defense that plagued them all season. Dwayne Haskins did his best to carry the team on his back, throwing the ball 73 times against Purdue.

Prediction

The circumstances are quite a bit different this time around. Ohio State boasts one of the best defenses in the country under second-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Combine this with an offense led by McCord, Henderson (expected to play), Harrison, Jr., and the other great wide receivers, what you have is a recipe for a blowout. Ohio State beats Purdue easily 45-6 and sets its sights on the Penn State game next week.