Preview: Ohio State at Purdue- Buckeyes First Big Ten Test

By Adam Kiefaber

After last weekend, when many of the top teams in college football lost, everyone is expecting more upsets to come this Saturday.

One of the games mentioned is the Ohio State at Purdue game, which will be broadcasted on ABC at 8:00 p.m.

If history means anything, the Buckeyes have always played the Boilermakers close.

The two teams haven’t played since 2004, but Ohio State is only 3-2 against Purdue since that “Holy Toledo” (see post below for clip). Two of those victories were by a combined seven points. Both of Purdue’s wins came at home and it will have that advantage again this Saturday night.

Like in 2000, Purdue is led by their quarterback, back then it was Drew Brees and now it’s junior Curtis Painter (left). Through five games, Painter has completed 136 of 203 passes for 1,542 yards and has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 18-to-3.

Painter’s favorite two targets are senior wide receiver Dorien Bryant and senior tight end Dustin Keller. Bryant has been a consistent performer his whole career at Purdue and has 40 catches for 450 yards and four touchdowns so far this season. Keller, who’s from Lafayette, is a fan favorite and has 20 catches for 319 yards and five touchdowns this season. Junior wide receiver Greg Orton, who went to Wayne High School in Dayton, Ohio, is dangerous. Last year, Orton had 58 catches for 790 yards and five touchdowns. This year his numbers are down, but he could have an extra bit of motivation since he will be playing against Ohio State.

Purdue also features a dangerous running back in junior Kory Sheets. Sheets has rushed for over 100 yards in the last three games. On the season, Sheets has 515 yards on 89 carries (5.8 yards per carry) and has five rushing touchdowns. Sheets also has 15 catches for 97 yards and a receiving touchdown.

As you can tell, the Boilermakers boast a very powerful offense that ranks seventh in the NCAA in points scored (45.4 points per game). In comparison, Ohio State is 25th in the nation with its 35.8 points per game.

It is a classic matchup of great offense versus great defense. While Purdue has scored 227 points this year, Ohio State has only allowed 36. Both teams have played five games.

No. 23 Purdue cracked the top 25 for the first time this year after its 33-19 win over Notre Dame. No. 4 Ohio State jumped all the way into the top five after then-ranked teams No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 West Virginia and No. 7 Texas all lost. If Purdue would be able to pull off the upset this weekend, you would have to expect that the Boilermakers would leap into the top ten.

The Buckeyes have looked impressive this season.

Fifth-year junior quarterback Todd Boeckman has played above expectations and has showed a knack for throwing a pretty home run ball. On the year, Boeckman has thrown 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

His favorite target wide receiver Brian Robiskie has been fantastic. Robiskie’s strength has been adjusting to the ball in the air and making great catches. He has 530 yards and six touchdowns on only 25 catches (averaging 21.2 yards per catch). He looks ready for the NFL.

Prior to the season, sophomore running back Chris Wells (right) hadn’t rushed for over 100 yards in a game. It wasn’t that fans were expecting him not to run all over defenses this year, everyone can see the talent, but fans were worried after his lackluster performance (16 carries for 46 yards, 2.9 yards per carry, one touchdown) against Youngstown State in the opener. However, Wells has been great since, rushing for over a 100 yards in each of the last four games. Purdue fans are worried on how its defense will fare against Ohio State’s power back.

Also, Buckeye fans are expecting wide receiver Ray Small to have breakout game any day now.

I believe the Buckeyes defense is great, but I still think it is overrated due to the lack of competition. Overall, it is very solid, but James Laurinaitis might be the most overrated linebacker since Andy Katzenmoyer. Funny that Laurinaitis used to wear a Katzenmoyer jersey while growing up in Minnesota. In all fairness, Katzenmoyer was injured early in his NFL career, but you don’t have your best collegiate season as a freshman. Don’t get me wrong Laurinaitis is one of the Big Ten’s best linebackers, but has a great supporting cast that doesn’t receive enough credit. For example, Laurinaitis leads the team in tackles with 43, but only 20 of them are solo tackles.

So, let me mention LB Marcus Freeman, S Anderson Russell and DE Vernon Gholston, who all are having good years as expected. Also, players that playing great that are somewhat mild surprises are DB Kurt Coleman, LB Larry Grant, LB Austin Spitler, DB Chimdi Chekwa and DT Cameron Heyward.

I expect DE Robert Rose to have a breakout game soon.

Boilermaker fans believe that their defense is better than last year’s. Many sources will list senior CB Terrell Vinson as one of the top players on Purdue’s defense. Some of the Purdue fans say to lookout for senior safety Torri Williams, who has been injured the last two seasons. Off the Tracks (Purdue blog) describes Williams as a “difference maker.”

Another player to watch is linebacker Anthony Heygood, who leads Purdue with six tackles for loss. Last year, Heygood moved from the running back position to add some speed to the linebacking core.

Also, the coaches are high on senior defensive end Cliff Avril, who leads the team with three sacks. According to the Sporting News, Purdue’s defensive coordinator Brock Spack, “thinks Cliff Avril is Purdue’s next great end.”

- Prediction -

I think both teams have a good amount of talent on both sides of the ball. However, I have to lean on the Buckeyes’ defense over the Purdue offense. That doesn’t mean Purdue cannot win this game.

Like I said before, if history means anything then this game will be close.

Personally, I’m not a history buff.

FINAL SCORE: OHIO STATE 35 - PURDUE 17