Osu Why Does He Run Funny
Opposite days are over. Ohio State is again an offensive juggernaut that has trouble keeping opponents out of the end zone.
Purdue tried some tricks and failed at them. But the rest of the Boilermakers' offense was good. Nowhere near as good as Ohio State's, though, as Ryan Day's pass-happy unit got back on track and looked scary again.
How did the Buckeyes grade on Saturday? Leaves are awarded on a zero-to-five basis.
Ohio State offense (5 leaves)
This was Day's "we're not Michigan State or Iowa" statement. Garrett Wilson was back, and C.J. Stroud again had weapons all over the field. This was pre-Penn State offense, with lots of passing and just enough running to keep the Boilermakers honest. The Buckeyes had 518 yards through three quarters and finished with 624. Amazing.
Wilson became the first Buckeye ever to have three TD receptions and one TD run in the same game.
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New tricks? On one crafty play, OSU linemen left George Karlaftis unblocked, and just as the star defensive end realized something weird was going on and froze in his tracks, Wilson, having just taken a handoff, sped right across his face on his way to a 51-yard touchdown run.
The return of Miyan Williams was a big help, too, as he added power and north-south running to the attack.
Ohio State defense (1 leaf)
Stroud's 361 yards and five touchdowns look phenomenal ... until you look on the other side of the stat sheet and see that Purdue's Aidan O'Connell threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns. And that he helped the Boilermakers quickly turn a 52-17 Ohio State lead into 52-31 in the third quarter.
O'Connell completed 40 of 52 passes with no interceptions, and the Buckeyes had only four pass breakups. Denzel Burke led Ohio State with 11 tackles, but that's not a stat at which you want a cornerback to show leadership. Burke's one breakup was excellent, though, as he reached in and ripped the ball from star receiver David Bell after it looked like Bell already had a reception.
Don't be alarmed that the Buckeyes had no sacks. O'Connell rarely held onto the ball long enough for an Ohio State pass rusher to get anywhere near him. He began to hold it and look around in the fourth quarter, but by then it looked like the Buckeyes had grown tired in their search for sacks.
Purdue averaged 4.8 yards per carry in gaining 91 yards on the ground.
Ohio State special teams (5 leaves)
Noah Ruggles kicked a 30-yard field goal and eight PATs to remain perfect for the year. He looks like he'll never miss. Jesse Mirco probably had to search quickly for his helmet when he was called on for his one punt, late in the third quarter. Chris Booker knocked the ball loose on a Purdue kickoff return, and the fumble was recovered by Palaie Gaoteote.
Coaching (3 leaves)
The coaches solved what was ailing the offense for two weeks. The run-pass balance was more even that it seemed at times, as OSU ran it 31 times and threw 38 passes. But Day said this week his staff views screen passes as runs, so he might have achieved a balance he likes.
Using Williams to spell TreVeyon Henderson seems like a good idea with two physical games coming up. Look for Henderson to stay on the field more in coming weeks.
Defensively, however, the Buckeyes ran into a West Coast style of offense with which they don't match up and didn't adjust to. Michigan State and Michigan might try some of the same things Purdue coach Jeff Brohm drew up, but they won't be as efficient at it.
Fun quotient (4 leaves)
If you liked the drudgery of the Michigan-Penn State game earlier in the day, you hated this game. If not, it was fun. At times, it resembled a flag-football game, with two high-powered offenses racing up and down the field. Adding Wilson back into the receiving group with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Chris Olave can be breathtaking.
Purdue Boilermakers (2 leaves)
Brohm's bunch had to be nearly perfect to win this game, as they were in upset wins over Iowa and Michigan State. But indecisiveness that led to a fumble on a kickoff return was costly, as was Brohm's decision to replace O'Connell for one disastrous play. On that play, backup Jack Plummer ran the wrong play and handed off to a back who was blocking, and the Buckeyes recovered the resulting fumble.
Purdue's offense was impressive, and its three trick plays — a fake kneel-down, a fake flea-flicker and Plummer's fumble, which was supposed to be a reverse and pass back to the quarterback — failed.
Interesting note on he fake kneel-down: According to ABC, Ohio State was ready for it because quality control coach Ricky Brown had watched so much film of Purdue that he saw the Boilermakers pull it off a few years ago.
Officiating (3 leaves)
Nothing egregious here. Good use of replay to overturn what was called an Olave reception. But bad holding call on OSU tight end Jeremy Ruckert that nullified a touchdown pass from Stroud to Olave. Perhaps the official couldn't believe that Ruckert alone could manhandle the superstar Karlaftis. The NFL scouts on hand surely put a little star next to that play in Ruckert's favor.
2021 Ohio State Buckeye football schedule
- Sept. 2: Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31
- Sept. 11: Oregon 35, Ohio State 28
- Sept. 18: Ohio State 41, Tulsa 20
- Sept. 25: Ohio State 59, Akron 7
- Oct. 2: Ohio State 52, Rutgers 13
- Oct. 9: Ohio State 66, Maryland 17
- Oct. 23: Ohio State 54, Indiana 7
- Oct. 30: Ohio State 33, Penn State 24
- Nov. 6: Ohio State 26, Nebraska 17
- Nov. 13: Purdue, 3:30 p.m., ABC
- Nov. 20: Michigan State, noon, ABC
- Nov. 27: at Michigan, noon, FOX
The College Football Playoff rankings for Week 11
- Georgia, 9-0
- Alabama, 8-1
- Oregon, 8-1
- Ohio State 8-1
- Cincinnati 9-0
- Michigan 8-1
- Michigan State 8-1
- Oklahoma 9-0
- Notre Dame 8-1
- Oklahoma State 8-1
- Texas A&M 7-2
- Wake Forest 8-1
- Baylor 7-2
- BYU 8-2
- Ole Miss 7-2
- NC State 7-2
- Auburn 6-3
- Wisconsin 6-3
- Purdue 6-3
- Iowa 7-2
- Pittsburgh 7-2
- San Diego State 8-1
- UTSA 9-0
- Utah 6-3
- Arkansas 6-3
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Source: https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/2021/11/13/ohio-state-football-grades-after-osu-win-over-purdue/6334590001/
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