The Buckeyes return home after a big road victory against Penn State.
The Ohio State football vibes were not great heading into Saturday’s top-five matchup, but the Buckeyes did what they’ve done every year under Ryan Day: beat Penn State. No. 4 Ohio State walked into Happy Valley and defeated the No. 3 Nittany Lions 20-13 in front of a raucous crowd, overcoming an early 10-0 deficit and making the big plays down the stretch on both sides of the ball to secure the victory.
With four games remaining in the regular season, all of the Buckeyes’ goals remain in front of them. That still requires them to win each of those contests, and the final stretch run begins with a home game against Big Ten bottom-dweller Purdue.
Betting Odds: Ohio State -37.5 | O/U 53.5 (per FanDuel Sportsbook)
Despite two critical turnovers against Penn State — a pick-six and a fumble into the end zone to turn a touchdown into a touchback — the Ohio State offense moved the ball well against Penn State.
A new-look offensive line that saw Donovan Jackson slide to left tackle and Carson Hinzman at left guard resulted in a much-improved run game from a week ago, with the Buckeyes’ running back duo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson averaging over 6.2 yards per carry. Will Howard threw two touchdown passes while making some crucial plays with his legs, and Ohio State finished the game by flexing its muscles and keeping the ball on the ground 11 straight times to run the final five minutes off the clock to secure the win.
Before they could do that, the defense made a massive stop on fourth-and-goal to prevent the Nittany Lions from tying the game. It was one of two impressive red zone stands for the Silver Bullets, with Davison Igbinosun also coming away with an interception in the end zone to end the first half. The Buckeyes held the Penn State running back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton to 42 yards on 18 carries, and Drew Allar threw for less than 150 yards with the one pick.
Ohio State moves to 7-1 on the year, its lone blemish, a one-point loss on the road against Oregon, who is currently the No. 1 team in the country. Ryan Day’s group did not look great coming out of the bye week against Nebraska, but this impressive win over Penn State could be the type of victory that restores the team’s confidence and helps propel them through the back half of the schedule en route to a potential Big Ten title game appearance, with a rematch against the Ducks looming should they make it to Indianapolis.
On the other side, Purdue is having a nightmare campaign, sitting at 1-7 on the year after winning its first game of the season and losing each of its last seven contests. The Boilermakers have not yet defeated an FBS opponent in 2024, with their lone victory coming against Indiana State, and they sit at 0-5 in Big Ten play.
This Saturday, it was a 26-20 loss to Northwestern in overtime. Quarterback Hudson Card threw for 267 yards and a touchdown, but Purdue could do nothing on the ground, rushing for 47 total yards as a team on two yards per carry. The Boilermakers managed to come back from a 17-3 first-half deficit, scoring a game-tying touchdown with five minutes left in the fourth quarter but failed to put up points in overtime as the Wildcats escaped West Lafayette with a victory.
Purdue has used two different quarterbacks this season, with Card having missed the last two games prior to Northwestern with an injury. Ryan Browne performed admirably in his place, nearly willing the team to victory with a 300-yard, three-touchdown game against Illinois in a 50-49 loss, but Card returned to his starting role against the Wildcats, having now thrown for a little over 1,000 yards in six contests. Running back Devin Mockabee has been solid for the Boilermakers, rushing for over 500 yards on 6.3 yards per carry, while tight end Max Klare leads the receiving core with 24 catches for 384 yards.
Purdue has been one of the worst defensive teams in the country overall, ranking 123rd nationally in yards allowed per game heading into Saturday, but they do have some really strong individual players on that unit. Chief among them is linebacker/edge rusher Kydran Jenkins, who leads the team with eight tackles for loss and five sacks and ranks second on the Boilermakers with 52 total tackles. After recording a whopping 106 total tackles a year ago, defensive back Dillon Thieneman once again leads the group with 54 total tackles to go along with 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and three pass breakups.
There is obviously some recent history between the Buckeyes and Boilermakers, with Purdue having notoriously defeated Ohio State 49-20 in 2018. That being said, Ohio State has won each of the last two meetings, including a 41-7 victory on the road in 2023. It has been tough sledding for Ryan Walters’ team this season, and even though these Buckeyes have played a few stinkers, it would take a herculean effort for Purdue to pull off the upset in Columbus next weekend.