The Buckeyes derailed the Boilermakers in the 45-0 win on Saturday.
Unlike previous weeks where I have used an alum for Ohio State’s opponent to describe what we saw during Buckeye games, today I figured I’d switch things up a little bit. To wrap up Ohio State’s 45-0 win over the Boilermakers, I decided to go with an area that Purdue is known for: trains! Sorry Neil Armstrong and Gus Grissom, we aren’t going to talk about going to space. Besides, John Glenn did it better!
Today I’m going to take some train lingo to look back on what we saw in yesterday’s blowout at Ohio Stadium. The win by the Buckeyes kept them near the top of the Big Ten standings, while Purdue has set up shot at the bottom of the league this season.
Hotshot
Jeremiah Smith continued his assault on the Ohio State freshman record books. After moving past Cris Carter last week when it comes to receiving yards, this week Smith completed his triple crown by bettering Carter’s reception and receiving touchdown marks as a freshman. Even though Smith has only played in nine collegiate games, he already belongs in the conversation as the best wide receiver in the country.
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
Along with Smith, who finished yesterday’s game with six catches for 87 yards and a touchdown, Carnell Tate also had a strong game, hauling in six catches for 56 yards. After doing a lot of the dirty work for most of the season with Smith and Emeka Egbuka being the prime targets in the passing game, Tate was able to get a little shine on Saturday. The sophomore is quietly have a solid season, catching 27 passes for 400 yards. Reachable goals for Tate to achieve by the end of the regular season are 40 catches for 600 yards.
Engineer
There’s no question Ohio State upgraded at quarterback from what they had last year with Kyle McCord, who led Syracuse to another loss yesterday. Will Howard has been the perfect engineer to operate the engine that Ryan Day and Chip Kelly have created this year. Howard had a hand in four touchdowns yesterday, throwing for three and adding another on the ground to open the scoring for the Buckeyes.
The Kansas State transfer has been extremely accurate throughout the season, only missing on five of his 26 pass attempts yesterday. By comparison, Devin Brown and Julian Sayin missed on all five of their pass attempts late in the game after Howard was pulled with the result well in hand. Even though Cam Ward will get all the attention as this year’s most exciting transfer quarterback, Howard has been the most steady, as with him behind center Ohio State is primed to make a deep run in the College Football Playoff.
Stack train
Purdue’s offense had no answer for the Ohio State defense yesterday. The Boilermakers were only able to gain 206 yards in the game. The only two times Purdue was able to make their way deeper into Buckeye territory they missed the sad field goals they attempted. Apparently head coach Ryan Walters thought bringing field goals to a touchdown fight was a strategy that would work.
The shutout for Ohio State was their third under Ryan Day, and their second this season. The Buckeyes were able to improve their record to 40-0 under Day when they allow less than 300 yards in a game. Jack Sawyer was score a touchdown on a fumble J.T. Tuimoloau caused, Lathan Ransom picked off a pass in the end zone, and the special teams unit even got in on the party with a Caden Curry punt block. The defense could be in for another dominating performance this week against Northwestern
Run 8
While Quinshon Judkins has had a tough time getting things going on the ground this season, the same can’t be said about TreVeyon Henderson, who is looking fresh since he has been splitting the rushing load with Judkins this year. Not only did Henderson rush for 85 yards and a touchdown, he also caught three passes for 43 yards.
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
With his rushing output yesterday, Henderson moved past J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller into seventh on Ohio State’s all-time rushing list. Henderson now has 3,333 rushing yards in his four seasons in Columbus. Unlike past seasons where the grind of being the top back has worn him down by the end of the year, Henderson looks primed for a big close to the season.
Clown wagon
There’s no better way to describe Purdue right now. The Boilermakers have now lost eight-straight games, with their only win coming in their season opener against Indiana State. With games against Penn State, Michigan State, and Indiana to close out the season, it’s hard to see Purdue winning another game in 2024.
What was good to see in this game was the Buckeyes didn’t face much resistance from Purdue. After last week’s game against Penn State, it could have been a prime spot for a letdown for Ohio State. Instead, the Buckeyes never trailed in the game, getting stronger as the afternoon went on.
Ohio State will have another chance to breathe a little easier this week since they’ll be playing Northwestern at Wrigley Field. With Indiana and Michigan to close out the regular season, the Buckeyes need to handle their business and get out of the “Friendly Confines” healthy. The only storyline of the game should be about the setting and not with Ohio State letting the Wildcats hang around.