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LGHL Hangout in the Holy Land: Ohio State rolls past Purdue, avoids slip-up in November
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Hangout in the Holy Land: Ohio State rolls past Purdue, avoids slip-up in November
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Games against bad teams in November have to low-sweat affairs, and the Buckeyes did that, taking down Purdue 45-0.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Justin Golba as they discuss Ohio State football, basketball, recruiting, and much more! Come for the hot takes. Stay for the warm ones.
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
For this Sunday recap episode of Hangout in the Holy Land, Josh and Justin are back to discuss Ohio State's comfortable 45-0 win over Purdue. The Buckeyes move to 8-1, and Purdue moves to 1-8. It was a breezy game for Ohio State after three close games in a row.
To start, we recap a decent national slate from the week, as teams like Ole Miss and Alabama roll, as well as Penn State bouncing back and Indiana surviving a scare from Michigan at home.
Then, we broke down what we saw against Purdue and how the Buckeyes pulled away. There were some things the Buckeyes tried that we loved and some things that we didn’t love.
Make sure to like and subscribe to the podcast. As always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Josh Dooley:
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye
Connect with Justin Golba:
Twitter: @justin_golba
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justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Games against bad teams in November have to low-sweat affairs, and the Buckeyes did that, taking down Purdue 45-0.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Justin Golba as they discuss Ohio State football, basketball, recruiting, and much more! Come for the hot takes. Stay for the warm ones.
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
For this Sunday recap episode of Hangout in the Holy Land, Josh and Justin are back to discuss Ohio State's comfortable 45-0 win over Purdue. The Buckeyes move to 8-1, and Purdue moves to 1-8. It was a breezy game for Ohio State after three close games in a row.
To start, we recap a decent national slate from the week, as teams like Ole Miss and Alabama roll, as well as Penn State bouncing back and Indiana surviving a scare from Michigan at home.
Then, we broke down what we saw against Purdue and how the Buckeyes pulled away. There were some things the Buckeyes tried that we loved and some things that we didn’t love.
Make sure to like and subscribe to the podcast. As always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Josh Dooley:
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye
Connect with Justin Golba:
Twitter: @justin_golba
Continue reading...
LGHL Wrapping up Ohio State’s win over Purdue with some train lingo
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Wrapping up Ohio State’s win over Purdue with some train lingo
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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
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.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25724480/2183194252.jpg "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 09 Purdue at Ohio State")
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.
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.
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
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.
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.
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.
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2027 IN WR Monshun Sales
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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LGHL Ohio State opens as 31.5-point favorites over Northwestern
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Ohio State opens as 31.5-point favorites over Northwestern
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
The Buckeyes will look to hit some home runs at Wrigley Field.
Ohio State appears to be hitting its stride as the regular season begins to dwindle. Fresh off a big road win over a previously undefeated Penn State team, the Buckeyes returned home to put a 45-0 beatdown on Purdue.
Ryan Day’s group has to win each of its remaining three games if they want to earn a rematch against Oregon in the Big Ten title game, and that starts with a trip to Wrigley Field to take on Northwestern this coming Saturday — where Ohio State is heavily favored.
Ohio State sits at 8-1 on the year, with its lone blemish a one-point loss on the road to the now-No. 1 team in the country. The Buckeyes’ biggest shortcomings in that game were on defense, and it seems as though there have been actual tangible changes made to correct it. Since losing to the Ducks, Ohio State has allowed just one offensive touchdown total over a span of three games, and the pass rush that has consistently let them down in big games has seemingly been overhauled and adapted.
This last time out, Ryan Day’s group put together a dominant 45-0 victory over an overmatched Purdue team. The Boilermakers had no answers for Will Howard, as the Buckeyes’ quarterback completed 21 of his 26 pass attempts for 260 yards and four total touchdowns — three passing and one rushing. Jeremiah Smith led the way through the air with six catches for 87 yards and touchdown, while TreVeyon Henderson paced the ground game with 85 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
Defensively, Ohio State kept Purdue off the scoreboard entirely. The Buckeyes racked up four sacks on the day, with six different players registering at least half a sack, and recorded two takeaways on an interception and a sack fumble, which was returned for a touchdown. Ohio State dominated on the money downs, holding Purdue to 2-of-12 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down, and kept the Boilermakers scoreless despite two trips into the red zone. The Buckeyes’ special teams also made a big play, blocking a punt to set up a short field that would lead to another OSU touchdown.
Ohio State will next take the field against Northwestern, facing off against the Wildcats at the home of the Chicago Cubs. David Braun’s team sits at 4-5 on the year, with just a 2-4 mark in Big Ten play. After staring the year at 2-1, Northwestern has lost two of its last three games and four of its last six. The offense has been the Wildcats’ biggest issue, ranking 121st nationally scoring 19.2 points per game. The defense, however, has been solid, allowing only 21.9 points per game — good for 39th in FBS.
That offense is led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch, who took over starting duties from veteran Mississippi State transfer Mike Wright after two games. In seven starts, Lausch has thrown for a little over 1,100 yards with five touchdowns and four picks, and has added another 218 yards rushing. His favorite target has been Michigan transfer A.J. Henning, who has hauled in 40 receptions for 426 yards and three touchdowns on the year. The ground game has been led by senior running back Cam Porter, who has amassed 387 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Defensive lineman Aidan Hubbard and defensive back Theran Johnson have been two of the leaders of this Northwestern defense that has held up their end of the bargain. Hubbard is atop the unit with four sacks and five tackles for loss to go along with a fumble recovery and the team’s only defensive touchdown, while Johnson’s two picks and 10 pass breakups help the Wildcats rank near the top of the Big Ten in passes defensed. Northwestern’s biggest strength has been stopping the run, where it ranks 16th in the country allowing 108.1 rushing yards per game.
Northwestern’s front seven is solid, and will pose another legit test for Ohio State’s freshly changed but improving offensive line. The real question in this matchup is if the Wildcats will be able to put up points against a Buckeyes defense that seems to really be finding its groove. Jim Knowles’ group hasn’t allowed a touchdown in over eight quarters of play, and will look to keep that streak going in Chicago. This is Ohio State’s last chance to fix any remaining problems it may have, as it will finish the regular season with a pair of tough games against Indiana and Michigan.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
The Buckeyes will look to hit some home runs at Wrigley Field.
Ohio State appears to be hitting its stride as the regular season begins to dwindle. Fresh off a big road win over a previously undefeated Penn State team, the Buckeyes returned home to put a 45-0 beatdown on Purdue.
Ryan Day’s group has to win each of its remaining three games if they want to earn a rematch against Oregon in the Big Ten title game, and that starts with a trip to Wrigley Field to take on Northwestern this coming Saturday — where Ohio State is heavily favored.
Betting Odds: Ohio State -31.5 | O/U 43.5 (per FanDuel Sportsbook)
Ohio State sits at 8-1 on the year, with its lone blemish a one-point loss on the road to the now-No. 1 team in the country. The Buckeyes’ biggest shortcomings in that game were on defense, and it seems as though there have been actual tangible changes made to correct it. Since losing to the Ducks, Ohio State has allowed just one offensive touchdown total over a span of three games, and the pass rush that has consistently let them down in big games has seemingly been overhauled and adapted.
This last time out, Ryan Day’s group put together a dominant 45-0 victory over an overmatched Purdue team. The Boilermakers had no answers for Will Howard, as the Buckeyes’ quarterback completed 21 of his 26 pass attempts for 260 yards and four total touchdowns — three passing and one rushing. Jeremiah Smith led the way through the air with six catches for 87 yards and touchdown, while TreVeyon Henderson paced the ground game with 85 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
Defensively, Ohio State kept Purdue off the scoreboard entirely. The Buckeyes racked up four sacks on the day, with six different players registering at least half a sack, and recorded two takeaways on an interception and a sack fumble, which was returned for a touchdown. Ohio State dominated on the money downs, holding Purdue to 2-of-12 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down, and kept the Boilermakers scoreless despite two trips into the red zone. The Buckeyes’ special teams also made a big play, blocking a punt to set up a short field that would lead to another OSU touchdown.
Ohio State will next take the field against Northwestern, facing off against the Wildcats at the home of the Chicago Cubs. David Braun’s team sits at 4-5 on the year, with just a 2-4 mark in Big Ten play. After staring the year at 2-1, Northwestern has lost two of its last three games and four of its last six. The offense has been the Wildcats’ biggest issue, ranking 121st nationally scoring 19.2 points per game. The defense, however, has been solid, allowing only 21.9 points per game — good for 39th in FBS.
That offense is led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch, who took over starting duties from veteran Mississippi State transfer Mike Wright after two games. In seven starts, Lausch has thrown for a little over 1,100 yards with five touchdowns and four picks, and has added another 218 yards rushing. His favorite target has been Michigan transfer A.J. Henning, who has hauled in 40 receptions for 426 yards and three touchdowns on the year. The ground game has been led by senior running back Cam Porter, who has amassed 387 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Defensive lineman Aidan Hubbard and defensive back Theran Johnson have been two of the leaders of this Northwestern defense that has held up their end of the bargain. Hubbard is atop the unit with four sacks and five tackles for loss to go along with a fumble recovery and the team’s only defensive touchdown, while Johnson’s two picks and 10 pass breakups help the Wildcats rank near the top of the Big Ten in passes defensed. Northwestern’s biggest strength has been stopping the run, where it ranks 16th in the country allowing 108.1 rushing yards per game.
Northwestern’s front seven is solid, and will pose another legit test for Ohio State’s freshly changed but improving offensive line. The real question in this matchup is if the Wildcats will be able to put up points against a Buckeyes defense that seems to really be finding its groove. Jim Knowles’ group hasn’t allowed a touchdown in over eight quarters of play, and will look to keep that streak going in Chicago. This is Ohio State’s last chance to fix any remaining problems it may have, as it will finish the regular season with a pair of tough games against Indiana and Michigan.
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LGHL The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue
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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
The Buckeyes dominated the Boilermakers on Saturday.
Ohio State returned home after an emotional win over Penn State looking to stretch its legs a bit against a 1-7 Purdue team. The Buckeyes were able to accomplish just that, knocking off the Boilermakers 45-0 in a game that felt like it was over before it even started. Will Howard accounted for four total touchdowns, the Silver Bullets pitched a shutout, and even the special teams got involved with a blocked punt.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s victory over Purdue
Ohio State’s defense
Jim Knowles was under heavy scrutiny after Ohio State gave up 32 points and almost 500 total yards in its loss to Oregon on Oct. 12. Since then, the Buckeyes’ defense has completely flipped the script, allowing only one touchdown over its last three games against Nebraska, Penn State and Purdue combined. The Silver Bullets let up a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cornhuskers on Oct. 26, and have now gone over 130 minutes of game action without a team finding the end zone against them.
Ohio State had one of its best defensive performances of the year against the Boilermakers, pitching its second shutout of the season and its first of a Big Ten opponent since 2017 — a 56-0 win over Rutgers. The Buckeyes smothered Purdue all afternoon, holding Hudson Card and company to just over 200 total yards (108 passing and 98 rushing) while taking the ball away twice and recording four sacks. Ohio State even scored on defense on a scoop-and-score play by Jack Sawyer, and also made a play on special teams with an early blocked punt.
A huge reason for the Buckeyes’ newfound success on that side of the ball has been a change in philosophy up front. Gone is the stale and static four-down front that relied exclusively on one-on-one battles, and in its place has been a varied attack featuring stunts and twists, creative blitzes and a lot more rotation of personnel. They have even found time to add in a few new wrinkles, with Ohio State actively practicing its long-fabled JACK position against Purdue on a few drives — albeit without much success.
While there has been no official acknowledgement of any material change, it seems as though the longstanding feud between the defensive coordinator and his defensive line coach has been solved, and Knowles is now free to fully run his system the way he wants to. The outcome is a pass rush that has actually gotten a ton of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and a defense that looks like it is finally playing with some confidence.
The new-look offensive line
Everyone knew that Ohio State would have a tough time replacing Josh Simmons once news broke that the starting left tackle was going to be out for the rest of the season. The Buckeyes tried to simply replace the senior with Zen Michalski, but it was clear after the Nebraska game that the Indiana native was not quite ready to fill those shoes. Once Michalski went down with injury, the situation became even more unclear.
Fast forward to today, and Justin Frye appears to have found something that can work. For the past two games, Ohio State has moved Donovan Jackson over to left tackle and inserted Carson Hinzman at left guard, joining the rest of the starting line that includes Seth McLaughlin, Tegra Tshabola and Josh Fryar from left to right. Jackson had his hiccups against Penn State, which was to be expected when matched up against a future NFL first rounder in Abdul Carter, but this group of five has looked more than serviceable.
That starting unit looked solid yet again on Saturday, helping to pave the way for an Ohio State offense that put up over 430 yards of offense. The pass protection was excellent, allowing only one sack while Will Howard completed 21-of-26 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns. The run blocking left a bit to be desired, but it was more than good enough for TreVeyon Henderson, who ran it six times for 85 yards and a score.
It certainly isn’t perfect, but this unit has proven that it is capable of getting the job done, and they will only continue to get better as they get more experience playing together and as Jackson continues to adapt to his new position.
Broken records
There isn’t much that can be said about Jeremiah Smith that hasn't been said already. The freshman phenom has been all that was advertised and then some, as the former five-star already looks like the best wide receiver in all of college football. Last week against Penn State, Smith broke the Ohio State freshman record for most receiving yards in a season. On Saturday, he was right back at it adding his name to the record books.
Racking up six-catches for 87 yards and a touchdown against Purdue, Smith now also holds the Ohio State records for both receptions (45) and touchdowns (9) in a single season for a freshman. He has surpassed all of Cris Carter’s numbers from his standout freshman campaign in 1984, wherein he tallied 41 catches for 648 yards and eight touchdowns. The word ‘generational’ is thrown around far too often in today’s sports climate, but Smith is truly looking like a once-in-a-generation type of player.
Smith has done all of this in only nine games, and is guaranteed at least four more contests between the regular season and a bowl game, not including a potential B1G title game and/or the College Football Playoff.
Will Howard’s deep ball
Will Howard has unquestionably been an upgrade at quarterback for Ohio State. The Kansas State transfer has been a tremendous leader for this group of Buckeyes, and has made a ton of plays both with his arm and with his legs. His abilities as a runner and a passer have opened up a lot of the playbook for Chip Kelly, and more often than not Howard has proven that he can make the right decisions with the football. The one nagging flaw in his game to this point, however, has been the deep ball.
It’s not clear if it's a lack of arm strength or a timing issue, but Howard has consistently under thrown his receivers when attempting to hit guys over the top. There has been more than a handful of times already this season when specifically Smith or Carnell Tate have been wide open deep down the field and would have an easy walk-in touchdown on a good throw, but the pass attempts have consistently come up short. In a few instances the receiver has been able to come back and still make a play on the ball, but each time it has taken a free touchdown off the board.
It isn’t the end of the world, but when you have a trio of speedy receivers in Smith, Tate and Emeka Egbuka, those guys are going to find themselves open down the field on occasion. You can't afford to turn easy touchdowns into incompletions, or even worse an interception — especially against tougher opponents down the stretch.
The wrong backup
Speaking of quarterback play, Ryan Day is still choosing to use valuable game reps on the wrong backup quarterback.
Every time Ohio State has gotten into a garbage time situation so far this season, it has been Devin Brown that takes the field first as the Buckeyes’ backup quarterback. Brown seems like a great kid and has been around the program for three years now, but based on what we have seen from his play and what we know about the rest of the position group, it is very clear that he is not going to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2025, nor does he seem like the best option to take over should something happen to Howard.
The clear heir apparent to the Buckeyes’ quarterback throne is Julian Sayin, who transferred to Ohio State from Alabama this offseason after Nick Saban’s retirement. Sayin was a five-star prospect in the 2024 class, and has outplayed Brown this year in very limited reps despite being a freshman. Heading into the game against Purdue, Brown had completed only 55.7% of his passes for 108 yards (six yards per attempt) and a touchdown, while Sayin had completed 71.4% for 84 yards (12 yards per attempt) and a TD.
We have seen a decent amount of Brown over the past two seasons, and he has completed less than 60% of his pass attempts to this point in his career. It doesn’t seem like he quite has the accuracy Ohio State would want from its starting quarterback, and with Sayin now on the roster — alongside Lincoln Kienholz and fellow freshman Air Noland — it feels as though Day should prioritize getting reps for the guy who is likely the starter in 2025.
The FOX broadcast
It feels as though the TV product for college football gets a little bit worse each season. It is already annoying enough that every Ohio State game gets thrusted into the Big Noon slate on FOX, but it is made significantly worse by a constant barrage of commercials and announcers that don't seem like they even want to be there.
Today’s broadcast featured both of those things. On multiple occasions we were hit with the classic ‘touchdown -> commercial -> kickoff -> commercial’ that these big networks love to do to squeeze in as much advertising as humanly possible. On top of that, Gus Johnson treated both a scoop-and-score defensive touchdown for Ohio State and a 19-yard TD run by Henderson with the enthusiasm of a worker at the DMV.
And that’s not even to mention that the booth continues to pronounce multiple players’ names wrong despite having called numerous Ohio State games already this season.
Lower body injuries
Ohio State narrowly avoided disaster on Saturday with a pair of what would have been devastating injuries against Purdue.
First, it was Carson Hinzman, who went down with an apparent knee injury late in the second quarter. The offensive lineman was on the ground with trainers for a bit, but eventually got up and was able to walk off the field under his own power. Luckily for the Buckeyes, Hinzman returned to the starting lineup out of the halftime break and seemed no worse for wear, getting some additional time to rest up once the backups came in as well.
Then it was Howard, who seemed a big banged up following his 17-yard touchdown pass to Smith on Ohio State’s final offensive play of the first half. The quarterback had bodies falling at his feet and took a small hit to his legs, hopping up and down a bit afterwards and favoring one knee. Howard seemed to quickly shrug it off, and only had to play two more offensive series after that anyway before getting to sit the remainder of the afternoon.
All things considered, the Buckeyes are pretty close to fully healthy outside of the long term injury to Simmons. They seemed to have dodged a pair of bullets against the Boilermakers, and would love to avoid anymore injury scares with three regular season games remaining.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
The Buckeyes dominated the Boilermakers on Saturday.
Ohio State returned home after an emotional win over Penn State looking to stretch its legs a bit against a 1-7 Purdue team. The Buckeyes were able to accomplish just that, knocking off the Boilermakers 45-0 in a game that felt like it was over before it even started. Will Howard accounted for four total touchdowns, the Silver Bullets pitched a shutout, and even the special teams got involved with a blocked punt.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s victory over Purdue
The Good
Ohio State’s defense
Jim Knowles was under heavy scrutiny after Ohio State gave up 32 points and almost 500 total yards in its loss to Oregon on Oct. 12. Since then, the Buckeyes’ defense has completely flipped the script, allowing only one touchdown over its last three games against Nebraska, Penn State and Purdue combined. The Silver Bullets let up a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cornhuskers on Oct. 26, and have now gone over 130 minutes of game action without a team finding the end zone against them.
Ohio State had one of its best defensive performances of the year against the Boilermakers, pitching its second shutout of the season and its first of a Big Ten opponent since 2017 — a 56-0 win over Rutgers. The Buckeyes smothered Purdue all afternoon, holding Hudson Card and company to just over 200 total yards (108 passing and 98 rushing) while taking the ball away twice and recording four sacks. Ohio State even scored on defense on a scoop-and-score play by Jack Sawyer, and also made a play on special teams with an early blocked punt.
A huge reason for the Buckeyes’ newfound success on that side of the ball has been a change in philosophy up front. Gone is the stale and static four-down front that relied exclusively on one-on-one battles, and in its place has been a varied attack featuring stunts and twists, creative blitzes and a lot more rotation of personnel. They have even found time to add in a few new wrinkles, with Ohio State actively practicing its long-fabled JACK position against Purdue on a few drives — albeit without much success.
While there has been no official acknowledgement of any material change, it seems as though the longstanding feud between the defensive coordinator and his defensive line coach has been solved, and Knowles is now free to fully run his system the way he wants to. The outcome is a pass rush that has actually gotten a ton of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and a defense that looks like it is finally playing with some confidence.
The new-look offensive line
Everyone knew that Ohio State would have a tough time replacing Josh Simmons once news broke that the starting left tackle was going to be out for the rest of the season. The Buckeyes tried to simply replace the senior with Zen Michalski, but it was clear after the Nebraska game that the Indiana native was not quite ready to fill those shoes. Once Michalski went down with injury, the situation became even more unclear.
Fast forward to today, and Justin Frye appears to have found something that can work. For the past two games, Ohio State has moved Donovan Jackson over to left tackle and inserted Carson Hinzman at left guard, joining the rest of the starting line that includes Seth McLaughlin, Tegra Tshabola and Josh Fryar from left to right. Jackson had his hiccups against Penn State, which was to be expected when matched up against a future NFL first rounder in Abdul Carter, but this group of five has looked more than serviceable.
That starting unit looked solid yet again on Saturday, helping to pave the way for an Ohio State offense that put up over 430 yards of offense. The pass protection was excellent, allowing only one sack while Will Howard completed 21-of-26 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns. The run blocking left a bit to be desired, but it was more than good enough for TreVeyon Henderson, who ran it six times for 85 yards and a score.
It certainly isn’t perfect, but this unit has proven that it is capable of getting the job done, and they will only continue to get better as they get more experience playing together and as Jackson continues to adapt to his new position.
Broken records
There isn’t much that can be said about Jeremiah Smith that hasn't been said already. The freshman phenom has been all that was advertised and then some, as the former five-star already looks like the best wide receiver in all of college football. Last week against Penn State, Smith broke the Ohio State freshman record for most receiving yards in a season. On Saturday, he was right back at it adding his name to the record books.
Racking up six-catches for 87 yards and a touchdown against Purdue, Smith now also holds the Ohio State records for both receptions (45) and touchdowns (9) in a single season for a freshman. He has surpassed all of Cris Carter’s numbers from his standout freshman campaign in 1984, wherein he tallied 41 catches for 648 yards and eight touchdowns. The word ‘generational’ is thrown around far too often in today’s sports climate, but Smith is truly looking like a once-in-a-generation type of player.
Smith has done all of this in only nine games, and is guaranteed at least four more contests between the regular season and a bowl game, not including a potential B1G title game and/or the College Football Playoff.
The Bad
Will Howard’s deep ball
Will Howard has unquestionably been an upgrade at quarterback for Ohio State. The Kansas State transfer has been a tremendous leader for this group of Buckeyes, and has made a ton of plays both with his arm and with his legs. His abilities as a runner and a passer have opened up a lot of the playbook for Chip Kelly, and more often than not Howard has proven that he can make the right decisions with the football. The one nagging flaw in his game to this point, however, has been the deep ball.
It’s not clear if it's a lack of arm strength or a timing issue, but Howard has consistently under thrown his receivers when attempting to hit guys over the top. There has been more than a handful of times already this season when specifically Smith or Carnell Tate have been wide open deep down the field and would have an easy walk-in touchdown on a good throw, but the pass attempts have consistently come up short. In a few instances the receiver has been able to come back and still make a play on the ball, but each time it has taken a free touchdown off the board.
It isn’t the end of the world, but when you have a trio of speedy receivers in Smith, Tate and Emeka Egbuka, those guys are going to find themselves open down the field on occasion. You can't afford to turn easy touchdowns into incompletions, or even worse an interception — especially against tougher opponents down the stretch.
The wrong backup
Speaking of quarterback play, Ryan Day is still choosing to use valuable game reps on the wrong backup quarterback.
Every time Ohio State has gotten into a garbage time situation so far this season, it has been Devin Brown that takes the field first as the Buckeyes’ backup quarterback. Brown seems like a great kid and has been around the program for three years now, but based on what we have seen from his play and what we know about the rest of the position group, it is very clear that he is not going to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2025, nor does he seem like the best option to take over should something happen to Howard.
The clear heir apparent to the Buckeyes’ quarterback throne is Julian Sayin, who transferred to Ohio State from Alabama this offseason after Nick Saban’s retirement. Sayin was a five-star prospect in the 2024 class, and has outplayed Brown this year in very limited reps despite being a freshman. Heading into the game against Purdue, Brown had completed only 55.7% of his passes for 108 yards (six yards per attempt) and a touchdown, while Sayin had completed 71.4% for 84 yards (12 yards per attempt) and a TD.
We have seen a decent amount of Brown over the past two seasons, and he has completed less than 60% of his pass attempts to this point in his career. It doesn’t seem like he quite has the accuracy Ohio State would want from its starting quarterback, and with Sayin now on the roster — alongside Lincoln Kienholz and fellow freshman Air Noland — it feels as though Day should prioritize getting reps for the guy who is likely the starter in 2025.
The Ugly
The FOX broadcast
It feels as though the TV product for college football gets a little bit worse each season. It is already annoying enough that every Ohio State game gets thrusted into the Big Noon slate on FOX, but it is made significantly worse by a constant barrage of commercials and announcers that don't seem like they even want to be there.
Today’s broadcast featured both of those things. On multiple occasions we were hit with the classic ‘touchdown -> commercial -> kickoff -> commercial’ that these big networks love to do to squeeze in as much advertising as humanly possible. On top of that, Gus Johnson treated both a scoop-and-score defensive touchdown for Ohio State and a 19-yard TD run by Henderson with the enthusiasm of a worker at the DMV.
And that’s not even to mention that the booth continues to pronounce multiple players’ names wrong despite having called numerous Ohio State games already this season.
Lower body injuries
Ohio State narrowly avoided disaster on Saturday with a pair of what would have been devastating injuries against Purdue.
First, it was Carson Hinzman, who went down with an apparent knee injury late in the second quarter. The offensive lineman was on the ground with trainers for a bit, but eventually got up and was able to walk off the field under his own power. Luckily for the Buckeyes, Hinzman returned to the starting lineup out of the halftime break and seemed no worse for wear, getting some additional time to rest up once the backups came in as well.
Then it was Howard, who seemed a big banged up following his 17-yard touchdown pass to Smith on Ohio State’s final offensive play of the first half. The quarterback had bodies falling at his feet and took a small hit to his legs, hopping up and down a bit afterwards and favoring one knee. Howard seemed to quickly shrug it off, and only had to play two more offensive series after that anyway before getting to sit the remainder of the afternoon.
All things considered, the Buckeyes are pretty close to fully healthy outside of the long term injury to Simmons. They seemed to have dodged a pair of bullets against the Boilermakers, and would love to avoid anymore injury scares with three regular season games remaining.
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LGHL All the news, analysis from Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue
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All the news, analysis from Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.
Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.
Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.
You’re welcome!
Subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network for all of your Ohio State needs
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
No. 2 Buckeyes Shutout Boilermakers, 45-0
Ohio State Athletics
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Buckeyes maintain strong momentum with 45-0 win over struggling Purdue
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Ohio State Cruises to 45-0 Win over Purdue
Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors
Buckeyes Blitz Boilermakers 45-0: Smith’s Records, Defensive Dominance Fuel Ohio State Shutout
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Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith breaks Cris Carter’s freshman reception, touchdown record
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Why Buckeyes DT Tyleik Williams was held out in win over Purdue
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Ohio State vs. Purdue Notebook: Jeremiah Smith Breaks Two More Records, Eddrick Houston Makes His First Start and Will Howard is Getting New Cleats
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Snap Judgments: Buckeyes coast to straightforward blowout over Purdue
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Instant opinions: OSU DEs thrive; QB Howard’s deep passes worrisome
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Andy Backstrom, Lettermen Row
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.
Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.
Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.
You’re welcome!
For your Earholes...
Subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network for all of your Ohio State needs
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Recapping Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue
No. 2 Buckeyes Shutout Boilermakers, 45-0
Ohio State Athletics
Defense dominates as Buckeyes rout Purdue 45-0
Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch
Buckeyes maintain strong momentum with 45-0 win over struggling Purdue
Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts
Ohio State Cruises to 45-0 Win over Purdue
Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors
Buckeyes Blitz Boilermakers 45-0: Smith’s Records, Defensive Dominance Fuel Ohio State Shutout
Samuel Cipriani, The Lantern
News From Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue
Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith breaks Cris Carter’s freshman reception, touchdown record
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
Why Buckeyes DT Tyleik Williams was held out in win over Purdue
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State vs. Purdue Notebook: Jeremiah Smith Breaks Two More Records, Eddrick Houston Makes His First Start and Will Howard is Getting New Cleats
Andy Anders and Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors
Analyzing Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue
Snap Judgments: Buckeyes coast to straightforward blowout over Purdue
Austin Ward, Dotting The Eyes
Buckeyes report card: How did Ohio State grade against Purdue?
Brian White, The Columbus Dispatch
How Buckeyes showed championship mettle leading into, throughout win over Purdue
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row
Three Key Stats: Ohio State’s Special Teams Becomes a Plus, the Buckeyes’ Record Their Second Shutout of the Season and Emeka Egbuka Keeps His Catch Streak Alive
11W Staff, Eleven Warriors
Quick Takes: Ohio State’s offensive creativity, defense steps up, Buckeye special teams arrives
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Report Card: Grading Buckeyes dominant win over Purdue
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row
Looking at the Performances From Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue
Moment of the Game: Ransom’s massive hit proves his health and defensive aggression
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
Photos: Ohio State vs. Purdue
Ohio State Athletics
Instant opinions: OSU DEs thrive; QB Howard’s deep passes worrisome
Rob Oller, The Columbus Dispatch
Defensive Ends JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer Fuel Ferocious Pass Rush for Buckeyes vs. Boilermakers
Andy Anders, Eleven Warriors
Special teams finally a ‘plus’: Caden Curry’s blocked punt jumpstarts rout of Boilermakers
Andy Backstrom, Lettermen Row
Continue reading...
