Game Thread Ohio State 16, Purdue 3 (Oct. 11th)

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

OSU notebook: Defensive line displays more passion

Saturday, October 11, 2008 10:24 PM
By Ken Gordon, Tim May and Bob Baptist


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/multimedia/audio_slideshows/2008/10/shoe101108/index.html

A few weeks ago, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel declared himself an assistant offensive line coach and was all over the line in practices, trying to spark an underachieving unit. More recently, defensive coordinator Jim Heacock took a page from Tressel's book with the defensive line, getting more vocal and emotional.
"Sometimes, he tries to be quiet," defensive tackle Doug Worthington said, "but he knows this group of guys needs a passionate coach - a coach to get after us and a coach to fire us up when we're not doing good."
It seemed to work. Yesterday, the Buckeyes' defensive front played its best game of the season, playing a big role in limiting Purdue to a long field goal in a 16-3 victory.
OSU came in averaging a Big Ten-low 1.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. The Buckeyes sacked Curtis Painter twice and had six tackles for loss, and also limited Boilermakers running back Kory Sheets to 3.3 yards per carry (he came in averaging 5.4).
Defensive end Thaddeus Gibson and tackle Nader Abdallah had the sacks.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Purdue notebook: Boilers defense steps up

Stacy Clardie

The Journal Gazette

WEST LAFAYETTE ? Play sharp.
That was the goal of Purdue's defensive front against Ohio State on Saturday.
They knew they couldn't afford to miss any assignments if they wanted to contain Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
And that's what they did, and it produced one of the unit's best games of the season.
Purdue limited Pryor to 27 rushing yards on 14 carries, sacked him three times and held him to 97 passing yards in a 16-3 loss.
Pryor, a true freshman, entered the game as Ohio State's leading rusher with 404 yards and an average of 5 yards per carry.

Cont...

 

[3074326]

Average yet undefeated in the B10.

A win is a fucking win is a fucking win.

Was I dissapointed in certain aspects...fuck yeah. Do I think those will carry over into the bigger games...I don't know...but I hope not.

Michigan lost to Toledo...fucking Toledo. We are going to blow them the fuck up.

Undefeated in the Big Ten.

We can't be average next week or the week after.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Ohio State 16, Purdue 3 Threes and Z's
Strong effort on defense helps soothe other concerns
Saturday, October 11, 2008 10:09 PM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

ERIC ALBRECHT | DISPATCH
Ohio State's Cameron Heyward pressures Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter. | More photos

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten.../11/osu-purdue-photos/osu-purdue-gallery.html

At least Chris "Beanie" Wells had a note from his doctor today. The rest of the Ohio State offense was inexcusably absent. Already suffering from a sore foot, Wells, the OSU tailback, shuffled and sniffled through the week with a case of the flu. It was bad enough that he felt short of breath several times and was forced to leave the game against Purdue.
"It was rough on me to be out there today," Wells said.
Apparently, it was contagious, because the rest of the offense looked seriously ill.
The Buckeyes won 16-3, thanks to a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and a defense that produced its best effort of the season.
It was a game hit with the ugly stick - one about perseverance for 12th-ranked Ohio State, which improved to 6-1 and 3-0 in the Big Ten.
"It's frustrating for us that we didn't click today," quarterback Terrelle Pryor said. "But the bright side is we didn't lose. If we would've lost, it would've been just terrible. It's not terrible."
Maybe not, but the offense has some issues. The Buckeyes gained only 222 yards against a Boilermakers defense ranked 108th nationally (out of 119).
Coupled with a 35-3 loss to Southern California on Sept. 13, it marked the first time since 2003 that Ohio State has had two games in a season without scoring an offensive touchdown.
Cont...

 

[JXC]

If you use one game to judge the team, then yes, it's silly, but we've looked pretty average all year. Average is a compliment..

Man...ranked 11th, and 6-1 (3-0) with the only loss to #1 at the time on the road. If that's average, I hope we have tons of average seasons.

Have we won 4 games in a row or lost 4 in a row? I can't remember.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

The Bottom Line

Saturday, October 11, 2008 9:15 PM
By Ray Stein


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten.../11/osu-purdue-photos/osu-purdue-gallery.html

Conspiracy theory: The Big Ten told ABC to severely limit the viewership window to help the conference avoid the embarrassment of following an Oklahoma-Texas classic with an OSU-Purdue root canal. Leaves are awarded on a zero-to-five basis. Offense (one leaf)
Such a display of jaw-dropping athleticism. Then the Buckeyes turned off the Texas game and went out and ran a three-legged sack race in ankle-deep wet sand. Beanie clearly didn't have his sea legs, and it's equally obvious that defenses are figuring out how to rattle the Kid. That line? Not fine.
Defense (three leaves)
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Scarlet & Gray Matter
Rob Oller's observations about today's game
Saturday, October 11, 2008 9:25 PM
By Rob Oller


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



The game at hand

Short-attention-span synopsis: P.U. means stinky, but Buckeyes weren't exactly Eau de Parfum, either. Defense showed a pulse; offense flat-lined. Pryor played like a frosh for a change.
Pregame buzz: Was there any? Can't recall a game that lacked the anticipation of this one. Kinda like looking forward to watching the 114th rerun of Jaws II on TV.
The $62 question: Perfect weather and ... er ... uh ... did I mention the weather was perfect? The lucky fan surrendered his tickets and instead took a fall drive. The red, orange and yellow hues of autumn had to top the scarlet and mostly gray play inside the Horseshoe. Ah, but there's always the band.
One-liner: As Painters go, Purdue's QB was more Bob Ross than Rembrandt.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Six points

Saturday, October 11, 2008 9:08 PM
By Tim May


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten.../11/osu-purdue-photos/osu-purdue-gallery.html

THE PLAY Malcolm Jenkins' first-quarter punt block. Who knew that when Ohio State's Etienne Sabino returned it 20 yards for a touchdown, that would be the only TD of the game.
THE STAR
Jenkins. The senior cornerback added an interception, the 11th of his career and third of the season, to spearhead the overwhelming OSU defensive effort.
THE STAT
Ohio State's 125 yards rushing. Purdue was allowing a Big Ten-most 196-yard average going in, but the Buckeyes couldn't even get Chris "Beanie" Wells to 100 (he had 94).
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Jenkins' block sets the tone
Special teams, defense take up slack for offense
Saturday, October 11, 2008 10:21 PM
By Tim May


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/multimedia/audio_slideshows/2008/10/shoe101108/index.html

Malcolm Jenkins was called on to block a punt yesterday, so he did his duty. The cornerback broke free off the left side to start the first-quarter play that produced the only touchdown in Ohio State's 16-3 win over Purdue"I just got the call," Jenkins said. "We knew they came up to the ball real fast, which doesn't really give them time to check things, and they didn't see me come off the edge."
He flew in to slap the ball just as Chris Summers was punting it. The ball bounced into the air and freshman linebacker Etienne Sabino plucked it, running 20 yards for his first collegiate touchdown, and just his second TD in high school or college.
"But Malcolm made it happen," Sabino said.
That summed up Jenkins' performance in the game as well. He also intercepted Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter on the first play of the second quarter. The pick let Painter know it was going to be a long day, even though the OSU offense struggled.
Cont...

 

[BUCKYLE]

We can't be average next week or the week after.

Unless we make MSU and PSU average. We were average against Purdue, Illinois, Cincy, and PSU in '02.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Yards, TDs hard to come by
Wells, OSU offense kept out of end zone
Saturday, October 11, 2008 9:40 PM
By Tim May


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten.../11/osu-purdue-photos/osu-purdue-gallery.html

Chris "Beanie" Wells fell short of 100 yards rushing for the first time in his four starts this season, but that wasn't the reason the Ohio State tailback was upset today. He thought the OSU offense fell woefully short against a Purdue defense that, going in, was the worst in the Big Ten. Wells finished with 94 yards on 22 carries in the Buckeyes' 16-3 win.
"That's something that's really irrelevant to me," Wells said of missing the 100-yard mark. "My main focus was to help our team get an offensive touchdown, and that's something we didn't accomplish today."
It was the second game this season the OSU offense was held without a TD; Wells didn't play in the 35-3 loss at Southern California. That was one three games he missed this season with a right foot injury.
Wells said he wasn't quite himself this week, dealing with the sore foot and missing one practice because of flulike symptoms.
"There were times when I was fatigued out there," Wells said. "That's why I kept coming in and out, short of breath."
He also kept getting hit.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said line play was to blame for that.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Transcript of Jim Tressel's postgame news conference

Saturday, October 11, 2008 8:00 PM



From the Ohio State athletics communications office



COACH TRESSEL: A Big Ten victory that began with special units and I thought our special units stepped up and obviously the punt block for the touchdown and our kickoff coverage was excellent and A.J. Trapasso buried them at a key point in the game down on the 4 yard line or whatever and defense fought all day long and made them take the long path to the goal line and kept them out of the end zone. And offensively we didn't get near as much done as we're going to need to get done, but we didn't turn it over, and that's critical in a Big Ten battle and we all know we've got a lot of work to do, but we also know that we need to come up with wins especially as we're in conference play. REPORTER: Is there one word you can use to describe the offensive performance today, if you had to use one word?
COACH TRESSEL: Probably hit and miss. There was a moment where you looked good and there was a moment where you went backwards and we're not consistent at all and it will be interesting to watch the film, but from where I was, we certainly didn't control the line of scrimmage, that's where it starts.
REPORTER: On the offense as well, do you tip your cap to them for their play, although they came in struggling, rushing D and they did fairly well today, it goes back as you said to the line of scrimmage, is that it?
COACH TRESSEL: Obviously they did pretty well. We usually base our evaluations on how we feel we did and we didn't feel we did as well, but we certainly give them the respect to the fact that they did what they had to do to keep us from getting in the end zone.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

What the Buckeyes had to say

Saturday, October 11, 2008 8:20 PM



From the Ohio State athletics communications office



Steve Rehring, senior offensive lineman On the switch to right guard
"I'm getting used to it. It's just kind of weird because everything is backward. It's slowly starting to get easier each week."
On the Purdue defense shadowing Terrelle Pryor
"They definitely had a great game plan and did a nice job of keeping him in the box. We didn't execute as well as we could have and I think that had a lot to do with how well their defense played."
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Opposite sideline

Saturday, October 11, 2008 10:32 PM
By Bob Baptist


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



Facts of the matter Purdue did not allow Ohio State an offensive touchdown in coach Joe Tiller's farewell visit to Ohio Stadium. Unfortunately for Tiller, his once-feared spread offense didn't tally one either, and he will retire from a 12-year Big Ten coaching career 0-4 in the Horseshoe. The other three losses were by 16-13 in overtime in 2003, 35-9 in 2001 and 25-22 in 1999. He was 2-6 overall vs. the Buckeyes.
Shining moment
Freshman kicker Carson Wiggs, promoted to No.1 during the second half of the loss to Penn State last week, made his first career field goal in the third quarter - from a school-record distance of 53 yards, no less. He was wide left with a 52-yard attempt on the last play of the first half. The field goal ended a streak of five straight misses by Purdue kickers.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

What the Boilermakers had to say

Saturday, October 11, 2008 8:05 PM



From the Ohio State athletics communications department
Joe Tiller, head coach On the game
"I think the defense played well. There was a high energy level and a high intensity level. We were well prepared and played well. We played as well as we could, defending as good as any running back in the country. They were strong and have a lot of speed. They have a physical secondary and have the most athletic linebackers who can run and get underneath."
On Curtis Painter
"I think he played better this week than last week. He wasn't flustered and he received a lot of good feedback from the sideline. He made some good throw-away decisions. I wasn't pleased with the deep throw at the end of the game, but overall I think he played better this week."
Cont...