Ohio State Football went into Ross-Ade Stadium, and thoroughly defeated a Purdue team that was severely overmatched.
It won’t erase the past recent results in West Lafayette, but it has to feel good for head coach Ryan Day and his team to go there and get a win. It not improves Ohio State’s record there since 2000 to 4-5, something not many of us are accustomed to seeing, and maybe not even aware of.
There was a lot of good for the Buckeyes today, and also some bad. Let’s take a look at the best performances, 5-stars, and worst performances, 1-star, of Ohio State’s 41-7 victory on the road against Purdue.
5 ⭐️ - The coaching staff
Happy National Ryan Day to THE Ryan Day#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/7PZkM9Rg48
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 14, 2023
Why
It would have been easy for the Buckeyes to sleep walk through this game, looking ahead to Penn State. They didn’t and you have to give credit to the coaching staff for mentally and physically preparing the Ohio State players.
New wrinkles in play calling, highlighted by the usage of Devin Brown in short yardage / goal line situations. Yeah, he fumbled one into the end zone, which I love that Day dug into him, but that wrinkle will have teams on their heels. Going back to him after the fumble shows that the coaching staff still trusted him. Maybe the evolution is having both of them on the field at the same time.
Xavier Johnson getting carries, which probably should have been happening earlier, and the willingness to play Dallan Hayden, when they wanted to redshirt him, were smart decisions as well.
Oh, and you can’t forget about the decision to hold out Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson and sitting Chip Trayanum after what looked like a possible concussion. Yes, their job is to win, but not at all costs. They did that today.
4 ⭐️ - Defensive line
Ohio State Buckeyes defense prevents Purdue from getting in the end zone before the half! Ohio State defenders JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer apply the pressure and it pays off with this sack! pic.twitter.com/DR9p9AuBty
— CFBMuse (@CFBMuse) October 14, 2023
Why
Defensive tackle Tyleik Williams' breakout is complete, he’s becoming a star. Impact plays all over the place from him; sacks, tipped passes, tackles-for-losses. Defensive end Jack Sawyer got on the board with his first sack of the year and a big TFL on the goal line at the end of the first half followed by forcing a hold that got called to push Purdue back. Then with J.T. Tuimoloau’s help another forced sack for a longer field goal attempt which was missed. That’s the kind of pressure and results that you want to see.
3 ⭐️ - Offensive line
Julian Fleming with a first down catch, but it's called back after a holding call. pic.twitter.com/DkRUHi23Fy
— CFBMuse (@CFBMuse) October 14, 2023
Why
Right in the middle was the other side of the line. I get some holding penalties happen to protect your quarterback, but I just can’t stand them. Josh Simmons getting beat, then pulling down a defender is becoming almost a weekly occurrence. The group did help the offense put up 41 points, with 486 yards on the day. The ground game was much better, especially short yardage. The group has some impressive moments, but also some not so great ones.
2 ⭐️ - Quarterbacks fumbling
Devin Brown with a fumble into the end zone for Ohio State! Purdue gets the touchback! What a break! pic.twitter.com/4BbLFHszrH
— CFBMuse (@CFBMuse) October 14, 2023
Why
One of them directly to missing out on points, with Brown fumbling into the end zone as mentioned before. McCord lost one as well, and another one that was reviewed, but was ultimately changed to intentional grounding. It’s tough to think this is an issue for Brown, but it might be becoming one for McCord. He has to be better with the ball, especially with much tougher opponents coming on the schedule.
⭐️ - Special teams
That was Jayden Fielding's first missed kick of his career.
— Patrick Murphy (@_Pat_Murphy) October 14, 2023
Why
Not the best effort from this group and it wasn’t just one player. Sure footed kicker Jayden Fielding missed an extra point, his first miss of his career from that distance. Punter jesse mirco wasn’t his normal self, he wasn’t as consistent with his punts as he normally has been. Jayden Ballard, filling in for Egbuka, misjudged a punt and let it go, costing the Buckeyes some yards. A delay of game followed by an illegal snap before Mirco had a great punt downed at the Purdue 2 yard line. You can blame some of their issues on the weather, but they have to be better than this, and it’s becoming a trend.
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