Ohio State vs. Purdue football preview

Ohio State looks to remain undefeated in the Big Ten as they host Purdue

After rallying for a key Big Ten victory last week at Wisconsin, the Ohio State Buckeyes must guard against a letdown in Saturday's home game against Purdue.

“Obviously we were proud of how hard our kids played (in the 20-17 win at Madison),” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “They went up into a tough environment against a tough team and kept playing and playing and believing, and we were awfully proud of them for that. At the same token, we also know that we've got to play a lot better than that if we're going to have a chance here in the Big Ten.

“Now we've got to kind of shift gears,” Tressel added. “It's a little different world. Purdue brings in that spread attack. Purdue brings in a lot of blitz packages.”

On offense, Coach Joe Tiller's Boilermakers (2-3 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) are led by quarterback Curtis Painter and tailback Kory Sheets.

Painter, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior, has thrown for 1,225 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions through five games this season.

“He's the second-leading passer in the history of the school, and they've had some passers at Purdue,” Tressel said about Painter, who, during last week’s game against Penn State, moved past Mark Herrmann into second place on Purdue’s all-time list with 9,988 passing yards.

Sheets, a 6-0, 206-pound senior, has rushed for 498 yards and eight touchdowns this year.

“Kory Sheets is good,” Tressel said. “He's special. He does a good job as a return man. He does a good job as a back. He's a good receiver. He's a good one, and so we have to shift gears, get ready for a different attack, get ready for a different mode.”

Purdue is averaging 371.4 yards per game on offense (117.2 yards rushing and a conference-leading 254.2 yards passing), while the Ohio State defense is allowing just 264.2 yards per game (109.2 yards rushing and a league-best 155 yards passing). The Buckeyes are ranked 18 th in the country in total defense and 14th in pass defense.

The Ohio State offense, which is averaging 337.3 yards per game (186 yards rushing and 151.3 yards passing), will line up against a Purdue defense which is surrendering 435.8 yards per contest (196 yards rushing and 239.8 yards passing).

The Boilermakers were able to hold undefeated Penn State to a season-low scoring output last week in a game won by the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions, 20-6.

“Brock Spack has been their defensive coordinator for some time (since 1997),” Tressel said. “He was a player there (a three-year starter at linebacker at Purdue in the early 1980s), and he brings it. He's not afraid to play pure man coverage with no free safeties.

“The thing about Brock Spack is he's seen everything and he'll have a plan and he'll have his people in place,” Tressel said. “And if they'll execute, their plan is a good one. It puts pressure on you. He's not afraid to apply that pressure and put the heat on the quarterback. I thought they did an extremely good job on third down against Penn State.”

Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who engineered the winning 80-yard touchdown drive in the waning minutes against Wisconsin, will get his fourth consecutive start. The Buckeyes figure to look for big-play opportunities against the aggressive Purdue defense, utilizing the game-breaking talents of Pryor, tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells and receiver Brian Robiskie.

Pryor, who passed for 144 yards against Wisconsin, scored the winning touchdown on an 11-yard option run with 1:08 remaining. On the season, he has completed 42 of 65 passes for 440 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Pryor also has rushed for 312 yards and four scores.

Wells, in his second game back from the toe injury that had caused him to miss the previous three contests, ran for 168 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against Wisconsin. For the season, the 6-1, 237-pound junior from Akron has rushed for 385 yards on 49 carries, good for an average of 7.9 yards per attempt.

Robiskie has caught 22 passes for 213 yards and four touchdowns.

Ohio State (5-1, 2-0 ) is ranked 12 th in the Associated Press poll and 11th in the Coaches Poll. Tressel wants to make sure his team does not look ahead to upcoming matchups at Michigan State (on Oct. 18) and at home against Penn State (on Oct. 25). The Buckeyes, Spartans and Nittany Lions are tied atop the conference standings with 2-0 records.

“If you want to be the champions of the Big Ten, you better not have, quote, letdowns,” Tressel said.

Ohio State and Purdue have played some memorable games during this decade, beginning with the Boilermakers' 31-27 victory (led by quarterback Drew Brees) in 2000. The Buckeyes edged Purdue, 10-6, during Ohio State's national championship season of 2002. The following year, in Purdue's most-recent trip to Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes prevailed 16-13 in overtime. The Boilermakers defeated the Buckeyes, 24-17, in 2004. After a two-year break in the series, Ohio State won at Purdue last season, 23-7, holding the Boilermakers to 4 yards rushing.

Saturday's prediction: Ohio State 27, Purdue 14

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