Purdue Boilermakers @ Ohio State Buckeyes Football Preview

After running over Minnesota last week to improve to 4-2, Purdue will have its hands full this Saturday when the Boilermakers travel to Ohio State.

The Buckeyes’ season was dealt a severe blow last week when they lost 31-18 at Wisconsin.  Purdue should expect to face an angry Ohio State squad this week, one whose national championship dreams are now shattered but whose pride will be on the line.

Sending the Buckeyes to a second straight defeat will be no easy task.  Ohio State hasn’t lost consecutive games since October 2004. Under Coach Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes are 19-2 coming off a loss.

Last season, a 1-5 Purdue team handed Ohio State its only conference loss.  In that game, one of quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s worst as a Buckeye, Pryor fumbled twice and threw two interceptions on the way to a 26-18 defeat.  It was Ohio State’s only loss in its last 22 games against unranked opponents.  The win propelled Purdue to a strong finish, as the Boilers would win four of their final six games.

Even though there are plenty of reasons Ohio State was ranked number one in the polls through five games, the Buckeyes have uncharacteristically struggled on special teams this season.  That might be an area where the Boilermakers can chip away at Ohio State’s overall superiority.

The Purdue defense, led by defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, gave Pryor fits last season in West Lafayette, forcing the talented quarterback into one of the worst performances of his career.  The Boilermaker defense has since improved, but so has Pryor.

A win would be an incredible accomplishment for Pryor’s counterpart, redshirt freshman Rob Henry, who knows something about improvement himself.  After becoming the Boilermakers’ starter due to Robert Marve’s season-ending knee injury against Toledo, the athletic Henry has been forced to develop into a Big Ten starting quarterback in a hurry.  Before too long, he might be one of the conference’s best.

Henry has been the biggest reason Purdue didn’t go into the tank after losing to Toledo to drop to 2-2.  Even though Purdue’s postseason hopes at the time seemed very slim, the team has since rallied behind the young quarterback and is now two wins from bowl eligibility.

Now Henry will face the toughest test of his young career.  For Purdue to win, the youngster will probably have to outperform Pryor, one of the biggest stars in college football.  But if he does, he’ll be the talk of the nation.

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