After three straight grinding, nail-biting games for No. 3 Ohio State, head coach Ryan Day has the challenge of keeping the intensity high against an opponent that likely won’t put up the same level of fight.
Hard-luck Purdue (1-7, 0-5 Big Ten) visits Ohio Stadium on Saturday, a week after the Buckeyes gutted out an emotional 20-13 win over then-No. 2 Penn State.
The previous week, Ohio State (7-1, 4-1, CFP No. 2) needed a late interception to seal a 21-17 win over Nebraska. On Oct. 12, they lost a 32-31 heartbreaker at No. 1 Oregon.
Now with two games coming up against lesser opponents — Purdue and Northwestern — nobody would blame the Buckeyes for looking a few weeks down the road.
Ohio State hosts No. 8 Indiana on Nov. 23 and rival Michigan in the season finale on Nov. 30. Every game is a must-win. Another loss and the Buckeyes run the risk of being pushed out of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
For as much time as Day spent answering questions this week about the Penn State game, he stressed that his team has got to move on and run over Purdue.
Ohio State has been tripped up in mid-season before, notably in 2018 when the unbeaten No. 2 Buckeyes were stunned 49-20 by unranked Purdue at West Lafayette, Indiana.
“If our guys think they’re just going to go out and play on Saturday, they’re wrong,” Day said. “I think (Purdue is) a much better team than their record shows. If anybody here in this building is thinking about last week, they’re distracted and that can’t happen.”
Purdue swamped FCS school Indiana State, 49-0, in the opener but has since lost seven in a row, it’s longest losing streak since 2016. But second-year coach Ryan Walters likes the improvement.
“Two of the last three games, we’ve been there right at the end, in overtime,” Purdue coach Ryan Walters said. “That wasn’t the case early in the season.”
Will’s worst game
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard had his worst game of the season against Penn State. It started badly when he threw a pick-6 on his first pass attempt.
He finished 16 of 24 for a season-low 182 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His 66.7% completion rate was his lowest since the season opener. He also fumbled the ball out of the back of the end zone while rushing for what would have been a touchdown in the second quarter.
“If I play my worst game, and we win — that’s all that matters,” said Howard, who played four years at Kansas State before transferring. “And that’s kind of how I want to approach the game, and that’s how I want my teammates to know me.”
Tough road
Purdue blew what was probably their best chance of getting a conference win when they lost in overtime to Northwestern, 26-20, last week. The rest of the schedule is tougher. After Ohio State, the Boilermakers get No. 6 Penn State at home, then they’re at Michigan State before wrapping up the season at No. 8 Indiana.
Defense does it
Day said the Ohio State defense was “re-engineered” after it allowed nearly 500 yards of offense in the loss to Oregon. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said it was a matter of getting players in the right positions, especially for the pass rush. “It was just a process of going back to the basics,” Knowles said. “Things got out of whack in that (Oregon) game somewhat.”
Two QBs
Hudson Card will be Purdue’s starting quarterback against the Buckeyes. The fifth-year player started the first five games of the season. When he was sidelined with an injury in the losses to Illinois and Oregon, second-year man Ryan Browne played well enough to create a quarterback conundrum. Card returned last week and threw for 267 yards and a touchdown in the overtime loss to Northwestern.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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