Ohio State senior wide receiver Chris Olave (2) celebrates after his touchdown during the Ohio State-Purdue game Saturday. Ohio State won 59-31. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Heading into a battle with No. 19 Purdue, No. 4 Ohio State’s prolific offense was under a microscope after two adverse performances against Penn State and Nebraska.
The Buckeyes eked out victories against the Nittany Lions and Cornhuskers despite a struggling running game and a lack of discipline, which amounted to high penalty numbers. Against Purdue, Ohio State did a complete 180, getting its running game back on track and penalty numbers down while redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud returned to Heisman form with a masterclass performance.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said the Buckeyes’ offense looked much improved thanks to their ability to stay on schedule.
“We kept the ball rolling, but we also ran the football more efficiently,” Day said. “Did a much better job of not having any negative plays and staying on schedule.”
A major factor for Ohio State’s offensive explosion against the Boilermakers was due to crucial improvements in the running game from the previous two weeks.
Against Penn State and Nebraska, the Buckeyes’ running backs were bottled up for the majority of the games. While freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson found a rhythm late in the second half against the Nittany Lions, he was held up by the Cornhuskers for all four quarters.
Ohio State saw its lowest rushing total of the season against Nebraska, totaling just 90 yards on the ground in Lincoln.
The Buckeyes got back on track against the Boilermakers as Henderson dashed for 98 yards on 13 carries and found the end zone twice. Redshirt freshman Miyan Williams complemented Henderson well, toting the rock 14 times for 117 yards.
“Our pad level was better. I thought the running backs were running harder,” Day said. “There’s still some things we need to look at and want to get fixed. Still a couple things that just weren’t clean.”
The Buckeyes finished with 263 rushing yards, as junior wide receiver Garrett Wilson added 51 yards on a long touchdown run off of a jet sweep.
In terms of discipline, the Buckeyes made great improvements from the past two weeks against the Boilermakers. Day said Ohio State’s penalty numbers played a key role in knocking his offense off track in those weeks.
Ohio State’s offense committed 10 penalties against Penn State, racking up 74 penalty yards. The following week against Nebraska, the Buckeyes didn’t fare much better in that department, with eight penalties for 65 penalty yards.
The Buckeyes finished with just three offensive penalties Saturday, totaling 20 yards lost.
Stroud returned to his October-self Saturday, after he made uncharacteristic mistakes against Penn State and Nebraska.
The Empire, California, native launched five touchdown passes for the third time this season while going 31-for-38 with 361 yards. Stroud completed 28 of his passes to the three-headed monster of Wilson, senior Chris Olave and sophomore Jaxon-Smith Nijgba.
With attention to Stroud’s resurgence against the Boilermakers, Day said this week was the most focused he’d seen his quarterback all season and that it paid off on the field.
Stroud said it’s his job as the quarterback to be prepared for all situations.
“As a leader of the offense and as one of the leaders of the team, I feel like it’s my job to prepare,” Stroud said. “That’s a plus and a step ahead of the other team if I can go out there and give them a nugget to make them go play faster.”
Stroud’s efforts alongside the improved running game gave the Buckeyes a season-high 624 total yards against Purdue.
As Ohio State heads into a two-week stretch against two top 10 opponents from Michigan, Day said the Buckeyes’ focus has shifted to their next two adversaries.
“We got to play a couple teams up there the next couple weeks. It’s going to be a challenge, those are both very, very good teams,” Day said. “We got to get back to playing consistent football, that’s what it is in November.”
