3 takeaways from Ohio State Football’s convincing win vs Purdue

Unlike the last two weeks, the Ohio State football team did not disappoint in their 59-31 routing of No. 19 Purdue, giving the Buckeyes a resume-boosting top 25 win.

They pulled no punches with their early 21-7 lead with roughly five minutes to play in the first quarter. Slow starts for this uber-talented OSU squad were frustrating in recent games—that was certainly not the case against the Boilermakers.

Ohio State led this game from start to finish and even led by several scores for the majority of the contest. This was the kind of dominating performance Buckeye Nation has been waiting for as the regular season nears its finale against TTUN in only two weeks.

Here are three takeaways from the Scarlet and Gray’s convincing win against Purdue.

1. Ohio State football’s explosive offense returns with 59 points

The Buckeye offense has underperformed in recent weeks after they looked almost unstoppable earlier in the season. This week, OSU’s offense looked like a juggernaut, firing on all cylinders with their 624 yards of offense and 59 points.

Everything was clicking on the offensive end, quite literally everything. Ryan Day called a masterful game with a balanced, precise game plan. Day was certainly back to his aggressive play-calling style, as seen in his decision to throw it downfield on a 4th and one while up 45-17 in the third quarter.

As mentioned, the Buckeyes were extremely balanced with 361 yards through the air and 263 yards coming on the ground. The game plan was clearly tailored for a balanced effort with 38 passing attempts and 31 carries.

C.J. Stroud looked poised making quick decisions with his five touchdowns. Stroud’s weapons were extremely dangerous as always with Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 139 receiving yards, Garrett Wilson’s 126 yards, and Chris Olave’s 85 yards.

The Buckeye running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams made defenders whiff consistently. Henderson showed off his elite speed with his 57-yard rushing touchdown. Williams looked the best he has since the beginning of the season, constantly driving forward for extra yardage.

The one unit that deserves the most credit along the offense is the offensive line. It was clear the O-line had two poor games against PSU and Nebraska. They struggled to make room in the run game and generate push and even had inconsistent pass blocking at times.

Ohio State’s O-line was back to looking like one of college football’s best. The run game averaged an absurd 8.5 yards per carry thanks to some outstanding blocking for most of the evening. Stroud sat in a clean pocket and picked apart the Boilermaker’s secondary.

This is what the Bucks’ offense is capable of. An explosion, totaling 40+ against nearly anyone. Weapons are all over the field, a massive, talented offensive line paves the way, and Stroud can torch any defense when he’s on his game.

Expecting this kind of jaw-dropping production—OSU only punted one time in 11 possessions— on a game-to-game basis isn’t realistic, but this offense is clearly capable of being the best in the country. Perhaps Day fixed the few mental issues on the offensive side, unleashing their massive potential yet again.

Ohio State football will be in the College Football Playoff once again if the offense continues to operate at the level they are capable of.