Ohio State football: Confidence level against Purdue
By Eric Boggs
The Offense – Confidence Level 7
This Ohio State football team might not be as prolific on offense as past Day offenses have been, but they are starting to give signs that they are turning the corner as a unit. The Buckeyes are currently ranked 17th in the nation with 302.8 passing yards per game. When it comes to the running game, it’s been tough sledding for the Buckeyes. Their 131.6 yards per game is the 95th best in the nation.
At this point, Ohio State is having much more success passing the football than it is running. Day acknowledged this fact during his press conference with the media on Tuesday but also stated that he feels it is important that the Buckeyes remain balanced and that he learned his lesson when it comes to not being able to run the football late in the season in the Big 10 conference.
Purdue defensively has been opportunistic. Freshman safety Dillon Thieneman has had three interceptions in six games. Dillon is the younger brother of former Boilermakers Jacob and Brennan Thieneman, keeping the family tradition of manning the Purdue defensive backfield alive. As a team, Purdue has six interceptions through six games.
On the flip side, McCord has only thrown one interception through his first five games. It is obvious that there has been a focus on not turning the football over at Ohio State this year. The Buckeyes are plus-six in the turnover margin category, making them tied for fifth in the nation this season.
The one thing that can derail the Ohio State offense this week would be turnovers. Whether by the Purdue defense or caused by poor weather, which seems to be a possibility for this weekend, it will be paramount that McCord and the Ohio State offense establish the line of scrimmage and start to run the football well. My confidence level in this offense this week is at a seven.