Ohio State offense dominates in blowout victory over Purdue

College football writer

Sat, 13 Nov 2021, 7:13 pm·3-min read

Iowa and Michigan State both were ranked in the top five when they lost to Purdue.

No. 4 Ohio State wasn’t going to let itself become the Boilermakers’ third upset victim.

Ohio State thumped No. 19 Purdue 59-31 on Saturday behind a dominant offensive performance. The Buckeyes jumped on the Boilermakers from the jump, scoring touchdowns on their first six first-half possessions to storm out to a 45-17 halftime lead.

By the time the dust settled, Ohio State accumulated 624 yards of offense with quarterback C.J. Stroud leading the way. Stroud completed 31-of-38 passes for 361 yards and five touchdowns with the best receiving trio in the country — Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave — all reaching the end zone.

Wilson, after missing last week’s game at Nebraska, led the way with 10 catches for 126 yards and three scores. Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 139 yards and a score while Olave added nine catches for 85 yards and a touchdown of his own.

Ohio State receiver Garrett Wilson, right, celebrates his touchdown against Purdue with teammate Chris Olave during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

On top of that, freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson helped the Buckeyes build their big lead with two touchdown runs, including a 57-yarder, in the first quarter. Henderson finished the day with 98 rushing yards with Miyan Williams pitching in 117 yards of his own.

In all, OSU ran for 263 yards in addition to Stroud’s prolific day through the air. It was an extremely promising performance from the Buckeyes after some uneven outings in recent wins over Penn State and Nebraska.

While the Purdue offense generated plenty of production, Jeff Brohm’s group was doomed by two first-half turnovers that immediately turned into Ohio State points. The Boilermakers did their best to keep up, but the defense just could not handle the high-powered OSU offense.

With the win, Ohio State improves to 9-1 on the year and a perfect 6-0 in Big Ten play. The schedule does not get any easier from here, however.

Next is a visit from No. 7 Michigan State before the Buckeyes close out the season in Ann Arbor against No. 6 Michigan. If Ohio State wins both of those games, it will win the Big Ten East for the fifth straight season.

From there, a Big Ten title would likely lock up a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Could Ohio State move up in the CFP rankings?

Ohio State was ranked No. 4 in the most-recent CFP rankings, one spot behind Oregon. The difference? Oregon beat Ohio State back in Week 2. It's the only loss of the year for the Buckeyes, who have since won eight straight games.

Will a win over a ranked Purdue team make a difference? It likely depends on how Oregon performs at home against Washington State later Saturday night.

If Oregon wins comfortably, it'd be surprising to see the Buckeyes move past the Ducks. A loss from Oregon, obviously, would change things.

If Ohio State keeps winning — especially with two top 10 opponents rounding out the regular season schedule — it won't be a surprise at all if OSU eventually moves past Oregon despite the head-to-head result.