By: Pat Taggart (WhioTv.com) —
GAME NOTES: The Purdue Boilermakers have not won a game in Ohio Stadium since 1988, and the 12th-ranked Buckeyes will attempt to ensure that the streak remains when the Big Ten rivals meet on Saturday afternoon.

Purdue has lost its last 16 games against Top-25 teams and clearly enters this contest as the underdog. The Boilermakers have dropped their last two outings by double figures to fall to 2-3 this season, and the most recent defeat came last Saturday against No. 6 Penn State by a 20-6 final. While Purdue is fortunate that Wisconsin doesn’t appear on the regular season schedule, plenty of challenges lie ahead for the club.

The same can be said of Ohio State, which showed a great deal of toughness by beating Wisconsin on the road last weekend by a 20-17 final on the road. That victory was the third straight for the Buckeyes, who have rebounded well from the lopsided loss to USC in Los Angeles. With Michigan State and Penn State on the horizon, it is important that the Buckeyes don’t look past Purdue this weekend.

Ohio State holds a 36-12-2 series lead over Purdue and has won four of the last five games played between the teams.

Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter moved into second place on the school’s all- time passing list during the game against Penn State last weekend. As for tailback Kory Sheets, he now stands alone with 40 career rushing touchdowns for the Boilermakers, tops in school history. “It is really special but at this point it means nothing,” said Sheets. “Right now I am more concerned about winning football games. Winning records and losing football games is not what I’m about.” Still, neither of those players put forth the performances they had envisioned against the Nittany Lions, as Painter was held to 112 passing yards while Sheets was limited to 59 yards on 18 carries. Purdue only committed one turnover, but 241 total yards simply isn’t good enough.

The Boilermakers are averaging 25.4 ppg and 371.4 total ypg this season. Sheets has run for 498 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 5.4 ypc. As for Painter, he has connected on 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,225 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Greg Orton leads the club with 30 catches, while Desmond Tardy has 393 receiving yards and two scores.

There are both positives and negatives to point out regarding Purdue’s defensive effort against Penn State. On one hand, the Boilermakers permitted more than 200 yards both rushing and receiving for a total of 422 yards. Still, the Nittany Lions were only able to get into the end zone twice. Also, PSU was held to 4-of-12 success on third down conversion attempts. Joe Tiller’s team did not force a single turnover, so expect the Boilermakers to be a bit more focused on that aspect of the game this weekend.

Opponents are scoring 25.0 ppg against Purdue, which is yielding 435.8 total ypg. The Boilermakers have struggled against the run, permitting 196.0 ypg on 4.9 ypc. The pass defense hasn’t been too much better, so there is plenty of room for improvement. Anthony Heygood leads the way with 44 total tackles, 11 more than his closest teammate.

Wisconsin scored a touchdown with just over six minutes remaining last weekend to jump ahead of Ohio State, 17-13. The Buckeyes got the ball on their own 20- yard line and hoped that true freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor could lead them down the field. A 12-play, 80-yard drive was manufactured by the rookie and his talented teammates. With just over one minute left on the clock, Pryor broke loose for an 11-yard touchdown run, lifting his team to victory. Ohio State finished with 327 yards, 168 of which were gained by Chris “Beanie” Wells on the ground. Pryor only ran for 20 yards on 15 carries, but he completed 13-of-19 passes for 144 yards and showed a tremendous amount of toughness and poise.

Overall this season, Ohio State is generating 25.7 ppg and 337.3 total ypg. Wells has only 49 carries to his credit, as he missed three games due to injury. Still, he is averaging a staggering 7.9 yards per carry and may very well be the nation’s top back. Pryor has run for 312 yards and four touchdowns while also throwing for five scores. With Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline at the wideout position, Pryor has plenty of talent surrounding him. “Well, you know, as we said all along with Terrelle, every snap he gets, he learns from,” said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel after the Wisconsin game. “They (Wisconsin) were playing hard, they were coming after him, they were going to make him do things with lots of people in his face and hes coming of age.”

Give a ton of credit to the Ohio State defense for limiting Wisconsin to 17 points last weekend. Sure, the Badgers finished with 326 yards and scored both rushing and passing touchdowns in the tilt, but the Buckeyes made enough big plays to give Pryor and the offense a chance to win it in the end.

Through six outings, Ohio State is allowing 16.2 ppg and 264.2 total ypg. Aside from the game against USC, in which the defense was clearly outplayed, the unit has been outstanding. Considering that the Buckeyes have nine interceptions to their credit and are allowing a mere 8.6 yards per pass completion, it is fair to say that the pass defense has been stellar. James Laurinaitis paces the defense with 57 total tackles, 18 more than his closest teammate.

Expect Ohio State to take care of business at home this weekend. The Buckeyes are solid from top to bottom and will get the job done in Columbus. Pryor and Wells are both fun to watch and will put up big numbers on Saturday.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ohio State 27, Purdue 14

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