Game of the Week: Ohio at Purdue
Legend of the Hidden Offenses, with plenty of defensive traps abound!
Author’s Note: This will be a weekly article. Due to an editorial oversight on my part, last week’s preview for the Miami vs Marshall game was not published. I personally apologize to both teams’ fanbases, but want to note that at no point did I mention special teams, which ultimately decided the game for the Thundering Herd. So in essence, you’re welcome for not reading my trash article. Now read this one.
About 10 months ago, the Big Ten announced it would start playing Friday night games, much to the dismay of many of its fanbases. When it was further announced that most of these games would not effect the top tier of the conference, half of the conference breathed a sigh of relief and went on with continuing to spout national supremacy, despite getting blanked in each of the last two College Football Playoffs.
Why is that important? Because one of the games announced was a certain game in early September between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Ohio Bobcats. Purdue was still suffering through the end of the Darrell Hazell era, while the Bobcats were cruising to an eventual MAC East Championship season. It’s the second-to-last Friday night non-conference game thanks to a nine-game Big Ten conference slate. It’s also likely the last winnable Friday night non-conference game with ugly step-child Illinois taking on a ranked South Florida team next week.
And there is a lot to love about this game.
Ohio is led by Frank Solich, a former player and coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers (albeit, well before they joined the B1G). The Boilermakers are led by Jeff Brohm, the former Western Kentucky coach whose offenses would’ve fit right in with some of the powers of the MAC. Solich’s team has largely remained unchanged over the years: solid defense and run the ball over-and-over again. Brohm is still implementing his system in West Lafayette, but his impact is already being felt, as shown by a surprising 35–28 loss to a ranked Louisville squad featuring the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Lamar Jackson.
Yeah, this is gonna be fun.
Offense
Both teams are tough to gauge. The Bobcats lost their best two wide outs from a year ago to graduation, and their opener against Hampton was a blood-bath.
Quinton Maxwell threw only nine passes and completed seven of them (and another was completed to the other team). Back-up quarterback Nathan Rourke came in and threw 10, but only completed six for 72 total yards.
Where it gets really weird is the rushing stats. Three different Bobcats had 10 or more carries and three more had at least five each. In all, Ohio ran the ball 53 times for 248 yards and seven(!!!) touchdowns, including three from Rourke and two from Julian Ross (who was the only rusher to finish with less than four yards per rush). The ball was spread around so well, that you really can’t pinpoint who will do a lot of what on Saturday against an actual opponent. AJ Ouellette returned from a season-ending injury a year ago to put up 63 yards on 12 carries, but again, it’s Hampton.
As for Purdue? Let me put it like this…
I was talking to a co-worker today about picks for this weekend’s MAC games. The first one we discussed was this one. We had differing picks (I might change mine), so I implored why he made his choice. His response?
“Purdue stinks. Let me guess, they had about 300 yards passing and 50 yards rushing.”
Purdue hung with Louisville, but the Cardinals turned the ball over three times via fumbles. When you throw 57 times and finish with three picks and fewer than 300 yards, you’re gonna have a bad time. I really don’t even want to get into the running game because of how horrid it was as well, but they finished with a 2.4 yards per carry mark.
Who’s at QB for the Boilers? David Blough and Elijah Sindelar split throws pretty evenly (26 and 31 pass attempts, respectively) with Blough having a slightly better game at 175 yards. He also got picked on back-to-back drives, with the first being a pick-six, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
I will say this: Jackson Anthrop had a solid game receiving, with seven catches for 82 yards and two scores. But his 26 yard catch in the first quarter was the longest play from scrimmage for Purdue all game. There’s just so much bad still around from Hazell.
Defense
Again, Hampton. However, anytime you hold a team to ~100 total yards: that’s pretty damn good. The Pirates gained 61 yards through the air and 47 on the ground (1.5 yards per carry!), so Ohio is still pretty damn good at its bread and butter. Tarell Basham may be gone, but Quentin Poling is still around in the box with Javon Hagan back as the reigning MAC Freshman of the Year. This is still a great defense that is expected to be one of the best in the MAC.
As for Purdue? I’m not gonna lie, they played a pretty good first half against Louisville (who, again, had freakin’ LAMAR JACKSON). Here are the 1st half drives for the Cardinals: fumble, three-and-out, touchdown, FG, fumble, four-and-out, halftime. The second fumble was huge, as it came at the goal line after Purdue lost the kick-off following that field goal. All-in-all, that’s impressive.
The second half started pretty good as well: field goal (Purdue’s offense to blame + a big punt return), fumble, touchdown, three-and-out. They would concede a touchdown and then a field goal in the fourth, but, again, Lamar Freaking Jackson. Take away the pick-six by Blough, and it’s a 28–28 game, and that’s before you count all the times the Boiler offense just set their defense up to fail. And in spite of all that, they still held their own. I see you.
Stat-wise? It wasn’t pretty, to be honest. Jackson had a “normal” game for him (350+ passing, 100+ rushing), but he didn’t really explode all that often. His longest run was 15 yards, and he only had one completion go over 30 yards. When you can keep a man like Jackson in front of you, you’re doing the right things.
TJ McCollum had two hurries on Jackson and nine tackles, second only to Jawhaun Bentley’s 10. Nobody sacked or picked off Jackson, but he’s pretty good for a reason.
Ohio might have the better defense between the two, but Purdue’s is no longer butt ugly.
Special Teams
Louie Zervos is regarded as the best kicker in the MAC after a solid freshman campaign that saw him make 29 of 35 attempts, including a 7-for-10 mark from 40+ yards out. In the MAC, that’s pretty solid. He did miss two PATs against Hampton, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As for kick coverage, again, Hampton. Additionally, it’s always tough to gauge a team year-to-year because special teams players are usually the 2nd and 3rd stringers that you haven’t heard of yet. That said, the Pirates had 9 kick returns, with the longest going 22 yards. The only punt they returned was a one yard loss. Par for the course, I say.
Purdue? Oh man. Joe Schopper had five punts for 243 yards (48.6 yds/punt, pretty solid), but none were downed inside the 20. Everyone else?
/inhales
They split time between kickers! Spencer Evans and J.D. Dellinger both made a pair of extra points, but Dellinger got blocked on the lone FG attempt of the night. They gave up a 33 yard punt return to set-up a Louisville field goal (as noted above). They gave up a 43 yard kick-off return to open the game, had a personal foul on another, and fumbled one of their own.
/exhales
That’s bad.
Match-Up To Watch
Ohio’s run vs Purdue’s box
I hate to go with a run game here, especially in any Big Ten vs MAC match-up. It feels tired and lazy. But it’s the best I can come up with. Ohio loves to run, and Purdue just kept Lamar Jackson in pretty good check most of the night. Can the Boilers make the next step? Or do the Bobcats do their thing?
I could’ve gone with Ohio’s secondary vs the Purdue pass game, but c’mon. No.
So, How Do I Watch?
Well, West Lafayette, IN is not all that far for a good portion of MAC fans. The drive itself is very boring (I hope you like corn and wheat fields), and it’s a Friday night game, but at 8 p.m., it at least provides the opportunity of taking a half day to go watch some decent football before being engulfed by the Children of the Corn. Have fun sleeping tonight.
Scared for your life? (OK, I’ll stop). The game is on Fox Sports 1, which is pretty much only good for airing soccer, football, and some Big East basketball during the winter months. Seriously, if you have DVR, I highly recommend you pause at every commercial break, hug your family for two minutes, and then pray you’ve avoided any promotional material for any of its shows (RIP Garbage Time). Just trust me on this if you’re new.
So, Who’s Gonna Win?
Honestly? I picked Purdue based on a blind analysis of its close loss to Louisville. After reanalyzing, it’s tough to go against Ohio. The Boiler offense is still very much a dumpster fire, and the special teams wasn’t much better. That said, the Bobcats seem to lose head-scratchers all the time (they lost to Texas State to open last season), and it’s tough to truly gauge how good or bad they are after thumping Hampton. You want to say they’re good and possibly the best team in the MAC, but “it’s only Week 1” sets in and you remember this is Ohio. Then, you remember this is Purdue, so…
Prediction: Ohio 31 — Purdue 20
