If you like a good ol’ passing exhibition, then do we have the game for you — Saturday night’s Ohio State game at Purdue pits two of the Big Ten’s top passing offense against one another.
At least for the time being, gone are the days of Mike Alstott and Carlos Hyde. Instead, these offense ride on the arms of their quarterbacks, OSU’s Dwayne Haskins and Purdue’s David Blough. The No. 2 Buckeyes (7-0) figure to have their hands full with the Boilers senior quarterback, but everyone knows what OSU super sophomore Haskins can do as well.
This primetime matchup figures to be won in the air.
THE SERIES: Ohio State has won 40 of the 56 meetings between the schools, including seven of the last 10. However, this is the first time the schools have met in nearly four years, with a 56-0 win from OSU in West Lafayette, Indiana, in November, 2013, the last time they faced off.
Since they last meet, the Buckeyes have won 59 of their 67 games, while Purdue has struggled to a 15-38 record — including two of the worst seasons in Purdue history (1-11 in 2013, 2-10 in ‘15). Last year’s 7-6 mark was the Boilers first winning season since 2011.
"For our guys, this is one of the reasons you come to Purdue...to play in games like this." - Head Coach Jeff Brohm#BoilerUp #OnlyTheStrong pic.twitter.com/5lDJykyQdM
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) October 15, 2018
BIG TURNAROUND: Don’t let Purdue’s 3-3 record be deceiving. The Boilermakers started the season 0-3, but those losses were by a total of eight points, including a kick-in-the-stomach last-second field goal to win it by Eastern Michigan.
Since then, Purdue has won three straight games by 70 points.
IS IT THE COACH?: Purdue coach Jeff Brohm has won 10 games since coming to West Lafayette before last season, and that was after winning 30 games in three seasons at Western Kentucky. He’s also had success in bowl games, going 4-0, including a 38-35 win over Arizona in last season’s Foster Farms Bowl. That was Purdue’s first bowl win since 2011 and only its fourth since Drew Brees left the Boilermakers in 2000.
Brohm is no stranger to putting up big numbers — as a quarterback at Louisville, he threw for 5,451 yards and 38 touchdowns before playing in eight games over two NFL seasons.
BLOUGH-ING THROUGH THE COMPETITION: If Ohio State’s offense is recognized as the top unit in the Big 10, the Boilermakers are a solid No. 2, and most of that is because of quarterback David Blough. The senior is third in the Big Ten with 1,695 yards with 10 TDs and two interceptions. Over his last two games, Blough has thrown for 705 yards and four scores, and his 572 yards earlier this season against Missouri are the most ever thrown for by a Purdue quarterback. Blough’s 7,347 passing yards are seventh all-time at Purdue, and he should rise to No. 5 by the end of the season.
The Boilermakers offense is second in the conference — behind OSU — in total offense (510.2 yards per game) and passing offense (330.8 yards per game). Their scoring offense is fourth with 33.5 points per game.
So far, the Buckeyes haven’t shown an ability to stop the passing game; they’re seventh in the conference by allowing 221.6 passing yards per game, and they’re eighth in total defense. In the last three weeks, they’ve allowed 275 passing yards per game.
First Published October 17, 2018, 11:00 a.m.
