Know Your Enemy - Ohio State Buckeyes

The folks over at Land Grant Holy Land we kind enough to agree to some Q&A this week about what Purdue will be looking forward to just a little over 24 hours from now. I was able to get some answer from Chip Minnich who is a writer over there. He also is the host of the Silver Bullets Podcast. Go check him out for all of your Ohio State needs. Now, let’s get to it!

Let’s just get this out of the way right now. Ohio State is heavily favored over Purdue, around 19.5 last I looked, is that about what you expect to see on Saturday?

I have it close to that, with a predicted score of Ohio State 38, Purdue 17. Every Ohio State fan knows that Ross-Ade Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Buckeyes over the years, so I don’t believe anyone is taking Purdue lightly.

We all know about what Marvin Harrison Jr. can do, so tell us about the other main weapons Purdue fans can expect to see on Saturday.

Emeka Egbuka is the other wide receiver who gets a lot of attention, but Egbuka suffered an ankle injury in the Maryland game, so there is speculation about how much Egbuka will play at Purdue. WR Julian Fleming is another starter, and is not usually targeted as much in the passing game as Harrison or Egbuka. Another WR who gets involved is Xavier Johnson, a versatile player who has played both WR and RB for Ohio State. TE Cade Stover has emerged as a legitimate outlet receiver for new quarterback Kyle McCord. In the Ohio State backfield, RB TreVeyon Henderson is expected back, after being held out from the Maryland game for precautionary reasons. RB Chip Trayanum is a bigger back who may also get a number of carries versus the Boilermakers.

This game is airing exclusively on Peacock, how has the Ohio State fanbase reacted to that because for Purdue this will be our third straight game on Peacock and fans aren’t thrilled.

Putting it delicately, not well. Ohio State fans have grown used to being on one of the major media outlets, and the news that a streaming platform such as Peacock would be required to watch this game is being received with a tremendous amount of frustration. I even wrote about this in Land-Grant Holy Land, as fans are saying that they will go to a sports bar to watch it, versus downloading it - maybe I am mistaken, but I believe it would cost someone more money at a bar than the initial $6 fee, but how other Ohio State fans choose to spend their money is their business. In my article, I made a point of how Purdue fans have had to suffer through being on Peacock for three straight weeks.

Which unit is the strength of this Ohio State defense?

I have no doubt that other Ohio State fans will disagree with me on this point, but I am going to say that the much-maligned Ohio State secondary is the strength. CB Denzel Burke has been having a strong year, CB Davison Igbinosun was a solid addition via the transfer portal, and CB Jordan Hancock is handling the nickel corner spot well. Sophomore safety Sonny Styles is a tweener at safety and linebacker, and could emerge as a star for the program. Safety Josh Proctor is coming off a big game last week versus Maryland that earned him B1G Defensive Player Of The Week.

What weaknesses, if any, can Purdue try to exploit? Are there any units that have shown some problems so far this year?

The Ohio State offensive line is probably the biggest problem area for Ohio State, with an inability to effectively run the ball. I would not be surprised to see Purdue crowd the line of scrimmage, making it difficult for Ohio State to run the ball. On the Ohio State defense, Notre Dame showed an effectiveness at running the ball, so perhaps Purdue may try to control the clock by keeping the ball on the ground.

If you wake up Sunday and couldn’t watch the game but see that Purdue won, how would you explain that? What happened?

If I were to wake up on Sunday to get the news that Purdue won, my only explanation would be Ohio State suffered an abundance of turnovers that led to Purdue scoring repeatedly. And I would be keeping eyes and ears open for the pitchforks and torches that would be coming for Ryan Day and the coaching staff.