Monday, October 12, 2009

Ohio State—Purdue: Week Seven Preview, Free History Lesson Included

By HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


No. 7 Ohio State (5-1) travels to West Lafayette, Indiana to face the Purdue Boilermakers (1-5) Saturday at 12:00PM in Ross-Ade Stadium.

Offensively, Purdue hasn't been terrible. They actually have a decent QB in Joey Elliot and a very good RB in Ralph Bolden, yet they are still 1-5.

The blame has to fall squarely on their lackluster defensive efforts.

Purdue's defense has given up nearly 400 yards per game (164 rush, 233 pass) and has allowed close to 30 points per contest.

Conversely, Ohio State's defense has been absolutely spectacular since week two, but at times, their offense has sputtered and looked rather anemic.

Coach Tressel and the staff have to make calls more conducive to Pryor's capabilities and subsequently, Pryor must make better, and faster decisions, and protect the ball, and play within himself.

Sometimes it is though he is trying to force a pass and is locked in on his receivers rather than tucking the ball and running.

Last season, Pryor seemed to be more willing to run. This season, he seems to be more focused on becoming a pocket passer, which is OK, but he cannot, and should not abandon the skills and abilities that got him here.

This Purdue defense, much like Toledo and Illinois, should be the cure for what ails the Buckeyes on offense. In fact, over the next three weeks they should be able to tune up the offense quite well. After Purdue, the Buckeyes will face Minnesota and New Mexico State.




10/17/2009—Game Seven—12:00PM Kickoff
TV: Big Ten Network

VS.




Ohio State-Purdue History and Tidbits:

• Ohio State leads the all-time head-to-head series (37-12-2).

• Ohio State is 16-4 vs. Purdue in the last 20 meetings (dating back to 1983).

• Ohio State is 7-3 vs. Purdue in the last 10 meetings in West Lafayette (dating back to 1984).

• Ohio State has won 16 consecutive Big Ten road games.

• The last Ohio State loss at Purdue was in 2004 by a score of 24-17 (That year, Purdue was 7-5 and Ohio State was 8-4).

• Jim Tressel is 5-1 overall (2-1 on the road) vs. Purdue, outscoring the Boilermakers 117-62, or by an average game score of 20-10.

• This is Danny Hope's first year as Purdue Head Coach.

• Purdue's last Big Ten title was in 2000 (Co-Champions with Michigan and Northwestern).



The Buckeye defense should focus on stopping RB Bolden first, but must also defend the play-action pass. I really do not expect stopping and containing Purdue to be much of a challenge.

The Buckeye offense should find little resistance moving the ball and scoring often.

I actually thought Purdue would have Indiana's W/L record and vice-versa, but I do believe the Boilermakers are better than their record, and probably better than Indiana, after seeing Virginia crush the Hoosiers last Saturday.

Final score prediction:

Ohio State 41, Purdue 10

Click For Block Nation Frontpage


8 comments:

  1. Here's the only lesson Buckeye fans need to know (and this is from a Purdue student): Don't take time out of your busy schedules to watch this game. It won't even be close. The Bucks will dominate in all facets of the game. Expect Boom and Saine to have big games.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No "Boiler Up"?

    You're not giving your boys much of a chance Rob...LOL!

    Of course since you are a student at Purdue, a lot of people that read your comment won't know you're actually a Buckeye fan!

    I guess just outed you - Haaa haaa!

    HD

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that there are currently 3 votes for Purdue in the Who will win this game poll...

    I honestly thought it would be 100% Ohio State, but obviously a few dimwits (probably Michigan fans) made it to the blog and voted, LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  4. you guys really know your stuff........

    ReplyDelete
  5. The single worst performance of this football team since the NCG against Florida, nothing even comes close.
    There needs to be an immediate coaching change whether it be Tressel, the OC, the DC, or the entire damn lot of them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Go ahead, make my day.
    mgb, PU Class of 1978.
    I can't wait to hear the talk radio shows this week from my home in NWOhio.
    I don't think the UofM fans are crying any more about the fact that Pryor picked OSU over them.
    Looks now like a blessing in disguise

    ReplyDelete
  7. MIchigan will lose again, don't worry, Ohio State always plays its best games against Michigan.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Michigan started 4-0, but will end 7-5 or maybe 8-4

    OSU will finish 10-2

    ReplyDelete

Do you really like or really hate one of our articles?

Do you agree or absolutely disagree with something you've read here?

WE WANT TO KNOW SO PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS!

You can post anonymously or add your name if you like.

Either way, registration is NOT required!

BlockONation's Expanding Web Presence

6/05/2009

Numerous BlockONation articles have been posted on or linked to from some very well known, high-volume sports websites.

We'd like to take a moment to both acknowledge and thank those sites for their support in helping make BlockONation one of the most popular new Ohio State Football blogs on the web!

In no particular order:

CBSSports.com

FOXSports.com

BuckeyeExtra.com

BleacherReport.com

SportsTimeOhio.com

TheClevelandFan.com


Again, thanks so very much to those sites for all their support and also, a huge thank you to the fans who have visited the site to date!

I'd also like to personally thank all those individuals who have contributed to the success of the site! I wouldn't be here without your help over the last 8+ years. You all know who you are!

It is our mission here at BlockONation.com to continue to provide top-notch, fresh content for our readers and we will always do everything possible to meet your expectations!

Honestly, I really can't thank you all enough....

HD Handshoe
Founder
BlockONation.com



Thanks for visiting BlockONation
 
Copyright © 2004-2012 BlockONation.com. All rights reserved. Site powered by Blogger. Site design and layout by HD Handshoe. This web site is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Ohio State University. Logos, helmet and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. Some photos on this site courtesy of the Associated Press, The-Ozone.net and Getty Images under the Fair Use Doctrine (Sections 107-118) of the 1976 Copyright Act.