The Buckeyes are three games away from ending their season on an improbable run. Standing in their way next is a contest at Purdue, a place where the Buckeyes have struggled as of late. Can the Buckeyes rise to the challenge or will they repeat their 2009 performance?
While history has shown that even in good years (2002) the Buckeyes have struggled with the Boilermakers, history has nothing to do with this team. Even Ohio State’s road record for the year (1-2) doesn’t factor into the equation.
What matters is whether Ohio State is mentally ready for the challenge ahead.
They weren’t last week. Ohio State was lucky they were playing Indiana. Most teams would have jumped on them even more and put the game out of reach. Luckily, the Hoosiers were not capable of stopping Ohio State’s rushing attack and this allowed the scarlet and gray to come back and win.
Purdue will be a step up in competition. When you factor this in with a tough road environment, the Buckeyes had better be ready or else their hopes of making the Big Ten title game will vanish.
Ohio State has to be the aggressor from the opening snap. They must go out and dominate in all three phases of the game. If they can dictate the tempo, it will keep the crowd out of it and allow the Buckeyes a chance to dominate. If they don’t it could be an interesting afternoon.
Defensively, they must eliminate the mental mistakes. We already know the defensive line is going to be a dominant force so when the responsibility falls on the back seven, they must play within their assignments and come up with big plays. Purdue employs a balanced offensive scheme so it’s important the Buckeyes shut down the run early and force them to be one-dimensional.
On offense, the Buckeyes need to ride the horse that got them to this point. They’ll need to get the power run game going in hopes it opens up some passing lanes for Braxton Miller. It would also help if the coaching staff calls passing plays on first down to keep the defense on alert and provide Braxton an opportunity to establish some momentum. The Buckeyes shouldn’t have problems scoring the factor for them will be playing mistake free football and not turning the ball over.
This week expect to see a more focused team. Ohio State knows what could happen if they win out so they’ll come out more motivated and overpower the Boilermakers.
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