WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — With a colossal matchup looming next weekend against Penn State, No. 3 Ohio State was sure to not get caught looking past the overmatched Purdue Boilermakers on a soggy Saturday inside Ross-Ade Stadium.
Led by three touchdown passes from quarterback Kyle McCord and a stifling defensive effort that limited Purdue to just 257 total yards, Ohio State delivered a 41-7 beatdown to remain unbeaten and set up next week’s showdown in Columbus.
Touchdowns on three of its first four drives contributed to the kind of start Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day were looking for and immediately erased any doubts about his team’s mental focus.
“In this game, in this place, everyone was talking about some of the games (against Purdue) in the past, 2018 in particular,” Day said after the game. “And we all know we have a big game next week. Some people call these games ‘trap games’ or different things … I talked to the team all week about how if you want to be a championship team, you have to have competitive stamina.”
After Purdue missed a long field goal attempt on the game’s opening drive, Ohio State quickly grabbed the lead with an eight-play, 69-yard touchdown drive on its first possession. McCord found Marvin Harrison Jr. three times, including the 14-yard touchdown throw and catch that capped the drive.
Jayden Fielding’s extra point was no good, and Ohio State settled for a 6-0 lead six minutes into the game.
Devin Brown’s 3-yard rushing touchdown increased the lead to 13-0 midway through the opening quarter as Ohio State began to pull away early. Brown took over for McCord for the final three plays of the drive, two of which were designed quarterback runs inside the Purdue 5-yard line.
McCord tossed his second touchdown of the half, this time to Cade Stover, late in the second half to give Ohio State a 20-0 lead.
Purdue (2-5) appeared poised to cut into the lead just before halftime after getting the ball back at its own 30 with 2:02 remaining in the second quarter. Four plays later, Purdue was inside the Ohio State 25-yard line for the first time after a 21-yard run from Devin Mockobee.
Mockobee nearly finished the drive in the end zone with a 21-yard carry two plays later but was tackled just shy of the end zone, which proved to be a pivotal moment in the game for Purdue for all the wrong reasons.
Backed up to its own goal line, the Ohio State defense stiffened, turning Mockobee away for a 1-yard loss on first down. A second-down holding penalty pushed Purdue back even farther, and Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau combined to take down Purdue quarterback Hudson Card for a 10-yard loss on third down.
Once at the inch line, Purdue was forced to settle for a 40-yard field goal attempt, and Julio Macias’ kick was rejected by the upright to send Ohio State into halftime with the shutout still intact.
Ohio State’s 269 total yards were its second-most of the season in the first half, outgaining Purdue by 149 yards en route to the big lead.
Picking up right where it left off in the first half, Ohio State received the opening kickoff of the third quarter and marched 67 yards to quickly build on its lead. Dallan Hayden’s 1-yard touchdown run finished the drive and increased the Ohio State lead to 27-0 with 12:24 remaining in the third quarter.
Already missing TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, Hayden was forced into action following an injury that knocked Chip Trayanum out of the game in the first quarter. Hayden finished with 76 yards on 11 carries to lead all rushers.
“To be able to go do that says a lot about his preparation,” Day said of Hayden. “He protected the ball, which is the most important thing. And he ran the ball hard. It was good to see him step up in this moment on the road.”
McCord and Stover connected again for their second touchdown of the game later in the quarter to open a 34-0 lead late in the third quarter as Ohio State began to substitute freely on its way to the blowout victory.
McCord finished his day completing 16 of his 28 passing attempts for 276 yards to go along with the three touchdowns.
Despite the lopsided final score, Day noted there are still plenty of areas in which Ohio State needs to improve as the level of competition is set to ramp up next week.
“We’re nowhere near where we need to be, but that’s part of growing,” he said. “You want to be playing your best football at the end of the season. You find a way to go 1-0 on Saturday, and that’s the goal. We know we have a big challenge ahead of us, and the preparation starts now.”
Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.
