Defensive Observations From Ohio State's Blowout Win Over Purdue

Inconsistencies on defense couldn't spoil the Buckeyes 59-31 win over Purdue.

Spencer German | Nov 13, 2021

Each and every week since Matt Barnes took over the defensive play-calling, Ohio State has shown steady progress on that side of the ball. In a 59-31 blowout win over Purdue however, the Buckeyes left much to be desired defensively.

Throughout the game, the Boilermakers consistently dinked and dunked their way to five separate scoring drives, accumulating 481 total yards in the process and even made things somewhat interesting in the second half. On a night where Ohio State's offense exploded, it wasn't enough for Purdue to pull off a top-five upset in back-to-back weeks, but they did expose some weaknesses in the Buckeyes defense.

You can check out the offensive observations here.

Not so fast my friend!

Just when it appears the Ohio State defense is finally taking big steps towards being a championship-caliber unit, it seems to take one giant step backward. Purdue's offense had their way with the Buckeyes zone look all night.

Of their 481 total yards of offense, 390 came through the air as quarterback Aidan O'Connell found targets all over the field. Credit where it's due, O'Connell was impressive and his top target, David Bell, who had 11 receptions for 103 yards is one of the best wideouts in the country and a bona fide NFL talent. Still, it's concerning how vulnerable the zone looked in this one and if the offense hadn't put together its best performance of the season this game could have been much different.

10 games into the season, it feels like we have yet to see a game where the Buckeyes offense and defense put together a complete game at the same time.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good

A real turning point came very early on, on the Boilermakers' third possession of the game. On their previous drive, Purdue went 75 yards on seven plays and tied the game at seven. Then Ohio State's offense hit for a quick score to take a 14-7 lead.

They were moving the ball again on their third drive before a King Doerue fumble gave the ball back to the Buckeyes at their own 43. A 57-yard, TreVeyon Henderson touchdown run on the very next play suddenly left Purdue trailing 21-7 and they never got close again. Looking back on it, that turnover and a fair catch miscue on a kick return in the second quarter that gave Ohio State another short field for their fifth touchdown of the game wound up being the biggest difference in this game. Safe to say some key bounces went the Buckeyes way in this one.

Third down defense

Last week, the Buckeyes thrived on third down, allowing Nebraska to convert only two of their 13 third down conversions. Even more impressively, the Huskers first third-down conversion didn't even come until the fourth quarter. It felt like progress for a unit that ranks 85th for opponent's third-down conversion percentage.

Against the Boilermakers, it was quite the opposite as OSU regressed back to old trends this week. The defense just could not seem to get off the field on third down this week with Purdue converting 50-percent of their attempts. In retrospect, that isn't terrible but on four methodical scoring drives, it was a problem. This is a glaring area of weakness for the Buckeyes and could eventually come back to bite them on this home stretch.

Pass rush much?

One of the early season problems defensively was OSU’s inability to generate much pressure on opponents. In recent weeks though, the Buckeyes front four was making its presence felt and in the last four games in particular, the defense had recorded at least four sacks and nearly 30 tackles for a loss. Against the Boilermakers that pass rush was MIA for most of the game.

Ohio State finished with zero sacks and a commendable five tackles for a loss. Zach Harrison probably played the best game in the trenches, but there wasn’t much mentioning of his defensive line-mates like Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Antwuan Jackson, Taron Vincent or others. The limited availability of Haskell Garrett and Tyleik Williams are certainly a factor as well.

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