Their were no tears shed by the Ohio State football program when the 32nd pick in the NFL draft was chosen in April. That is when former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees joined the San Diego Chargers.
Purdue (5-2, 3-2 Big Ten) enters into the ‘Shoe tomorrow fresh off of a 38-13 pounding behind the woodshed handed out by Illinois last Saturday. The Boilermakers want and need this game as much as OSU (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten). The Buckeyes will look to build on their 31-28 victory over Minnesota last Saturday.
“Every week is our bowl game basically,” OSU defensive lineman Tim Anderson said. “In the offseason I really didn’t know how they would be after losing Drew Brees. But their quarterback now has done a good job stepping it up.”
Brandon Hance is the new quarterback, he is also a redshirt freshman and has the controls to Purdue’s fun-and-gun offense, which is like giving the keys of a Corvette to a 16-year-old.
“I think this is a great opportunity for us,” Hance said. “Some people are gradually losing respect for us.”
OSU coach Jim Tressel expects a less complex passing attack tomorrow than the one the OSU defense faced last year.
“One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to go from a Drew Brees and use all that stuff Drew Brees uses with the new guy,” Tressel said.
It will be the second spread offense OSU has seen this season, defeating Northwestern earlier this season.
“They line up the same but they don’t do many of the same things,” Tressel said.
“Northwestern’s is a spread that likes to run the ball, they are run first pass second. Purdue lines up in a spread and they are pass first and run second.
“From a deployment standpoint, you deploy against the two very similar and so recognition and familiarity (is similar). Watching Purdue and Washington in the Rose Bowl last January, what Purdue did is they came out and ran a decent amount of power. They’ve got a big package and we have to make sure we’re ready for all of it.”
OSU needs to build on the offensive performance tomorrow or kidnap Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner. A big key will be if OSU’s offensive line can match its performance against the Purdue front four on defense like they did against Minnesota. The Gophers average just 250-pounds per man across, while Purdue averages more than 280-pounds per defensive lineman.
“Purdue is nicely sized up front. Minnesota wasn’t undersized but they were a little bit small,” OSU offensive lineman Adrien Clarke said. “They move here and there, right and left. They are the most mobile line we have faced.”
The OSU defense needs to stop big plays if they want a share of the Big Ten title.
“I think we have missed some tackles. We are going to have to tackle better to be a good enough defense and we have had some missed assignments,” Tressel said.
The OSU defensive captain agreed.
“I think we made defensive mistakes that we can correct which is great,” linebacker Joe Cooper said. “They still have big play receivers and their quarterback. I’ve seen do some great things on film.”
Hance has passed for 1,342 yards this season with eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions. Purdue receivers Seth Morales and John Sandeford have combined to catch seven of the those touchdowns.
At least Purdue coach Joe Tiller is in love with the OSU squad if nobody else in central Ohio is. Tiller said this week he felt OSU had the most athletic team in the Big Ten, more athletic than Michigan and Illinois.
Tressel is more cautious in his portrayal of the Buckeyes.
“I learned a long time ago from Earl Bruce that nothing is as good as it seems and nothing is as bad,” Tressel said.
