![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/purdue.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n\n Ohio State begins its final third of the regular season on Saturday. <\/p>\n
\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t2-7\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tNOV. 8, 2025\u00a0– 1 P.M. ET\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tRoss-Ade Stadium\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tWEst Lafayette, IN\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Buckeyes face their final road test before their regular season-ending trip to Ann Arbor as they take on Purdue in West Lafayette. While the Buckeyes are heavily favored to beat the Boilermakers, who are just 2-7 this season, Purdue is 5-4 against Ohio State at Ross-Ade Stadium since 2000, making this week\u2019s game one that still has OSU\u2019s attention.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIf Saturday\u2019s game plays out as hoped, Ohio State won\u2019t need its starters to play four full quarters and it\u2019ll have the opportunity to get its backups some reps on the road. But the Buckeyes still have some issues to work through as the Michigan game and the postseason loom, while they\u2019ll also look to continue building Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith\u2019s Heisman campaigns<\/a>\u00a0against a Purdue defense that\u2019s allowed the second-most yards per game (395) in the Big Ten.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWith all of that in mind, we\u2019ve highlighted our biggest questions entering the game and\u00a0top players to watch and made some specific predictions for what we\u2019ll see happen in Saturday\u2019s 1 p.m. game.\n<\/p>\n \tQuestions<\/p>\n \tDo the Buckeyes keep making progress in the running game?<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State showed marked improvement running the ball against Penn State after bad outings against Illinois and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes picked up 164 rushing yards at a clip of 5.1 yards per carry vs. the Nittany Lions, though a large chunk of that came on Bo Jackson’s 51-yard run in the fourth quarter. Removing that jaunt, OSU had 31 carries for 113 yards, just 3.6 yards per carry.\n<\/p>\n \n\tPurdue’s defense offers a chance for more explosives and more consistency. The Boilermakers are 92nd nationally in yards allowed per carry (4.2) and 81st in rushing yards allowed per game (160.1). The distribution of carries between CJ Donaldson, James Peoples and Isaiah West behind Jackson also continues to be an interesting storyline.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u2013\u00a0Andy Anders\n<\/p>\n \tHow do Ohio State\u2019s guards look?<\/p>\n \n\tDan asked Ryan Day on Tuesday to provide updates on potential injuries to Luke Montgomery, Tegra Tshabola and Josh Padilla. Day said he expected two of the three to practice later that afternoon, while the Buckeyes would monitor the progress of the other throughout the week. Asked again about the injuries on Wednesday, Day said he had \u201cno update.\u201d No matter what combination of Montgomery, Tshabola and Padilla play against Purdue, I will be curious to see how the rotation shakes out, as Ohio State\u2019s interior offensive line seems to be one of the only question marks remaining about the No. 1 team in the nation.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u2013 Chase Brown\n<\/p>\n \tWill the backups see extended action?<\/p>\n \n\tEven though Ohio State has dominated all season, winning its last seven straight games by at least 18 points, its backups haven\u2019t gotten a ton of playing time due to the slower pace Ohio State has played with. Second-string quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, for example, has played just 35 snaps this season<\/a> with only two appearances in the last five games.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIf Ohio State dominates Purdue the way it\u2018s supposed to, the Buckeyes should be able to take their starters out of the game at some point in the second half. Ryan Day said this week that the Buckeyes \u201cwant to play depth,\u201d so he\u2019ll presumably be inclined to give the backups multiple drives on both sides of the ball if possible, especially considering they\u2019ve had minimal opportunities to play on the road this season. But whether that happens will depend on whether the Buckeyes can pull away early, especially if they continue to milk clock.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u2013 Dan Hope\n<\/p>\n \tPlayers to Watch<\/p>\n \tJeremiah Smith<\/p>\n \n\tAs spectacular as Smith is, he\u2019s going to need to put up monster numbers for the next five weeks to have a real shot at winning the Heisman. Ohio State should be inclined to give Smith playmaking opportunities after launching a Heisman campaign for him last weekend \u2013 even if winning the game is the primary focus \u2013 and he should have plenty of them against a Purdue defense that ranks 128th out of 136 FBS teams with 8.8 yards allowed per pass attempt.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u2013 Dan Hope\n<\/p>\n \tArvell Reese<\/p>\n \n\tReese has been one of college football\u2019s breakout stars this season. In fact, he may be the breakout star in college football, considering he has ascended from Ohio State\u2019s No. 3 linebacker in 2024 to Butkus Award frontrunner, Bednarik Award contender and potential No. 1 overall pick<\/a> a year later. I expect Reese to continue his streak of dominance this weekend against a Purdue team that has allowed 16 sacks and 48 tackles for loss in nine games.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u2013 Chase Brown\n<\/p>\n \tAustin Siereveld<\/p>\n \n\tOne thing Purdue has done well this season is rush the passer, currently tied for 30th nationally with 21 sacks. Siereveld has been rock solid at left tackle this season but had a few uncharacteristic lapses against Penn State, allowing two pressures and receiving his lowest pass-blocking grade of the season on Pro Football Focus (44.1) \u2013 however much stock one puts into the latter. He’ll be matched up with the Boilermakers’ best defender, CJ Nunnally IV, on Saturday. I expect a bounce-back.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u2013\u00a0Andy Anders\n<\/p>\n \tPredictions<\/p>\n \tOhio State scores a defensive touchdown<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019ve thrown this dart before; I\u2019ll throw this dart again. I feel like Ohio State\u2019s defense is due for another scoop-and-score or pick-six. I can feel it in my bones (though that could just be my body aching from the colder weather). Whether it\u2019s an Arvell Reese strip-sack, a Jermaine Mathews Jr. house call, or something else entirely, I\u2019ll think the Silver Bullets will put six points on the board for the Buckeyes.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u2013 Chase Brown\n<\/p>\n \tMax Klare catches a touchdown pass<\/p>\n \n\tThis prediction didn\u2019t cash when I made the same prediction for Will Kacmarek when he played his former team in Ohio State\u2019s win over Ohio, but I\u2019m running it back for Ohio State\u2019s other top tight end against his former school. Playing a struggling Purdue pass defense should be a prime opportunity for the Buckeyes to get Klare going more in the passing game, even with his younger brother simulating him on Purdue\u2019s scout-team offense this week.\n<\/p>\n \n\tKlare\u2019s selection as the player who gave the team its \u201cWork Week Done\u201d speech<\/a> on Thursday suggests the Buckeyes aren\u2019t shying away from his Boilermaker connection, so I think they\u2019ll have a red-zone play drawn up for Klare to score his second touchdown of the season.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u2013 Dan Hope\n<\/p>\n