Ohio State enters this contest fresh off a 37-17 home victory over Maryland. Purdue hopes to get back into the win column Saturday after falling to the Hawkeyes at Iowa 20-14.
Who will win this Big Ten matchup? Find out when we offer our best predictions for Ohio State at Purdue on Saturday, October 14.
Ohio State Continues to Roll
Ohio State brings a 5-0 record into this Big Ten matchup. The Buckeyes season began with a quarterback controversy, but Kyle McCord is the starter, and the offense has scored 23 points or more in four of its first five, coming off a bye week, we should expect a much crisper offense this week against Purdue.
The Buckeyes offense scores an average of 35 points per game. McCord has thrown for 1375 passing yards with eight TD passes and one interception. Wideout Marvin Harrison is his top pass-catching threat and leads a WR room with four catching at least 100+ yards worth of passes.
RB Treyveyon Henderson leads the Buckeyes rushing game, and all this is done behind a solid offensive line allowing 7 sacks this season.
This man is unguardable 🗣️ @MarvHarrisonJr pic.twitter.com/k9ex9KibeP
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 8, 2023
The Ohio State defense is 3rd in the country in scoring and has allowed just 268 total yards per game. The Buckeyes defense allows the 6th fewest passing yards in the country, and its rushing defense ranks 26th nationally. Ohio State lacks a pass rush, as the Buckeyes are 121st in FBS in sacks.
Purdue Looking for First Conference Victory
The Boilermakers have dropped three of their past four, including a 20-14 away loss last week to Iowa. Purdue QB Hudson Card threw a TD pass but was intercepted twice on a day when the Boilermakers were unable to rush for 100+ yards and were penalized six times for 45 yards.
Ryan Walters Weekly Press Conference | October 9, 2023 https://t.co/DxvCjEsHFg
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) October 9, 2023
Card hasn’t had the greatest season by his standards. He’s thrown for 1491 yards with six TDs but has been intercepted twice but has scampered for an additional 35 yards with three scores.
Card has a pair of wideouts with 300+ receiving yards and three additional with 100+ receiving yards. Purdue has a strong rushing game behind RBs Devin Mockobee and Tyrone Tracy Jr, but the offensive line is just average, with 14 sacks allowed this season.
Purdue’s defense is mediocre and has allowed the 86th most points but the 78th most yards per game. They’ve allowed as many as 39 points and as few as 17 points thus far and allowed 38 points at home to Wisconsin.
The Boilermakers surrender the 68th most passing and 87th amount of rushing yards but are 14th nationally in sacks per contest.
Ohio State vs. Purdue Best Bet
Over the years, Ohio State has had difficulties at Purdue, but the Boilermakers struggle when playing good teams, and my best bet is Ohio State -19.5 (-110) at FanDuel Sportsbook Ohio.
Ohio State seems to improve each week and should cover the -19.5. The Buckeyes are 0-2-0 ATS as the away team, but they beat Maryland by 20 at home but should have more than enough offensive talent to win by three TDs over a Purdue defense allowing 28 points per contest.
The Buckeyes defense has been stout, and the Boilermakers’ offensive shortcomings will be exposed by a very solid Ohio State defense. Lay the -19.5 and take Ohio State to cover the spread.
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