Ohio State's Lincoln Kienholz (3) celebrates a touchdown against Purdue (Photo by Ohio State Athletics)
Ohio State 34, Purdue 10
Ohio State got off to another slow start in their game against Purdue. The Boilermakers even had a 3-0 lead heading into the second quarter. CJ Donaldson’s first touchdown run of the game changed that a minute into the second. The Buckeyes got things going in the second quarter. Julian Sayin found Jeremiah Smith for a 35-yard touchdown. Carnell Tate was out with an injury this game, but the extra defensive attention from Purdue didn’t slow Sayin and Smth down.
The Buckeyes got another touchdown before halftime with their package for backup quarterback Lincoln Kienholz. Kienholz ran a touchdown in from three yards out. I hope in the next few games they keep running that formation, and in a big moment —maybe against that team up north —they let Kienholz fake the run and throw it to a tight end.
Ohio State would get a 49-yard field goal from Jayden Fielding before the half. Ohio State went on a 24-0 run in the second quarter, leading 24-3 at the half. The third quarter would be scoreless, further proving that this was an off game for Ohio State. They would continue to battle and, early in the fourth quarter, get another Fielding field goal, this time from 45 yards out.
The Bucks would get another CJ Donaldson touchdown in the fourth quarter, and would have gotten another touchdown had Sayin not made a rare bad throw. He threw late over the middle, back across his body, into the endzone, and had it picked. That’s something for him to learn from and clean up. He can’t force things despite how accurate he is and how well he’s playing. Ohio State would give up a touchdown late with their backups in, and the game would end with a 34-10 Ohio State victory.
Keeping Perspective
Carnell Tate missing the game, Julian Sayin throwing an out-of-character Red Zone interception, and giving up a rare late touchdown aren’t reasons to panic. Teams have tough and imperfect games all the time. You’d rather have them against a 2-8 team when you can still win. And if you win an ‘off game’ by 24 points, you’re in pretty good shape. The Bucks are still #1 and still undefeated.
Heisman Hopefuls
The Buckeyes’ stars were shining brightly, just as they have all season. Julian Sayin was still accurate and sharp despite the one pick. He was 27 of 33 for 303 yards and the beautiful touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith. Smith had 10 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown. Smith has 65 catches for 862 yards and 11 total touchdowns this season. Sayin is 203 of 251 for 2,491 yards and 24 touchdown passes. Both are still alive in this year’s wide-open Heisman race.
Special Teams Progress
One of the big positive takeaways from this game was Jayden Fielding making two kicks from beyond 40 yards. Fielding struggled at the end of last year while injured and has continued to struggle from beyond 35 yards. Seeing him make two of 45 yards or longer is hopefully a good sign of his progression as a kicker and of him trending toward being an asset the Buckeyes can rely on.
UCLA
The Bruins have been all over the place this year. They started 0-4, and then won three in a row. They upset Penn State and helped them fire their head coach, they blew out Michigan State, and had a gritty win over Maryland. Then they got slaughtered by Indiana and had a battle with Nebraska, but couldn’t stop Emmett Johnson.
They can play well even when you out-talent them. Despite their 3-6 record, Nico Iamaleava is a capable quarterback. UCLA will be hyped, knowing this is their biggest game and biggest opportunity of the season. Ohio State and UCLA are 4-4-1 against each other. They last met in 2001 on the West Coast. The Bruins won 13-6 in Jim Tressel’s first road game. The series tie will be broken on Saturday night.
The Best Thing About Being 9-0
“What’s the best thing about being 9-0?” Urban Meyer and Ryan Day would both ask their teams. The response would always be “The chance to go 10-0!” That’s the focus the Buckeyes need to have. Yes, they have a couple of Heisman contenders on offense. The defense is the best in the nation. They’re the defending champions. But they got to stay hungry. Don’t listen to the rat poison. Don’t pay any real attention to us in the media, telling them how great they are. They are the defending champions, but that was the 2024 team’s story. The 2025 team’s story has yet to be written in stone.
