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Ohio State football vs. Purdue reaction: 5 things we think we learned from the Buckeyes

November 8, 2025
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The Ohio State football team went to Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette on Saturday and continued to dominate en route to a 34-10 victory in a place that has surprisingly not been so kind to the Buckeyes in the past.

And while there were some sputtering moments on offense, that side of the ball seemed to do what it needed when it needed to put up yards, finish drives, and put enough points on the board to win this one. The defense was again dominant, and allowed the offense to kind of go through the motions and see if it could muster some different things.

The Buckeyes now move their record to 9-0 and will undoubtedly keep the No. 1 ranking across all polls in the Milky Way Galaxy. After each Ohio State football game, we like to look back and observe some things and take some things away we think we learned.

Here are five things we think we learned after Ohio State’s dominant win vs. Purdue on Saturday afternoon.

Carnell Tate is a big part of the Ohio State offense

I mean, duh. Carnell Tate didn’t play today for unknown reasons, and it was apparent the offense wasn’t nearly as explosive because of it. Jeremiah Smith had a big day, and the passing game still looked good, but it didn’t have the same surgical precision as weeks past.

Tate adds that game breaker on the other side of Smith, and when he’s not there, the offense is just a wee bit easier to defend. Again, not horrible today, but not the well-oiled machine we’ve seen. Hopefully, there’s nothing that’s nagging for Tate moving forward.

But the defense for Ohio State

We are really out of superlatives for what this Ohio State defense continues to do. Despite the offense tinkering around a little bit, the defense continued to make life difficult on the opposition. It’s one of the reasons the Buckeyes have to be the favorites to win the College Football Playoff national championship because, all things being equal, the defense is going to keep OSU in the game no matter what.

The scheme, the effort, the smarts, and the effort from some fast-twitch athletes have this historically good defense continuing to show out every week without any kind of letdown. It’s been amazing, and there doesn’t seem to be any way offenses can solve this Rubik’s Cube. Purdue had less than 200 yards of offense and scored a touchdown only in junk time.

Ohio State is clearly working on the running game

When you have a defense like the one that steps off the bus every week, like Ohio State’s, you have some liberties on offense. Against Purdue, it became clear that Ryan Day and staff wanted to try and get the ground game going no matter what. It was an effort on early downs from the first possession on, with the passing game supplemented when needed.

It didn’t seem to work at first, but as the game wore on, Ohio State started to find some running room on the ground, and that has to feel good. At the end of the day, the stats will be respectable with the Buckeyes gaining 170 yards on the ground and averaging 4.0 yards per attempt. That’s not home run type stuff, but it’s singles and doubles, and a bit of improvement.

Julian Sayin is human after all, Ohio State fans

After the Texas game forward, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin has been unbelievable. He leads the Big Ten and the country in Total QBR, and still had a very good day today, but not as good as the weeks prior. He actually had a very bad decision to throw across the middle late inside the red zone that resulted in an interception, and threw more incompletions than normal, and only tossed one touchdown.

Boo-hoo. OK, we’re nitpicking because Sayin still went 27-of-33 for 303 yards, but seeing him use poor judgment and throw an inexcusable interception when he knows he should have either taken a sack or thrown the ball away won’t sit well with him or head coach Ryan Day.

Is Ohio State immune to letdowns?

We’ve seen it across the country with literally every team. Heck, Indiana had to survive against Penn State thanks to a late, late touchdown to stay undefeated on Saturday. Every other team in the country has had close shaves and come-from-behind victories.

But not Ohio State.

The Buckeyes just keep rolling against any and all competition. The Texas game wasn’t as close as it seemed in Week 1, and that’s the last time OSU was even close to being threatened. The season isn’t over, and Day would tell you the same, but this team worries about itself on a weekly basis rather than the level of its opponent. Ohio State is the most focused and complete team in the country. No question.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State football beats Purdue: 5 things we think we learned

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