Buckeye Stock Market Report: Against Purdue, the Ohio State offense

After each Ohio State game during the 2021 football season, LGHL will offer its market analysis of the Buckeyes’ performance. Using a standard bond rating system, we’ll evaluate the offense, the defense, and the special teams, according to this formula:

AA (yeah, I may also use + and -): Very Strong
A: Strong
BBB: Adequate
BB: Facing Major Uncertainty

Then, we’ll take a look at any individual players whose performance stood out (in one way or another!) and assign them a stock rating: Blue Chip, Solid Performance, Penny Stock (akin to a junk bond, dangerously high risk).

I guess that having Garrett Wilson back on the field for the Buckeyes really does matter. He scored half of Ohio State’s eight touchdowns and was the receiver that quarterback C.J. Stroud turned to time and again.

Yes, the efficient, unstoppable Buckeye offense was back against the Boilermakers, who never showed any danger of really spoiling anything, as the Bucks scored first and then put up 28 unanswered points after Purdue tied the game at 7-7. The halftime score saw Ohio State up 45-17, and the game was essentially over.

It wasn’t just the Buckeye offense, however, that accounted for that early, lopsided score. Purdue self-destructed, with two first-half fumbles recovered by Ohio State and a shanked punt on their first possession that gave Stroud and company the ball on the Boilermakers’ 39. Why Purdue inserted former starting quarterback Jake Plummer into the game when Aidan O’Connell was moving his team down the field on its third possession, we’ll never know. But Plummer botched a handoff on his only play, resulting in a fumble, recovered by Jerron Cage at midfield. TreVeyon Henderson scampered 57 yards for a Buckeye touchdown on the next play, and the score was quickly 21-7.

With OSU’s offense playing so well, Purdue simply couldn’t recover from those costly mistakes. They were overwhelmed by the Buckeyes in the air and on the ground. Had the Boilermakers played cleanly, their offense, pretty potent all afternoon, might have made the game interesting. But when you’re forced to score a touchdown on nearly every drive in order to stay in the game, you’re in deep trouble.

Offense

The Buckeye offense had 386 yards at halftime (!) and finished with 624. The attack was much more balanced than we’ve seen of late. Stroud threw for 361 yards and five touchdowns; the rushing game generated another 263 yards (8.5 per rush) and three touchdowns.

The Ohio State running game was more imaginative, as Garrett Wilson scored on a 51-yard end around play, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba gained 49 yards on another one that was technically a forward pass. Miyan Williams actually carried the ball once more than did Henderson and gained 117 yards for the game, on a whopping 8.4 yards per carry average. Aside from his 57-yard touchdown, Henderson was sort of held in check by the Boilermaker defense, as he gained 41 yards on his other 12 carries (3.4 yards per run).