OSU emphasizes run in win over Purdue

OSU emphasizes run in win over Purdue By Jim Naveau jnaveau@limanews.com WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Ryan Day described Ohio State as business-like, growing up every day, and edgy and competitive after a 34-10 win at Purdue on Saturday. He could have easily added consistent, too. OSU has played nine games and won all nine. And its margin of victory in those games has also been consistent, with no opponent since Texas in the season opener getting closer than 18 points. Ohio State's latest win was accomplished without two key starters – wide receiver Carnell Tate and right tackle Phillip Daniels. "Both guys really wanted to play. Phil was someone who we weren't sure how it was going to go. He was kind of questionable coming in. Carnell felt like he was OK to play but when he went through warm-ups he just felt something there and we wanted to be really careful," Day said. Jeremiah Smith caught 10 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown in the absence of his running mate and eight other players caught passes for OSU. Smith's touchdown catch was his 25th in his 25th game at Ohio State. No other Buckeyes receiver has ever gotten to 25 touchdowns that fast. "For Jeremiah to have the impact that he did, not having Carnell on the other side of the ball, just speaks volumes to what he does and how impactful he is," Day said. Sophomore Ian Moore replaced Daniels in the starting lineup and Day spoke positively about how he played. "I don't know what he graded out but when you don't notice somebody that's a good sign," he said. One area that hasn't always been consistent for Ohio State this season has been its running game. Ohio State ran the ball 43 times for 170 yards Saturday in what Day admitted was an effort to improve by repetition. "We wanted to run the ball. In order to get the run game going you've got to give it a chance to get going. I think it was efficient for the most part. It wasn't great but there were some good hits. I thought the protection was solid," he said. "I thought we got better today (at running the ball) because they had more opportunities to run. These are young backs and we have to continue to give them the opportunity to grow." Bo Jackson was OSU's individual rushing leader with 75 yards on 14 carries and Isaiah West gained 60 yards on 9 carries. No. 1 Ohio State (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) had 473 yards of total offense and limited Purdue (2-8, 0-7 Big Ten) to 186 yards. OSU quarterback Julian Sayin completed 27 of 33 passes for 303 yards and a touchdown. His interception in the second half was his fourth of the season and broke a streak of 173 passes without a pick. Ohio State's first drive in the game started with a big play that was quickly followed by a penalty flag for a block in the back by Smith, which turned a 70-yard run for a touchdown by Jackson into a three-yard gain. Purdue took its only lead of the game on a 40-yard field goal by Spencer Porath with 4:23 left in the first quarter. It was only the third time all season OSU had been behind in a game. The other two teams to take the lead over the Buckeyes were Washington and Minnesota. Ohio State had a strong answer for the Boilermakers' early lead when it scored 24 points in the second quarter. The first score of that quarter came on 1-yard touchdown run by C.J. Donaldson at the end of a 75- yard drive for a 7-3 lead. OSU scored the next three times it had the ball – on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Sayin to Smith, on a 3-yard touchdown run by Lincoln Kienholz, and a career-best 49-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding. Kienholz's touchdown was set up when cornerback Jermaine Mathews intercepted a pass at Ohio State's 47-yard line and returned it to Purdue's 33-yard line. "I say thanks to Caleb Downs, he deflected it. Great play, good turning point in the game," Mathews said. "It's what I do, make plays and try to get the ball back for the offense." Tight end Max Klare caught 5 passes for 59 yards in his return to Purdue, where he was the Boilermakers leading receiver last season before transferring to Ohio State. Klare said, "It was definitely different but it was really cool to come back to Purdue. I have a lot of love for Purdue and everything they've done for me from an academic level to an on the field level. There are so many great people. Really grateful for Purdue and to be back here." Klare's brother, Luke Klare, is a redshirt freshman tight end at Purdue.