David Pollack: Upset in Columbus is not out of reach for Purdue

The Purdue Boilermakers are one of the most dangerous teams in college football this season. After having already knocked off two top-five teams this season, many people are picking the Boilermakers as a team that could upset Ohio State on Saturday. ESPN’s David Pollack let it be known on Get Up that an upset is not that far out of the question.

“I tell you what, it’s not as far of a reach as we would have thought it would have been several weeks ago,” Pollack said. “And not just because of what Purdue’s done but because of what Ohio State’s looked like. Ohio State’s looked very human. I mean they were hitting people upside the head with a frying pan for a number of weeks and outscoring them by literally 40 points a game. Scoring so many points.

“Then guess what happened? Penn State happened. Then guess what happened? Nebraska happened. That offense has looked very, very human. They don’t run the football great. [George] Karlaftis and this defensive line for Purdue can get pressure on the quarterback, can stunt, can move, and do some good things. So I do think this will be a game that will be very competitive.”

Ohio State has looked incredibly human the past few weeks and it should be in for a tough matchup this weekend against Purdue.

As for Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis, he’s racked up three sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss and eight quarterback hurries this season.

Purdue wide receiver David Bell

Objective No. 1 for Ohio State on defense is clear: figuring out how to stop one of the best quarterback-receiver tandems in college football in Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell and David Bell.

Bell currently ranks fourth in the nation in yards after the catch with 431, according to PFF. He just torched Michigan State’s defense to the tune of 11 catches, 217 receiving yards, and one touchdown in the Boilermakers 40-29 upset of Sparty.

The junior wideout is one of the best playmakers in college football and he’s proven that against a number of high level opponents.

His best performance of the season came when he exploded for 11 catches, 240 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Purdue ended up throttling Iowa, 24-7.

Ohio State kicks off against Purdue on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST.