Jeff Brohm: This Ohio State team can win a national championship

Ohio State is starting to kick it into high gear. After winning close games against Penn State and Nebraska, the Buckeyes turned up their intensity on Saturday and went to work – recording a dominating 59-31 win over Purdue, a Boilermakers team that had recorded two top-five upset wins this season against Iowa and Michigan State.

Just by seeing how simple it was for Ohio State to put away Purdue, that clearly shows that this Buckeyes squad can play with – and beat – anyone if they perform at a high level. Purdue coach Jeff Brohm sure does think so.

“Ohio State has great talent, especially with the O-line and QB,” Brohm said following his team’s loss to the Buckeyes. “At the end of the day, they made more plays than us. They came ready to play and executed really well on the offensive end.”

After the game was tied at 7-7 early, Ohio State took complete control. The Buckeyes ended up leading 21-7 after the first quarter, were up 45-17 at halftime and added 14 more points to their side of the scoreboard in the second half to record the lopsided win.

Ohio State put up 624 yards of offense – led by quarterback C.J. Stroud, who threw for 361 yards and five touchdowns – and had to punt only once. Purdue’s offense wasn’t bad at all, but the Boilermakers just couldn’t stay with the Buckeyes.

“That could be a team that wins it all,” Brohm said of Ohio State. “We were lucky to hold them to 59.”

Ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff Top 25, Ohio State – which is now 9-1 overall and a perfect 7-0 in Big Ten play – will face a pair of tough tests to close the regular season, as it hosts No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday and then travels to No. 6 Michigan on Nov. 27.

The Spartans are 9-1 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten and coming off a 40-21 win over Maryland. The Wolverines are also 9-1 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten and coming off a 21-17 win against Penn State in Happy Valley.