Purdue Opponent Preview: Ohio State

Purdue enters Year Two of the Ryan Walters era looking for growth following a 4-8 debut campaign. The Boilermakers will again face one of the nation’s most demanding schedules, a daunting proposition as they hope to return to postseason play.

Throughout the summer, GoldandBlack.com will preview each of Purdue’s 2024 opponents. Today, we take a look at the Ohio State Buckeyes with the help of Spencer Holbrook from Lettermen Row.

The overview

Purdue heads east to Columbus this November to take on the Buckeyes. This will mark the third meeting between the two programs since the unforgettable upset in 2018. Purdue fell behind early in Columbus in 2021, while it struggled mightily to score on a rainy afternoon in West Lafayette last season. Ohio State leads the all-time series 42-15-2, but it holds a commanding 26-5-2 record inside The Horseshoe. While Purdue owns five wins over Ohio State in the 21st century, it last won in Columbus in 1988.

Name to know: offense

Will Howard, the projected starting quarterback. He won a Big 12 title at Kansas State and is the perfect fit for the new offensive wrinkles Chip Kelly wants to use at Ohio State. The Buckeyes want more quarterback run in their offense — or at least the threat of it — and will use Howard in big moments. It’ll help them in the red zone, where they struggled the last three years, and will help add another option to what should be a better ground game. He’s the choice.

Name to know: defense

How much time do you have? Ohio State returns six of its top seven defensive linemen, all three cornerbacks and most of the other secondary members. Alabama transfer Caleb Downs is the choice, because he might win the Thorpe Award this fall. After posting 107 tackles at Alabama as a Freshman All-American a year ago, Downs now joins the country’s top pass defense and will be a force. Expect to hear his name a lot entering his second year of college football.

Biggest question:

Will the offensive line improve from last year? It wasn’t great a year ago, when the Buckeyes had four new starters. Now, they return four starters and added former Alabama starting center Seth McLaughlin. Both starters at tackle from a year ago, Josh Simmons and Josh Fryer, are vastly improved this offseason, and that should equate to a better OL this fall. They’ll need to be good to create rushing lanes for star tailbacks TreVeyon Henderson and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins — while also pass-blocking.

Key newcomer

It’s Jeremiah Smith, and it’s not particularly close. He was the No. 1 overall recruit in the On3 Industry Ranking for the class of 2024, and he’s drawing insane praise from Buckeyes players and coaches this offseason. When media got the chance to see him in spring, he did things that they only saw from Marvin Harrison Jr. last season. Smith was going over-top of experienced defensive backs for acrobatic catches. He’ll earn starter-level snaps as a freshman and become a superstar nearly from Day One.

Early outlook on Purdue vs. Ohio State

Nothing to lose, right? Ohio State enters the season as a clear-cut national championship contender. After three losses to Michigan in-a-row, several NFL-caliber Buckeyes returned for one last run at winning a national title. Anything short of that will result in disappointment, a mentality that Purdue can’t quite relate to.

The Boilermakers will arrive in Columbus as heavy underdogs, likely in the three-touchdown ballpark. Little will be expected of Purdue in this game, but that’s why the game is played.

2024 expectations

It’s just as senior cornerback Denzel Burke said: ’natty or bust.’ Ohio State brought back nearly every NFL Draft-eligible player from last year’s 11-2 team and enters the season as one of the four favorites to win the national title with Oregon, Texas and Georgia. The Buckeyes expect to win every game, including the road trips to Oregon and Penn State and the home game against Michigan. They expect to win the Big Ten and get to the College Football Playoff. Anything less than a semifinal appearance in the CFP will feel like a failure. Anything less than a title appearance — and potential win — will feel like a disappointment.

2024 Purdue schedule

Date	Opponent
Aug. 31	Indiana State, Noon ET, BTN
Sept. 7	OFF
Sept. 14	Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Sept. 21	at Oregon State, 8:30 p.m. ET, CW
Sept. 28	Nebraska
Oct. 5	at Wisconsin
Oct. 12	at Illinois
Oct. 18	Oregon, 8 p.m. ET, FOX (Friday)
Oct. 26	OFF
Nov. 2	Northwestern
Nov. 9	at Ohio State
Nov. 16	Penn State
Nov. 22	at Michigan State, 8 p.m. ET, FOX (Friday)
Nov. 30	at Indiana

Previous previews: Indiana State | Notre Dame | Oregon State | Nebraska | Wisconsin | Illinois | Oregon | Northwestern