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Although they have both called the Big Ten home since the conference shifted to an East-West alignment rather than the notorious Legends and Leaders Divisions the conference used to have, when Ohio State and Purdue meet on Saturday night, it’ll be the first time they’ve played since the 2013 season. That was Urban Meyer’s second season with the Buckeyes, and Darrell Hazell’s first with the Boilermakers. Meyer remains, while Hazell has been replaced by Jeff Brohm.
Ohio State is 2-0 against Purdue under Urban Meyer and has dominated the series overall, going 39-14-2. It must be pointed out, however, that even though Ohio State won the 2013 meeting in West Lafayette, Purdue has won two of the last three meetings at Ross-Ade Stadium, and it was a big underdog each time. Just like it will be against the Buckeyes this weekend.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Oct. 20 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium — West Lafayette, Indiana
TV: ABC | Live stream: WatchESPN
Storylines
Ohio State: Ohio State is in the midst of a dangerous part of its schedule. Not because it’s facing great teams on a weekly basis, but because it’s undefeated and coming up against a stretch of opponents everyone expects it to beat. This is when we occasionally see teams get complacent and take their opponent for granted. To this point, Ohio State has avoided such a fate as it’s outscored Indiana and Minnesota 79-40 the last two weeks. This will be its first time on the road since beating Penn State and in two road games this season, we’ve seen the Buckeyes have a difficult time, even if they managed to win.
Purdue: Since coming to Purdue last season, Jeff Brohm has changed the identity of the program. It used to be a doormat, but nobody considers it one anymore. The Boilermakers may only be 10-9 under Brohm, but it’s a vast improvement over where they had been. And this improvement has come largely thanks to an offense that’s averaging 33.5 points per game this season. That’s nearly a full eight points more than it was scoring per game last season, and this week Purdue will face an Ohio State defense that has shown a few cracks. Purdue will need to exploit them to have a shot at pulling off this upset.
Game prediction, picks
This pick isn’t easy, and my confidence level isn’t sky high. Frankly, if the spread were at 14 or higher, I’d be taking Purdue here, but at 13.5 points I think the Buckeyes are the right play. Purdue’s offense will find success against this Ohio State defense, but I don’t think its defense will be able to hold against this potent Buckeyes offense enough times to stay within two scores. Pick: Ohio State -13.5
So which teams should you back in Week 8 of the college football season? And what national title contender will go down hard? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected score for every single FBS matchup, all from the model that has returned over $4,000 in profit to $100 bettors over the last three seasons and nailed Iowa State’s upset of No. 6 West Virginia last week.
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