No. 4 Ohio State plays host to No. 19 Purdue in a top-20 clash that the Buckeyes knew they had to take seriously long before the College Football Playoff committee ranked the Boilermakers. Purdue has already knocked off two top-five teams this season, beating Iowa last month and Michigan State just this past weekend. And, who could forget what happened in 2018?
That was when a 7-0 Ohio State team ranked at No. 2 in the polls made a trip to West Lafayette, Indiana, to face a 3-3 Purdue squad for which nobody had any expectations. Purdue shocked the world and knocked off Ohio State 49-20 in a game that would keep the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff despite being 12-1 and winning the Big Ten. With one loss already this season against Oregon, the Buckeyes don’t want to let Purdue destroy another national title pursuit.
As for the Boilermakers, they’re still very much alive in the Big Ten title race themselves. They enter the weekend tied with Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa at 4-2 in first place in the West Division. Unfortunately, they’ve already lost to both Wisconsin and Minnesota, so they not only need to win out but need some help. Still, the only thing they can control is the winning, and Ohio State is far and away the biggest obstacle remaining in front of them.
Ohio State vs. Purdue: Need to know
The Boilermakers are giant-killers: Purdue has two wins over top-five teams this season, which is nothing new for this program. The wins over Iowa and Michigan State leave Purdue with 17 wins in program history over top-five teams when unranked — more than any other program in the history of the sport. Of course, three of the top-five teams in this stat are Big Ten schools, and that’s a result of Big Ten teams being ranked so highly…
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