Ohio State vs. Purdue Picks and Preview: Did the Boilermakers coach almost work for the Buckeyes?

Summary

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The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State vs. Purdue Picks and Preview

Podcast: The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
Hosts: Doug Lesmerises & Bill Landis
Date: November 6, 2025
Main Theme:
A comprehensive, lively preview of Ohio State’s upcoming matchup against Purdue, exploring the quirks of their historical rivalry, Purdue’s tumultuous 2025 season, and what Buckeye fans should expect (and look for) on Saturday.

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Episode Overview

Doug and Bill dissect the intrigue (or lack thereof) of the Ohio State vs. Purdue matchup, lean on years of Buckeye coverage, and sprinkle in memories of wacky clashes past. While Ohio State is a heavy favorite, the guys thread in deeper takeaways: how weirdness once defined this series, how both teams’ red zone performances warrant a close look, what Purdue’s massive roster overhaul has meant, and how the Buckeyes should approach a non-threatening, but potentially tricky opponent as they prep for the postseason.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Memories of West Lafayette and the “Purdue Hex”

• Opening banter (00:00–03:30):
  • Both recall the infamous 2018 upset at Purdue; Doug covered the game alone, Bill’s first OSU assignment.
  • Bill: “That was my first game. The first game I covered for The Athletic was the Purdue game.” (00:54)
  • The “Purdue thing” felt real: at one point from 2004–2018, Purdue was 5-4 vs. Ohio State at a time no other Big Ten team was beating them.
  • Doug: “You could argue it was among the weirdest things in college football.” (02:25)
  • Emphasis that recent years have been Buckeye blowouts (combined 145-38 across last three games).

2. Historic Stats: Is the Purdue Weirdness Over?

• Ohio State’s past struggles at Ross-Ade Stadium vs. now:
  • The magic of Purdue upsets was mostly “road only,” but Doug questions if that magic’s dead. Last two trips: easy OSU wins (41–7 most recently).
  • Bill: “Maybe this will be the game that tells us whether the magic of Ross-Ade is over.” (03:31)
  • Doug lays out: only Michigan (5) has more wins over OSU since 2000 than Purdue or Penn State (4 each), but model’s changed as Purdue’s football fate plummeted.

3. Red Zone Narratives & Defensive Matchups

• Unique stat matchups: (14:00–18:40)
  • “Purdue games are 2-7 to the under; Purdue is 3-5-1 against the spread.” – Bill (01:52)
  • Strength-on-strength (Ohio State offense v. Purdue red zone defense):
    • Purdue’s red zone defense allows TDs only 42% of the time (8th best nationally).
    • OSU’s offense scores TDs in 69.1% of its red zone trips (37th).
    • “That’s what I’m watching for...if Ohio State can punch it in when they get down there.” – Doug (16:58)
  • Bill cautions: most teams have gone for field goals vs. Purdue, not TDs, even strong offenses like USC.

4. Purdue: Massive Overhaul and Talent Drain

• 82 (!) new Purdue players this year. (18:40–19:53)
• 54 transfers, most in FBS; only 4 “returnees” knew the lay of the land in camp.
• Quarterback drama: Ryan Browne left for UNC in spring, but returned when QB room thinned.
• Purdue’s star RB Devin Mockabee out for year (ankle), a “huge deal” as he represented 22% of Purdue’s total yardage.
  • “He’s the Jeremiah Smith of Purdue football.” – Doug (11:49)

5. Coaching Respect: Barry Odom Connection

• Ohio State head coach Ryan Day considered Barry Odom for DC:
  • “He tried to hire—or at least talk—Barry Odom about potential DC opportunities at Ohio State... I do think they’re well-coached. They just don’t have any talent.” – Bill (13:08)
• Genuine respect, with both hosts noting Day’s unusually effusive praise.

6. What’s at Stake & What to Watch

• What can OSU “work on”? (14:29, 21:24, and throughout)
  • Focus: Red zone offense, explosive run plays, defensive reps vs. mobile QBs.
  • Purdue, well-coached but undermanned, could test OSU’s patience with tricky looks and tough red zone stands.
• Purdue’s Defensive Profile:
  • Aggressive, blitzy, but susceptible to big plays—only four teams nationally have allowed more 40-yard plays.
  • “If you do get inside the 20, they stiffen up a little bit and they’re hard to score on.” – Bill (18:11)

7. Game Management: How Long Will Starters Play?

• Should the Buckeyes rest key players if it gets out of hand? (25:27–30:05)
  • Ryan Day is non-committal, focuses on “trying to win.”
  • Both predict starters will play at least three quarters unless the margin is truly massive.
  • Offensive line needs reps for cohesion; maybe a few skill players get rest if a comfortable lead materializes.
  • “I kind of expect pedal-down through three quarters... I would expect the offensive starters out there for the first drive of the fourth quarter.” – Doug (28:28)

8. Predictions and Wrap-up (32:55–35:08)

• Bill’s pick: Ohio State 41, Purdue 7
  • “I do think it’ll be a game of explosive plays for the Buckeyes... This is not a very good Purdue run defense.” – Bill (32:55)
• Doug’s pick: Ohio State 38, Purdue 3
  • “Maybe Purdue’s building something. There’s just nothing there now... they have the newest roster in college football.” – Doug (34:10)
• Both predict Ohio State will cover the 29.5-point spread, and the game will hit the under.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Doug on Ross-Ade Stadium:
  “It’s not that you’re going into a viper pit, it’s that you’re going into a cemetery... The lack of juice at Purdue has actually worked against Ohio State.” (08:24)
• On Devin Mockabee’s absence:
  “Congratulations for being the first person to ever compare Devin Mockabee to Jeremiah Smith, by the way.” – Bill (11:43)
• On roster turnover:
  “They have four guys who knew where the bathrooms were when camp started.” – Doug (18:46)
• On Purdue’s defense:
  “There are four teams in all of college football who have given up more 40-yard plays than Purdue.” – Bill (17:46)
• On Ryan Day’s approach:
  “You can’t even speak having a gigantic lead into existence... He is not in that zone at all.” – Doug (25:34)
• On what Buckeye fans should watch:
  “Is there anything we can watch in this game, assuming Ohio State’s gonna win, that can sort of be applied to Michigan?” – Bill (21:24)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |---------------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00–03:30 | Opening banter; Purdue “hex”; painful 2018 memories | | 03:31–08:18 | Is the Purdue magic over? Historical breakdown | | 10:42–13:08 | Purdue’s talent deficit; Mockabee’s injury | | 14:00–18:40 | Red zone defense vs. offense stats; what to watch | | 18:40–21:24 | Purdue roster overhaul; QB carousel | | 21:24–25:27 | How this game prepares OSU for Michigan; handling mobile QBs | | 25:27–30:05 | Game management: starter playtime | | 32:55–35:08 | Predictions and final thoughts |

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Ohio State is a heavy, justified favorite—but how the Buckeyes handle the “details,” especially punching in red zone opportunities, integrating depth, and staying sharp, will matter for their end-of-season ambitions.
• Purdue is rebuilding from the ground up with extreme roster turnover and has little firepower left, as epitomized by Mockabee’s injury and exodus of talent.
• Red zone chess match could be meaningful—Purdue stiffens there defensively, but lacks the overall horsepower to threaten Ohio State outside of holding the score down.
• Expect Ohio State to “keep the pedal down” for at least three quarters—starters get reps, then subs might see the field late.
• Both hosts see an OSU blowout, but the real drama is around depth, development, and avoiding the weirdness of old.

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For a lively postgame reaction and deeper analysis, follow up on their Saturday and Sunday shows, detailed in the episode’s closing remarks!

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Welcome back to the Bill and Doug Show. Ohio State Purdue preview for Saturday in West Lafayette. Douglas and Bill Landis. Landis, you will be there.

[B]

I will be there, yeah. Hoping to get in and out of there before the weather gets nasty. We'll see.

[A]

How many times have you covered a game in West Lafayette?

[B]

Just once. 2018. Oh, yeah.

[A]

Okay. Because what I remember about 2018 is that I was [e-mail] and we started off the season with three people covering Ohio State. And then everybody who worked with me abandoned me. And by the time we got to the Purdue game, it was just me. And I covered Ohio State's loss at Purdue. And I remember standing on the field, doing a video by myself and being like, watch out for Purdue. And Purdue lost every game the rest of the year. Something close to it.

[B]

That was my first game. The first game I covered for the Athletic was the Purdue game.

[A]

Oh, congratulations to you. Yeah, I hope that worked out. I hope that worked out great for you. It was great covering the team by myself for half a year. No hard feelings. I have a stat. It's not a gambling show. It's not a gambling show, but I have a stat that I just realized because I'm not good at my job. I said, bill, I have a stat for you that you may know. Do you know Ohio State's record against the spread this year?

[B]

Yes. 7, 0 and 1.

[A]

They're the only undefeated team in college football against the spread this year. They've not lost against the spread.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did you. I didn't know.

[B]

I actually did. I knew their record. I didn't know they were the only one who had it.

[A]

Have you been using this to influence your selections?

[B]

Yes. I can also tell you that they're. That their games are three and five to the under.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And I can also tell you that Purdue games are 2 and 7 to the under and that Purdue is 35 and 1 against the spread.

[A]

I feel like this is information that could have made its way to me as I've been making picks the last few weeks. I know I picked Penn State to cover last week against Ohio State, Ed, and they didn't. You were keeping this for yourself. Just be honest.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I will say I. I don't reference it as much for the national picks, but I. I do take a gander at it before we make our Ohio State picks. Yeah.

[A]

Okay. All right. So we're going to pick here. And. And. I don't know, maybe. Maybe. Perhaps this information that's new to me, perhaps new to our Audience Since Bill wasn't telling you guys this, maybe it's new to you. It may influence your picks for this week for Ohio State. Purdue not a gambling show. 29 and a half point line. The over under is 48 and a half. Once upon a time, Purdue's record against Ohio State I think you could argue was the among the weirdest things in college football. But I feel like we might be out of that by now. But there was a time where over a nine year period, a nine game period, Purdue was five and four against Ohio State at a time when nobody else in the Big Ten was beating Ohio State. But the last three times Ohio State and Purdue have played Ohio State in 20, 21, 23 and 24, they've beaten Purdue by a combined score of 145 to 38. So I referenced Purdue success against Ohio State in that period as much as anybody, but I feel like that's over it kind of.

[B]

Well, yeah, I think I agree with you and I am I right that Ohio State has only ever lost to Purdue on the road? Right. I think they're 18 and five nine zero at home. Nine and five at Ross eight I think is the record. So I guess you could say that Ohio State does not and has not played enough at Ross Aid to declare it over. Over. They've only played at Ross aid once since 2018. They won handily, 41 7. But maybe this will be the game that tells us whether or not it's over. Like if this is another runaway, then I, then I think maybe you can declare the, the Magic of Ross 8 against Ohio State to be over.

[A]

So the one thing that did happen in 2000, what was the year there was the year where I think it was 2012. Ohio State had a miracle comeback where Braxton Miller got hurt, left the stadium in a, in an ambulance, Kenny Guyton had to come in, they had to tie the game and then win the game in overtime. And that was, that's part of that era of, of miracle Ohio State, Purdue games where Purdue actually beat Ohio State in 2004, 2009, 11 and 2018. And, and I will just say I did just double check this. I think we're out of the era. But stats are stats since 2004 against Big Ten foes who have been in the Big Ten the entire time since 2004. Number of losses for Ohio State, five to Michigan. And this was one of those things also in that period when Ohio State was destroying Michigan every year. And it's like, well, you know who they can't beat. They can't beat Purdue. That accentuated the craziness of this. Right? But Michigan's beaten Ohio State four straight times. You know that Purdue is no longer the winningest program in the Big Ten against modern Ohio State, so. But still, there's a point to this. Since 2000, four wins against Ohio State, Michigan 5. Purdue and Penn State 4. Michigan State 3. Iowa and Wisconsin 2. Northwestern and Illinois 1. Minnesota and Indiana 0. So in this era where Purdue and Indiana share a state and poor little Purdue football, the old oak and Bucket, the rivals, the hated Hoosiers, they have to watch Kurt Signetti and Indiana take over college football. But at least Purdue can say, we can beat Ohio State and you guys can't. That's a little weird wrinkle of this, right?

[B]

Yeah, I guess. I guess so. I think if you ask Purdue, hey, would you trade all your past success against Ohio State to be what Indiana is right now? They probably make that deal.

[A]

Yeah, I. I like doing this. We have a substack page if you guys want to go get more Ohio State coverage from us on substack. If you want to get two big long shows a week besides the YouTube and podcast shows that we do here, we do a big one on Wednesday. We do a Sunday sound off with comments and questions on Sunday. I wrote. I've been writing stories most weeks, Bill, about how Ohio State has broken somebody or some team. I did it about Penn State. I did it about Texas and Arch Manning. I was thinking about doing it with Purdue this week in the idea of maybe Purdue thought, hey, we can beat Ohio State. We're as good against Ohio State as anybody in the Big Ten. We must be awesome at football. And it's like, nope, you're not. Like, it was like a reverse break of they. Their competing with Ohio State gave them too much confidence when actually their program was still falling off a cliff. Right. But I didn't do it.

[B]

You could say that Ohio State broke Purdue because Jeff Brown got a signature win against the Buckeyes that then propelled him to Louisville. And then Purdue has not been the same since.

[A]

Yeah, okay. Okay. Well, you could have said that to me on Tuesday, and I could have actually written it again. Thank you for keeping all this information to yourself. There's a lot of great ideas rattling around in the brain of yours. Maybe feel free to share them. Winning percentage against Ohio State, produced in the last since 2004, still has the best one of the Big Ten because it's. It's 667 is Ohio State's winning percentage against Purdue because they have those four wins, but it's only in 12 games. Michigan, Ohio State's 15 and 5 against Michigan because they play Michigan every year. There's a stretch they didn't play Purdue that often, which is also why this is crazy. So anyway, we want to reference that. I do think to me, if there is anything. And you referenced Ohio State's record at Ross 8 Stadium. If there's anything, I think it's that Ross Aid Stadium is dead and a lot of the games are early and it's hard to get up for it. Now The Tyler Trent 2018 Rondale Moore, David Blau game was not a dead game in the middle of the afternoon. That was a prime time game. Right.

[B]

It definitely ended at night. I can't remember if it was a prime time kickoff or like a 3:34 o' clock kickoff.

[A]

But I, I definitely think there have been times in the past where it's like the lack of juice at Purdue has actually worked against Ohio State in some ways it's almost like, yeah, home field non advantage. It's not that you're going into a viper pit, it's that you're going into a cemetery. And it's like, man, it's like it's not even lunchtime here. There's nobody here. We're Ohio State. We're not used to this. And I do feel like at times that has worked against Ohio State. I don't know. That could happen on Saturday for 1pm Eastern start. Yes.

[B]

Yeah, that was a 4:30 kick that ended at night.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah, it could happen. Although the last time Ohio State played there two years ago and it was like overcast and rainy and Purdue was, was bad. It's the combination of Purdue is dead, but Purdue has a little something too, right? Like, like the, the environment is dead, but the team has something.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Because when Ohio State played in 2023, Purdue was overcast and rainy and quiet and empty, but Purdue had nothing. So Ohio State torch. So it's like, do you have a sleepy atmosphere in Rondell Moore? Then I'd be like, yes. Then I'd be a little worried.

[A]

Yeah. Because those four wins, 2004. And so Purdue also in, in building up this crazy record against Ohio State, they took advantage in 2004, which was the last step back year in Ohio State maybe history ever. Like a reset between the 0203 teams and the 050607 teams. So Ohio State just went 8 and 4 that year and lost three Big Ten games and Purdue was one of them. So credit to Purdue for taking advantage of Ohio State then. And then they took advantage of the 2011 crazy year with Luke Fickle. They blocked an extra point, won like a crazy game. So there's two circumstances where they took advantage of like the times in the last 25 years that Ohio State's been down. Purdue beat them. And then the other two are crazy individual efforts. One by Rondale Moore in 2018, one by Ryan Kerrigan in 2009 when it was like, oh, what's Purdue gonna do? It's like, oh, they had this guy who, we don't know it yet, but it's going to be a first round pick in the NFL. That's three sacks against Terrell Pryor. Here's what I would say about Purdue, and they have played some teams close lately. I don't think they got nothing.

[B]

No. And their best offensive player, Devin Mockabee, is out for the year. They're running back who.

[A]

His career, his Purdue career is over.

[B]

It's over. Yeah. Which is like, kind of sucks. I like him and he's around through a lot of hard years there. No, CJ not only on defense, defensive end, transfer from Akron, like, is a pretty good player, but not, not the level that we're talking about.

[A]

Yeah, I just, there's, there's not much there. Devin Mockabee, again, he got hurt against Rutgers, had surgery, missed last week's, last week's game against Michigan. And then they just said like, that's it for him. He has 736 yards from scrimmage this year. That is 22% of Purdue's yardage. By comparison, Jeremiah Smith has 21% of Ohio State's yardage this year. So that's how important Devin Mokabe is to Purdue. He's there, Jeremiah Smith and he's gone. So that's a big deal, I think.

[B]

Yeah. Congratulations for being the first person to ever compare Devin Mokabee to Jeremiah Smith, by the way.

[A]

Yeah. Heck of a player. And also if there's a Purdue sports information director watching this, feel free to take that quote, put it on the Devin Mockabee page. He's the Jeremiah Smith of Purdue football. He's Purdue's fourth all time leading rusher and he has an ankle injury and he's gone. They. They played a couple different running backs, Antonio Harris and Malachi Thomas. Against Michigan. They went 26 carries for like 122 yards. Like, okay. But both, both receivers, the top two receivers for Purdue are Georgia transfers Michael Jackson the third and Nitro Tuggle. But I think what actually is happening here and we can talk about some of the competitive games that Purdue has played. I think Purdue is pretty well coached and just does not have any talent. And the result is Barry Odom in year one taking over for Ryan Walters has been able to sort of like patch it together, some smoke and mirrors, grind it out, don't make mistakes, play some tight games. But it feels like the kind of game that if Ohio State's who we think they are then this should be kind of no doubt about it from the first five minutes.

[B]

Yeah, I think it, it should be and very well could be. They are well coached. I think Purdue is. Ryan Day had a lot of nice things to say about Barriotam this week, including the fact that he tried to hire or that's probably the wrong way to say it. Talked with Barry Odom about potential defensive coordinator opportunities at Ohio State in the past which I guess would have either been when he hired Kerry Combs or when he hired Jim Knowles because Barry Odom would have been available both times there were there. They are a well coached team I think defensively like have some like good ideas and like a good plan and, and do some things schematically in terms of changing up their looks that I think could, can present some challenges. But yeah, like all of it should be things that Ohio State should, should be very capable of handling. The one thing that did jump out to me like, and I think you sort of alluded to it, Purdue has been a, where is it here? Double digit underdog twice this year, okay against USC and Michigan and it was 3, 3 touchdown underdogs in both those games and covered both of them, okay. And like was in a game with Michigan in the fourth quarter.

[A]

Listen, don't throw us off your secret stat. Don't, don't try to. Now you're not going to pick. Oh you're going to pick Ohio State to cover this 29 and a half. Don't try to drop red crimes along the way.

[B]

I'm just saying get me.

[A]

You're trying to get me to lose again on Ohio State. Here's. There's a thing though. This audience, this smart, dedicated, educated Ohio State audience, they're looking for things the next three weeks against Purdue, UCLA and Rutgers. Like what can Ohio State work on? There's a thing here, there's at least one thing that is something to watch that is something that Ohio State needs to work on and I do think Purdue can provide a window into that. But I just want to run through some of these close games. Last two games, Rutgers and Michigan, 21 16, 27, 24 are the last two games. 2116 last week against Michigan, 2724 before that against Rutgers. But the game before that they were shut out by Northwestern and it happened to happen to be a game I was at. And it was just like Purdue was doing nothing that whole game. It was in like the weird, you know, side field next to the lake for Northwestern. Ryan Brown got hurt about halfway through the game. They had to put in Malachi Singleton, the backup quarterback. He got hurt on the first drive of the second half. But also in Purdue had gone. The first four drives were four punts. They got two total first downs with their starting quarterback in the game. You know, Northwestern's defense is different but decent. But they've also just like had times where they've done nothing. Here the game that I do think is potentially relevant is they. When they played USC, USC won 33, 17, which doesn't sound like that huge of a margin for a USC team that has up with Ohio State, one of the most efficient offenses in the country. USC never punted in that game. USC only had three first half possessions and scored two touchdowns and a field goal. They led 173 at the half. They tried. They were 4 of 5 on field goals in that game and 4 of the field goals they tried were inside the red zone. And Purdue has the 8th best red zone defense in the country when it comes to touchdown percentage. They only give up touchdowns on 42.1% of red zone drives. Ohio State has the second best red zone defense in the country for touchdowns. They give up 26.7% of touchdowns on red zone drives. Ohio State's offense, how many, what percent of the time do they score a touchdown in the red zone? It's 69.1% which is 37th in the country. So USC never punts, but they end up trying five field goals. One time. Like they got to the two, one time they got to the seven, right. One time they got to the 19, whatever. That's what I'm watching for because this is something and this is the Barry Odom DNA, right? Barry Odom is a defensive coach. And if you're going to play a little bit of like, listen, we know we don't maybe have the guys you mentioned. C.J. nunnally, defensive end, was a two time first team All Mac at Akron among like the top 20 guys in the Big Ten in pressures. He can play a little bit, but they don't have the depth of talent 1 through 11, but they're going to try to stiffen in the red zone and I think this is worth watching to see if Ohio State can punch it in when they get down there.

[B]

Yeah, assuming they get down there. That's the other. Because the other thing, Purdues and what I mean by that is maybe they'll just throw it over their heads.

[A]

Right.

[B]

There are 1, 2, 3, 4 teams in all of college football who have given up more 40 yard plays than Purdue.

[A]

Wow. Okay, so that is, that is quite a thing. Maybe Ryan Day if like you can tell Cornell, Tate and Jeremiah Smith like, hey, if you get behind the defense, how about kneeling at like the 8? We'd like to work some stuff out a little bit. You know, your, your stats will be fine.

[B]

I think they're like a pretty like high, let's say. I'm just looking. They, they blitz Bryce Underwood like half the time. Okay. They blitzed 8th and Caliac Manus from Rutgers like 35 of the time. So like as someone who's not watched a ton of Purdue this year, my assumption is that they're pretty aggressive which opens the opportunity for explosive plays. But then if the, to your point, if you do get inside the 20, they stiffen up a little bit and they're hard to. Yeah. Score on.

[A]

Purdue has 82 new players on the roster this year.

[B]

Is that a lot they.

[A]

That. I mean, I think they only had 85 players total. So they have four guys who knew where the bathrooms were when, when camp started by the, the sites that track this stuff. They had 54 transfers come in in the off season. That was the most in the country. West Virginia was second at 53. Once Upon a time, when we track this kind of stuff, those were the two teams in the northern part of the country, in the power four who have new coaches this year. This is just how it works with new coaches anymore. None of this is a surprise, but it's, it's a complete tear down. And now again for Ohio State fans weren't tracking this. Like the weird part of it is Ryan Brown was the quarterback in the second half of last year after Hudson Card got hurt, left, went to North Carolina for spring ball and then came back because congratulations to Ryan Brown. He sniffed it out before anybody. He's like, don't. I am not sticking around for this Belichick stuff. So Malachi Singleton's in Arkansas transfer one. You know, like going into spring, it's like, okay, I think they're probably rolling with this Guy. They had four different quarterbacks on the roster. I think they had another. Didn't they have a purdy? Didn't they have one of the purdies in campus?

[B]

I think maybe no relations, but they did have. I think they had Deshawn Purdy.

[A]

Yeah, they had a Purdy. Yes. Not necessarily, but they got through spring and they were like, oh, no, no, no, no. Not this Ryan Brown. Do you want to come back? And Ryan Brown had heard that North Carolina was like sniffing around, maybe trying to get investment from Saudi Arabia and just said to himself, like, this is not Jordan Hudson was trying to do a photo shoot with him and he's like, I am creeped out. This is not actually true. I'm assuming these are the things that happened to Ryan Brown. Because if I go to a new school and I'm getting old coach, weird girlfriend, Saudi investment, I am double checking that this is the place where I want to be right there.

[B]

Yeah, definitely. Take me back to the Big Ten, please. Yeah, I get it.

[A]

Yeah, take me back to the Big Ten. Listen, I'm not saying that West Lafayette is, is the center of the college football universe, but it's better than the Saudis and Jordan Hudson. So welcome back Ryan Brown. And by the way, who did you notice wearing Ryan Brown's number of on the scout with a scout team jersey walking off the field for the Buckeyes this week?

[B]

That would be Tavian Sinclair for your Buckeyes.

[A]

So Ryan Brown's not like a, like a run first quarterback, but he can move around a little bit, right?

[B]

A little bit, yeah.

[A]

Like, he'll keep some things alive. So I do think, like, you know, that's the kind of thing that Ohio State has to be aware of. Right. He had like a game where he had, he had like 60 yards rushing one game, but it's more like keep the play alive kind of stuff.

[B]

Yeah. But I think again, like these next. I do really feel like these next three weeks are sort of like, is there anything we can watch in this game, assuming Ohio State's gonna win, that can sort of be like applied to Michigan. Right.

[A]

And.

[B]

And I like Bryce Hunter was gonna run and scramble. And I think it's interesting if you look at Purdue, because they're out bruise, offensive line stinks. Their right tackle, Bikin Coley has allowed 33 pressures this year, which is tied for the most by any offensive lineman in all of fbs.

[A]

Oh, my.

[B]

But Purdue does not give up a ton of sacks because Ryan Brown is slippery and so is Malachi Singleton. Who they've been using more lately. It's like a, like a design run threat in the offense. So like this week, next week with Nico email and ucla, like you're going to have mobile quarterbacks to deal with. I don't think in any way that's going to threaten Ohio State, especially this week, but it's something that the defense can get experience with as it looks ahead and prepares to play Bryce Underwood at the end of the month.

[A]

What is your like final breakdown stuff? Just ultimate respect. Like really the Ryan, the way Ryan Day talked about Bariom this week, I thought like went a step beyond sort of the regular hey, we respect our opponent kind of stuff. Like I thought like he kind of really meant it.

[B]

Yeah, it was interesting too because it wasn't just like he, he said he's a good football coach and like a good man. Like, I don't know. Yeah, like that was, I don't know that I've ever heard him say that about another coach before. I don't know if there's like something else there or maybe like, you know, like you said, they did have conversations in the past when Ryan Day was looking for a dc Makes me wonder like how those went and how close they might have gotten. Because Barry Odom, like it has been an excellent defensive coordinator, got on the job, the head coaching job at Missouri and then his work as a defensive coordinator at Arkansas, got on the job at unlv. So yeah, a lot, a lot of respect there between two coaches who I would have just assumed like having had no relationship at all. So it's not like there's any crossover in their careers. Barry Odom played at Missouri and then basically coached at Missouri until he went to Arkansas. So yes, I, I made note of that as well. I don't know what it means. Maybe it means like Ryan Day won't try to run up the score if he gets an opportunity to.

[A]

Oh, that's a good point. So again, played, played close with Michigan last week, which certainly got Ryan day's attention. Up 24, 21 late against Rutgers. Rutgers kicked the tying field goal and then Purdue like immediately fumbled it back and Rutgers kicked the game winning field goal in the last play of the game. We're up 20 to 13 on Minnesota entering the fourth quarter and then they threw a pick six and then got stopped on downs inside the 10 and kind of gave away that Minnesota game. So again, this is all like they, they have been competitive. Like you look at the score, the score against USC feels like it's more Competitive than it should be. They scored 30 on Notre Dame in a game that wasn't close. I think they gave up 59 but like scoring 30 on Notre Dame. But I do think like, like Ohio State should be above that. That as much as, like, hey, like USC and Notre Dame and Michigan, like produce played some real teams, they're winless in the Big Ten, but Ohio State's a step above all those teams. Right. So it's just like, I, like you'll, you may notice, especially defensively.

[B]

Especially defensively, yes.

[A]

Like, even, like, like the Michigan thing has been just like Michigan at times. Michigan is good defensively, I think, I think Michigan is good defensively with the potential at times to be very good. But you saw him get gashed against usc, but then they stood up and, and like kind of very much held Washington in check. Right. But, but, but Ohio State's defense should be. Has played a step above that. Maybe two steps above that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yeah. And, and certainly significantly better. At least what that Notre Dame defense was at the time. Better than USC's defense. Yeah.

[A]

Yes. Like Notre Dame was really still working some stuff out early in the season when they played Purdue.

[B]

Yeah, it's just like, like most teams Ohio State plays and is going to play just have a really hard time seeing how they can muster more than two scores.

[A]

So I do think people are probably curious about how much Ohio State will play its guys the next three weeks. Ryan Day got asked a question about it this week which he's just not going to answer, which is like, Ryan, I know not, not to assume anything, but if you're up by five touchdowns, are you going to rest your starters? And he was like, we're just trying to win. We're just trying to win. We're just trying to win. We're just trying to win because you can't even, you can't even speak. Having a gigantic lead you into existence. Like, he's just, he is not in that zone at all. But also I just fully expect. Well, I understand the difference between we're going to play slow, we're going to try to limit snaps, we're going to limit plays all year. It is a strategy to keep guys fresh for the postseason. But yet that does not mean we're going to pull our starters in the middle of the second quarter in games when we're ahead. Because I like, I don't think, because guys work too hard to not get to play. Guys like playing football, it's not the first priority, but somewhere in there you want to make sure your stars can get stats. And I also think, like, you don't want guys to get rusty, so. But I also could say if a fan was like, well, how come, like, if you play slow, that might actually be putting you at risk in certain situations. Whereas if you're not at risk and you're up six scores, why wouldn't you pull off the starters right away? If the whole point is that you're trying to keep guys from getting worn down in the regular season, why not Yank guys at halftime against Purdue?

[B]

I think you, it depends on the guy. Right. Like, for instance, I think Ohio State's offensive line needs to keep playing together, but maybe you take Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate out, maybe even you take Julian saying out and let Lincoln Keenholtz play. But I would, I would like to see Ohio State starting five, probably play like at least three quarters in this game because that, that like, gelling process is kind of still ongoing with, with that group. Again, there's probably some guys on defense you could take out earlier if you're up by enough. But like, trying to think maybe, maybe it applies more on defense and maybe what I'm thinking only applies to the offensive line. So like, I, I kind of think he will if he gets the opportunity to in this game, take, take out some guys early, especially if, like, if it's raining and like, kind of weird.

[A]

But what.

[B]

Ohio State's up comfortably, so I'd be on alert for it. I remember like when Ohio State played at Purdue in 20, 23 and one comfortably, it kind of started slow, but then pulled away. Like, Brandon Innis caught a long touchdown pass at the end of that game when he, like, he wasn't a guy who was a major part of the offense, but he had a 58 yard touchdown catch at the end of that game. So they kind of did it the last time they were there. So I think Ryan Day is not going to answer it. He's never going to answer it because all that does is, is just sort of like inadvertently talk trash against your opponent.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I, but I do think we'll see him do it if the opportunity presents itself the next three weeks.

[A]

I, I kind of expect pedal down through three quarters. I really do. I, I would be surprised if there's any kind of, you know, if you.

[B]

Work well, it also depends who's healthy too, right? Like if, yeah, like Myelin Graham was out last week. Right. If you don't have Mylan Graham and you only have Quincy Porter, then are you gonna take out Jeremiah And Carnell early, maybe not. So we'll have to see who's available and who's not, too.

[A]

But, yeah, maybe.

[B]

Maybe I could. It just depends on what. Like, I think. I think Ryan Day has shown that he, like, in the past, he hasn't really taken guys out until it was like 50 to nothing. And I think now it's clear that he feels pretty comfortable at, like, third being up by four touchdowns, whatever that looks like. So. But with the pace they play, it could take him three quarters to get to that point.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So, yeah, maybe I'm wrong.

[A]

Yeah. My expectation would be a full three quarters offensively, you know, maybe one of those. And they do this sometimes where it's like, hey, it's like the third drive of the game. And for him, Delane's in the game, like, for a drive, just like, try to, you know, I could see that. But I would expect pedal down through three quarters, and I would not be surprised to see the offensive starters out there for the first drive of the fourth quarter. If it's a drive that's, you know, especially if it's like they're in the middle of a drive or it's like they've only had six drives through three quarters, and so I think they would.

[B]

Like, we've not seen Lincoln Keenholts in a while. Right.

[A]

My. My expectation, my guess is that Lincoln Keenholtz comes in the game with nine minutes left. Like, like the second. Second drive of the fourth quarter would be my prediction.

[B]

I wonder if we might see. So Lincoln played one snap against Wisconsin, played 11 against Minnesota. Yeah, he's. He's played in four games and he's already red shirt. It's like not red shirting him. I could see a situation where, like, if Ohio State scores on its first two possessions and then it, like, gets down to the red zone on its third, maybe Lincoln comes in to run to show it.

[A]

Yeah. A little bit of the presidential package. Yeah. Get your merch. Now, presidential package brought to you by the Bill and Doug Show. Do you want to be part of that or you don't really want to be associated with the presidential package? Because it hasn't happened and I made it up and even Lincoln Keenholtz doesn't like it.

[B]

Well, it's not a bad idea to get it on the ground floor. Right. Because, like, you know, when he's, whatever, Iowa's quarterback next year, that could be. That could be a lucrative opportunity.

[A]

We also would invite you guys to find our. Our Friday show where we'll do national Picks headlined by Iowa versus Oregon. We also would invite you to like subscribe, tell a friend about the Bill and Doug show if you want to join us on Substack, where you get eight extra podcasts and YouTube shows a month. Like another like 12 to 16 hours of podcast and YouTube and, and video content only for Substack subscribers, plus all the written stories. I think it's, it's not a bad deal for our price per month. Landis.

[B]

Honestly, I don't think it's, I think it's pretty competitive for the market.

[A]

Yeah, I think it's, I think good value on the return. And also roback.com r h O-B-A c-k.com our friends over there selling you quarter zips. Someone you hoodies selling you polo shirts with that Ohio State, like subtle design, right? Like, just go check it out. Like if the 30th time you've heard me say it and you haven't done it yet now. So I'm fine, Doug, fine. R H O-B-A C K.com 20 off your first order with the code BAD B A D 20 all right, Mr. Keep your stats to yourself. What's your prediction for Ohio State and Purdue? Saturday, 1pm BTN. BTN for the folks on the TV, which means the, the whole. Can I, can I tell you that I occasionally get confused and sort of mix together the government shutdown and the YouTube TV Disney argument, and I'm like, man, this government shutdown is not letting me watch college football. I hope they get it sorted out. It's like, no, that's a separate thing. But I'm glad for everybody out there, it's not on ESPN or abc. So, like, you're not, you know, this is like God bless the Big Ten. This is not affecting the Big Ten. It's just keeping SEC games off your screen. What's your pick? 29 and a half.

[B]

29 and a half. Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna pick Ohio State to cover that. I have 41 7. So it's a cover for Ohio State and an under and I think maybe the same score the last time they played there. I do think it'll be interesting to see if Ohio State does get in the red zone and what that looks like. But I think it's going to be a game of explosive plays for the Buckeyes. Again, throwing certainly, and perhaps passing, too. This, this is not a very good Purdue run defense. It's not a good defense generally, but neither run nor pass in Ohio State. And it's continued search for explosive rushing plays. I think maybe could pop one or two in this game. So I'll be looking out for that too.

[A]

Okay, so that is you are under the 40 and a half then too, huh?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, so under And Ohio State covering has been the way to cash your bets so far this season. I'm gonna go 38 to 3 Ohio State. So I also will take Ohio State to cover. I, I maybe produce building something. There's just nothing there now they have the, the newest roster in college football and when you do this as a head coach, it's not even by. It's like it's not like you drove the other guys off. Max Claire, left, right. Dylan Feneman who has played more defensive snaps for Oregon than anybody. Left, right. And like two year Dion Burks is like one of ok is like Oklahoma's best receiver. He left Purdue two years ago. You could patch to get like this is the hard thing about that Ryan Walters era. Like they had some guys there and I do think Ryan Walters is a good defensive coach. He just never been a head coach before and it just got away from him. So Barry Odom has done this before. He's just more experienced. He's also a defensive coach but all those guys are gone and the one guy who was left was Maccabee and now he's out for the year and they're just literally there's, there's just so I just think they're gonna do nothing. I almost went 45 to 3 but I pulled it back a little bit. But it's an Ohio State cover. Either way. It's slight under.

[B]

Yeah, either way. Shout outs on. Shout outs on the table. Right? We'll be third Ohio State's third shutout of the year.

[A]

I think it's possible 100, 100 on the table. So if you're going over to West Lafayette, have a good time. If you're not going over to West Lafayette, you can join us after the game on YouTube. We're not going to go instantaneously. Bill is going to be there. Bill is going to report after the game. I'm not going to come on by myself and have you people be like God, when is Bill getting here on the post game show. But we will get it up. We will go live on YouTube with both of us. Bill from West Lafayette, me from the home office as soon as possible. It might be like an hour or 90 minutes after the game. If Bill, you are able to find a place in the Ross Aid press box to do it. If that feels like the Internet's not good enough or you know how it is, Dan Hope's telling you to cram it because he's trying to write, you know how those guys are in the press box. Like, hey, like that kind of thing. You don't want to get in a fight, then it'll be back in your hotel room. But you're not staying in West Lafayette, so you got to drive a little bit. So then it might be a couple hours after the game, but we'll see you guys after. Just subscribe to the YouTube channel so you don't miss it. Or if you just listen on the podcast feed and you catch it later, then you'll just catch it when we pop it on there, right?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Hopefully we'll be able to do it. I'll be able to do it from the stadium, but if not, it shouldn't be.

[A]

It's.

[B]

We're not going to make you wait till like 9 o' clock at night for the first game show.

[A]

Right. Right. So thanks as always to you guys for being here. National picks on the Friday show, post game on Saturday, Sunday Sound off for Substack subscribers. Their questions and comments Sunday morning, Sunday, early afternoon on the Sub Stack channel. And then around the Shoe coming Monday, two very special guests once again joining us from the Ohio State beat like we'd like to do every Monday. And if you guys haven't caught around the Shoe yet, some people say it's the Greatest Ohio State YouTube show of all time. I'm.

[B]

I've heard it, I didn't say it.

[A]

So thanks as always for letting us hang out with you. Talking Ball for now. He's Bill Landis. I'm Doug Lay. Maurice. And that was the Bill and Doug Show.