Ohio State: Buckeyes reveal players of game after win over Purdue
COLUMBUS — Ohio State is halfway through its two-week stretch of games against lesser-than Big Ten teams. The Buckeyes shut Purdue out for a 45-0 win, one of the most thorough wins of the year for this team.
Sunday after the game, the program released its players of the game from the dominant performance.
On offense, the program named running back TreVeyon Henderson as the Offensive Player of the Game. Henderson had 85 yards rushing and a touchdown on just six carries. He also caught three passes for 43 yards — including a 32-yard catch and run.
Defensively, the players of the game were senior defensive ends Jack Sawyer J.T. Tuimoloau . They had one of their most dominant collective outings of their career on Saturday. Sawyer had five tackles, 0.5 sacks and a scoop-and-score touchdown on a fumble that was forced by Tuimoloau, who had four tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss, the forced fumble and a pass breakup. It was a remarkable game for the pair of defensive stars.
Then on special teams, the program named defensive end Caden Curry as the Special Teams Player of the Game because of his blocked punt, which occurred in the first quarter and set up the Buckeyes' first touchdown. Curry's blocked punt gave Ohio State the ball at the Purdue 8-yard line, setting up an easy field to work with.
Buckeyes open as heavy road favorite for Northwestern matchupOhio State opened this week as a 31.5-point road favorite for the game against Northwestern, which will be played at historic Wrigley Field. The total is set at 43.5 points, according to Fanduel Sportsbook .
The Buckeyes are coming off that aforementioned blowout win over a now-1-8 Purdue team just a week after pulling out a road win over Penn State.
"I think Purdue is a better football team than their record indicates," Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard said. "I don't think that they're a 1-8 football team. I really do believe that. I think that they do some good things. They've struggled a little bit this year, but like we said, it's not about them, it's about us. And if we're going to be who we say we are, and we're going to be the baddest team in the country, we have to be that every single week."
This week will be another challenge of making sure the Buckeyes take care of business against a lesser opponent. This time, it's a road trip to a unique venue to take on Northwestern.
Buckeyes move up in AP PollOhio State steamrolled Purdue on Saturday to improve to 8-1 on the season and keep pace in an ultra-competitive Big Ten race.
Two other teams in the top five did not take care of their business, so the Buckeyes are moving up in the AP Poll for the second straight week.
Last week, the Buckeyes slid up to No. 3 thanks to a win at previously-undefeated Penn State. This week, Ohio State is moving into the No. 2 slot behind Oregon thanks to a loss by previously second-ranked Georgia to Ole Miss. No. 4 Miami also lost on the road, that loss coming at Georgia Tech.
Of course, these rankings are diminished now that the Buckeyes and the rest of the sport are getting rankings every Tuesday night from the College Football Playoff committee. Those rankings hold more weight because they determine who will play for the national title in December and January.
AP Top 5 ( Nov. 10 )
Counting downOhio State at Northwestern: 5 days Ohio State vs. Indiana: 12 days Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 19 days
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