Purdue's 23-7 loss to Ohio State shouldn't be too surprising, considering top defenses usually best top offenses. But what impressed me was how fast the Buckeyes' linebackers were and how much that affected Purdue's offense.
Coach Joe Tiller said he expected his team to be able to throw the ball underneath and connect on hitch routes. But with the speed of Ohio State's linebackers, including Marcus Freeman and James Laurinaitis, made that tough to do. Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter tried to throw underneath anyway, but he had some passes deflected and double-clutched on others when he saw defenders flying around.
Simply, Ohio State was as advertised and took away what Purdue does best: quick hitters over the middle and smothering any kind of screen attempts.
-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette
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