Ohio State's Chances of Going Undefeated Only Continue to Improve

By Jenna Aquino
Sandra Dukes – USA Today Sports

The Purdue Boilermakers got buried by the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday by a score of 56-0.

It was no surprise. Ohio State was favored by 32 points, despite the fact that they were playing in West Lafayette.

That’s what happens when you have a struggling one-win team going up against the No. 4-ranked team in the nation.

Purdue traveled to Columbus last year and forced the Buckeyes to come up with a last minute comeback in order to win the game. Nobody expected it to be that way again this year, and it definitely was not.

Ohio State never gave Purdue a chance as they scored early and often. The first score by the Buckeyes occurred less than a minute into the game when cornerback Doran Grant intercepted a pass from Purdue freshman quarterback Danny Etling and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.

The scoring continued in the first quarter as the Buckeyes scored three more touchdowns before the quarter was over.

They led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and added two more touchdowns in the second quarter to make it 42-0 at the half. The Buckeyes had no plans to let up. These impressive wins over fellow Big Ten teams could help them in the BCS standings.

Braxton Miller has not played a full game since Ohio State’s win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 19. Why?

Well, the Buckeyes have been able to run the score up so much in the last two games that they could afford to bring in their backup quarterback in Kenny Guiton and even their third-string quarterback in Cardale Jones.

Miller only played in the first half against Purdue, as head coach Urban Meyer opted to bring in Guiton for the second half.

Miller achieved the kind of stats in just one half of play that some quarterbacks would be lucky to get in a whole game. He was 19-for-23 passing with 233 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw an interception, but of course it did not result in any scoring by Purdue.

Guiton was impressive as well, and though he only passed for 59 yards and a touchdown, he more than made up for it with 98 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Carlos Hyde ran for 111 yards but did not score a touchdown for the first time since Ohio State’s win over the Wisconsin Badgers on September 28.

Purdue’s defense allowed the Ohio State offense 640 total yards, while the Ohio State defense limited Purdue to only 116 total yards.

The Buckeyes and the Boilermakers have played each other 56 times. This 56-0 win by the Buckeyes on Saturday was the highest scoring total and the most lopsided victory this series has ever seen. The shutout was Purdue’s first time in six decades with back-to-back shutouts, and the 56-point loss matched the worst in the team’s history.

If you’re the Boilermakers, those are not the kind of records you want to set.

For the Buckeyes, this win should help them in the BCS standings. Their 63-14 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions last week decreased the margin between them at No. 4 and the No. 3 spot. This win is likely to decrease that margin even more, though they probably will not move up a spot in the BCS standings since none of the top 3 BCS teams lost this week.

Can anybody slow down the Buckeyes? They are just going to get better as they have a bye week this week before traveling to Champaign to meet the Illinois Fighting Illini.

The chances of going undefeated this season are looking better and better for the Buckeyes.

Jenna Aquino is a Big Ten Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter, “Like” her on Facebook, add her to your network on Google, or reach her by e-mail at .

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