History tells us Purdue will play Ohio State close

“If not for Holy Buckeye, Ohio State would be 2-5 in its last seven games at Purdue, which is just ludicrous.”

- Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland dot com

It’s pretty wild to think about, but since 2000, there really hasn’t been a Big Ten program to give Ohio State problems more consistently than Purdue has. The Buckeyes are 8-4 against the Boliermakers since 2000, giving them a 67 percent winning percentage. The next lowest winning percentages against a Big Ten team comes against Wisconsin, at 73 percent, and Penn State at 74 percent.

That’s all to say that Purdue, more often than not, plays Ohio State as close if not closer than any team in the Big Ten. That’s strange because, well, Purdue is not the historical power that schools like Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State or even Nebraska, all of whom Ohio State has been significantly better against since the turn of the century.

Those struggles, paired with this game being in West Lafayette (a very loud wind tunnel, essentially), and Purdue’s offensive strengths being perfectly aligned with Ohio State’s defensive weaknesses make this a prime opportunity for an upset. Ohio State should be able to beat the Boilermakers on Saturday night, because they’re significantly more talented, but don’t be surprised if this game is close for all 60 minutes.

“The Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns had opposite problems and they solved them with one swift move, a trade that will send Carlos Hyde to Jacksonville. It’s a spicy, modern NFL trade that will give the Jags a boost and open up playing time for younger Browns players.”

- Will Brinson, CBSSports

Just as soon as Ohio State’s own Carlos Hyde returned to the Buckeye state after signing with the Browns this offseason, he’s gone once again, following six relatively disappointing weeks suiting up for the Browns. With Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson seemingly deserving of more carries, and the Jaguars in need of a running back, this deal makes a lot of sense, but it still may be a bit bittersweet for the many Buckeye fans with the misfortune of also being Browns fans (myself included).

The news isn’t all bad for everyone involved though. The Browns may improve their rushing attack with the two younger players set to see more carries, and Hyde may get the chance to prove himself behind a much better line while Leonard Fournette is sidelined with an injury. This is also a bit of a homecoming for Hyde, who grew up in Naples, Fla. Jacksonville is five hours away from Hyde’s hometown, but we’ll still count it.

“The Ohio State women’s soccer team hosts No. 19 Wisconsin in its regular-season finale at 2 p.m. Sunday at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.”

- OhioStateBuckeyes dot com

The regular season finale for the women’s soccer team is upon us, and if you’re looking for something to do this Sunday, this should be a banger. Wisconsin comes in as one of the nation’s top teams, and the second best team in the Big Ten, behind Penn State (Ohio State lost to the Nittany Lions in their only matchup of the season).

Ohio State has already secured a spot in the Big Ten tournament, so this is more for seeding than anything else. If Ohio State can get the win, they’d have the same Big Ten record as Wisconsin, which could move them up from their current spot in the conference (fourth). It could also go a long way for Ohio State moving into the top 25 rankings.

Buckeyes in the NFL

While we already talked about today’s big Carlos Hyde news, there is more former Buckeye talk to be had today. Last night’s Cardinals-Broncos blowout didn’t have a ton of Buckeyes involved, but it was yet another big day for Bradley Roby, who’s quietly having an awesome year for Denver.

He had four pass deflections and two tackles in what was a dominant defensive performance for the Broncos, on the way to a 45-10 win. Not a single Cardinals receiver had more than 60 yards receiving on the day, and Josh Rosen was held to under 200 yards passing, 21-of-39 passing on the day, and forced into five turnovers.

Former Buckeyes matchup of the week: Carolina at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. ET. This week we go for quality above depth, as Malcolm Jenkins and Curtis Samuel square off in an NFC battle. Of course, the punt god, Cameron Johnston, will make an appearance as well. Meanwhile, the official NFL team of Ohio State, New Orleans, faces off with Baltimore at 4:05 p.m. ET.

Weekend Schedule

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