He did not turn the ball over nor come close to doing so after after throwing two interceptions a week earlier at Nebraska, where he also nearly lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter and had a couple more potential interceptions dropped.
“I don’t think I got hit one time so if you have that type of confidence to step into your throws it just helps out a bunch,” he said Saturday.
OSU coach Ryan Day felt good going into the game because of how he saw Stroud preparing during the week.
“During Wednesday-Thursday practice, he just seemed on it,” Day said. “And (today) right off the bat, he makes a couple of good calls. We make a couple of good checks early on, and then quickly in those first couple of drives he’s just seeing it, and when he can come over and verbalize what’s going on in the moment and it’s really good information, that’s when you know he’s seeing it properly.
“So much of that has to do with the preparation you put in. That way you’re anticipating what’s going on as opposed to reacting, and to me that’s the key the quarterbacking.”
Ohio State Buckeyes: Offense firing on all cylinders as OSU builds huge lead over Purdue https://t.co/qyzJgLGnCx
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) November 13, 2021
Ohio State looked as dangerous as it has all year on offense with a 300-yard passer, two 100-yard receivers (Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba) and running backs Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson combining for 215 yards rushing.
Where the Ohio State defense stands after 10 games is less clear.
The Buckeyes gave up lots of yards to Purdue, but some of that was to be expected.
Coach Jeff Brohm’s team entered averaging 332.4 yards passing per game and tallied 390 against the Buckeyes. The Boilermakers were scoring almost 25 points a game, but got 31 against Ohio State.
They avoided the Buckeyes’ pass rush by having quarterback Aidan O’Connell get rid of the ball quickly on most of his 52 pass attempts, and he was able to beat both zone and man coverage at times.
“We dropped eight (into coverage) a lot,” Day said. “With a three-man rush, you’re not always going to get as many (sacks). That’s the decision that was made, and I think we’ll learn from it and figure out if it’s efficient or not.”
Both offenses were ruthlessly efficient, but Ohio State’s was better at the end of the day.
The Boilermakers averaged 6.8 yards per play, but the Buckeyes got 9.0.
Purdue was 5-for-10 on third down, but Ohio State was 4-for-7.
Purdue had 28 first downs, but Ohio State had 30.
“Certainly, you don’t want to give up 31 points in a game,” Day said. “I think when you look at the last couple of weeks, when the offense hasn’t been exactly stellar, the defense played really, really well.
“In this game we score 59 points on offense, and the defense gave up 31. So the good news is we’re kind of helping each other out, but we’re still looking for that complete game. We’ve had some complete games, but that’s that’s part of winning football in November. Bringing it every week. You have to help each other out. There were still a lot of good plays.”
Next up for Ohio State is a visit from Michigan State.
The Spartans bounced back from their Nov. 6 loss at Purdue by beating Maryland 40-21.
Coach Mel Tucker’s team still controls its destiny in the Big Ten East and could jump right back into prime playoff position with a win over the Buckeyes.
Flush with reinforcements from the transfer portal, MSU has a star running back in Kenneth Walker III and a salty defense of its own to challenge the Buckeyes.
After tangling with the Spartans, Ohio State will finish the regular season a Michigan squad that could be playing for a trip to the Big Ten Championship game if the Wolverines beat Maryland this week and Ohio State stops the Spartans.
“It is going to be a challenge,” Day said. “They are both very good teams. Michigan State’s coming in here and we have to get back to playing consistent football. That’s what it is in November. This is a typical November game in the Big Ten. It’s the wind, it’s cold, and so that’s what we got to do. The best teams play well in November.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Michigan State at Ohio State, Noon, ABC, 1410
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