Offense: A
The Ohio State offense mixed a methodical running game with an explosive passing attack, and it paid off to the tune of 42 first half points, and 49 overall. Compiling 489 yards on 73 plays (6.9 yards per play), the Buckeye offense could not have been any different from the one that struggled against Purdue last season. Terrelle Pryor had five passes of 20 yards or more, going 16/22 (73%) for 270 yards and three touchdowns. The two interceptions that Pryor threw, one while being hit on a blitz, and the other just a flat-out bad throw, are the only miscues preventing this grade from being an "A+."
Boom Herron was once again the sparkplug for the Buckeye ground game, running for 74 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Boom took advantage of the offensive line's effectiveness in the run game, and so did the rest of the running backs, as they ran for 112 yards apart from Herron.
Four different receivers caught passes of 20 yards or more, and four different receivers caught touchdown passes on the day. DeVier Posey returned to spectacular performance after a poor week before, and Dane Sanzenbacher held firm as the most consistent Buckeye receiver. True freshman Corey Brown caught his first touchdown pass, an impressive post route that just made it into the endzone.
Defense: A+
A shutout is an automatic "A" in my book, as the difficulty in obtaining a goose-egg is tremendous. It was Ohio State's first shutout of the season, and what's even more impressive, it happened with multiple backups playing in place of injured starters. Coming off the heels of a disappointing performance against Wisconsin a week ago, the Silver Bullets responded with a mauling of an injury-plagued Boilermaker offense. Holding Purdue to only 118 yards on 55 plays (2.15 yards per play), the defense gave the beleaguered Boilermaker's no chance at scoring, yet alone pulling off an upset.
Safety Orhian Johnson and backup linebacker Storm Klein both recorded the first interceptions of their young careers. It truly is a dominating day defensively when your second string has no noticeable drop-off from the first.
Special Teams: A
Not only did the special teams coverage units finally have a solid performance, but they also forced and recovered a fumble on Purdue's first kickoff return of the afternoon. This good fortune led to another Ohio State touchdown, putting the Buckeyes up 14-0 early. If Purdue had any chance at staying in the game at that point, falling behind two scores took that thought away. Continued performance will be important for the coverage units to maintain, so look forward to that next weekend against Minnesota.
Player of the Game: It is very difficult to pick just one in a game like this, so I'm going to give it to all three players who had a notable first- Corey Brown, Storm Klein, and Orhian Johnson. The first touchdown reception of any receiver's collegiate career is special, while any interception from a defender is a moment to be cherished. Congrats to those three, and Go Bucks!