A Tale of Two Teams (for the middle of the 2018 season) October 21, 2018

Upsets may have abounded last week (week 7), but this [eighth] week gave us one of the biggest upsets of the year thus far in Purdue not only defeating No. 2 Ohio State, but dominating them throughout the game.  At no time did the Buckeyes take the lead throughout the 60 minutes of regulation.  Given the nature of the college game, the win was of the highly emotional nature, and a celebratory crowd gathered on the field of Ross-Ade Stadium immediately afterward not seen in size and magnitude since the Boilers defeated Indiana to earn its Rose Bowl berth almost 18 years ago.

One takeaway from this is that is appears to be a recurring pattern for Ohio State to give us one embarrassing loss per year.  Last year it was Iowa trouncing them in Iowa City, and yesterday it was Purdue trouncing them in West Lafayette.  Such a huge loss last year turned out to be the deciding factor that kept the Buckeyes out of the playoffs, much to the detriment of the playoffs in terms of engagement with a national audience.  Does such a loss portend the same thing for Ohio State this season?

Maybe, maybe not.  Last year, Ohio State already had one loss (to Penn State, at home) headed into Iowa before sustaining such a stinging defeat.  This time around, the Bucks were undefeated and ranked No. 2 nationally in the AP Poll.  With Maryland and Nebraska remaining on their schedules, those are two easy wins with which to climb back up the polls.  Michigan State shall be a challenge, however, on Nov. 10, and of course, they cap off the regular season in “The Game” against sworn enemy Michigan, who is also in the top ten.  So, with help and a redoubled effort, there is still hope for Ohio State’s playoff aspirations.  After all, it’s not November yet, when such a wound is non-recoverable.

For Purdue, such a win could be a huge shot in the arm for a season that was already gaining in momentum after an inexplicable 0-3 start.  Since then, the team has shown increased improvement with each passing week.  It is crucial for Purdue that this pattern remains to keep up this newfound momentum.  Normally after highly emotional wins such as this, the victorious team likely comes out flat the following week.  We’re talking about 19 and 20 year-old college kids, after all, not seasoned pros who, through hard work and experience, have inoculated themselves from the emotional roller coaster.  No, college kids are still prone to it, sadly, which means the following week remains a head scratcher as to which team might show up, with some exceptions.

The primary cause for Purdue’s concern right now just so happens to be such an exception in Michigan State.  Mark Dantonio’s squad can be counted on to give a tough, consistent effort against its foes every week, no matter how outmatched the Spartans may be talent-wise.  Factor in further the fact that MSU just came off a tough loss to hated Michigan, and it is quite likely that the Spartans shall show up angry and anxious to take out their disappointment on visiting Purdue next week.

The bottom line for Purdue is that, as great a win as this was, it is still the middle of the season.  They now have to get back to work to ready themselves to take on another dangerous opponent.  If they successfully maintain the momentum they have methodically built up thus far, they could vie for the B1G championship game in early December.  The bottom line for Ohio State is that hope remains for them if they too get back to work and learn to put forth an effort where they more consistently play up to their potential, unlike this past Saturday night.  Should these optimal paths be taken by these respective teams, we could see a [high-stakes] rematch between them six weeks hence in Indianapolis.