'Spoilermakers' await Buckeyes, but OSU under Ryan Day is unbeaten against unranked teams

Favored Ohio State plays a mediocre Purdue team in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Saturday, which can mean only one thing to Buckeye fans.

Uh-oh.

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OSU fans know well the house of horrors Ross-Ade Stadium has been for the Buckeyes this century.

Since 2000, Ohio State has won only three of eight games there.

“Jeez,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day blurted out when told that Tuesday.

In 2018, the last time Ohio State played at Purdue, the Boilermakers crushed the Buckeyes 49-20. That sole loss was deemed so unforgivable that the College Football Playoff selection committee denied the Buckeyes a berth.

In 2011, a blocked extra point by Purdue at the end of regulation sent the game to overtime, and the Boilermakers prevailed. That started a four-game losing streak that cost interim coach Luke Fickell any chance of keeping the job for good.

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But don’t fret, Buckeye fans. History under Day is also your friend. These are the kind of games OSU hasn’t lost with him as coach. The No. 3 Buckeyes (5-0) are 36-0 against unranked opponents with Day in charge.

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Critics have mentioned a time or two that OSU has lost the past two games against Michigan, hasn’t captured a Big Ten title since 2020 or won a national championship under Day.

But what’s seldom noted is that his teams, unlike those under his predecessors, haven’t lost games they shouldn’t. Urban Meyer had that 2018 loss to Purdue, another crushing one in 2017 at Iowa and the 2014 home opener disaster against Virginia Tech. All three opponents were unranked.

Day’s Buckeyes haven’t had those slip-ups.

It’s not by accident. Any coach can get his team pumped for a big game. Day has shown he can get them ready for the seemingly non-descript games.

“If you don’t think it’s a big game, try losing one,” is his familiar refrain.

“You’re just not allowed to have a bad day around here,” Day said on his Thursday radio show. “I tell that to all the guys the day they commit. I always tell them. ‘Your life’s about to change forever. You now have a bull’s-eye on your chest.’ ”

The Buckeyes accept and relish that they are almost always the biggest game on their opponent’s schedule.

“We definitely have a target on our back,” wide receiver Julian Fleming said. “We're going to get everybody's best shot. It's really up to us to be able to go out there and execute and play at our highest level and never play to somebody else's.”

That message is constant.

“We never overlook an opponent,” Fleming said. “We go week to week, and when Sunday's practice is over, it's on to the next opponent. We've got to go in there and we've got to focus with the same intensity every single week regardless of the opponent, whether it's Western Kentucky or Notre Dame.”

Saturday’s game would be a forgivable one to overlook. The Buckeyes beat undefeated Maryland last week and have a showdown against unbeaten Penn State next week.

But defensive line coach Larry Johnson said Penn State has not been mentioned once this week.

“It's all (about) focus,” Johnson said. “I think coach Day does a great job of keeping it grounded. Each game is a different game. You're not looking ahead. We don't care who our opponent is.

“I think that's a thing that he's done a great job at. No matter the opponent, there's always a plan is to play our best. That gets everybody's attention when the coach is talking that way.”

Given Purdue’s history against Ohio State, that’s a wise approach. Even in the Buckeyes’ two most recent undefeated season, the Boilermakers gave Ohio State arguably its closest calls.

In 2002, OSU needed the famous “Holy Buckeye” fourth-down touchdown pass from Craig Krenzel to Michael Jenkins to escape over a 4-5 Purdue team.

In 2012, the Buckeyes needed a desperate comeback led by backup quarterback Kenny Guiton to beat the Boilermakers in overtime. Purdue entered that game with a 3-3 record.

The current Boilermakers are 2-4 under first-year coach Ryan Walters and are dealing with injuries to several key players, including season-ending ones to right tackle Marcus Mbow and cornerback Marquis Wilson. Quarterback Hudson Card is also nursing an injury but is expected to play. Especially with the injuries, Purdue, a 19-point underdog, doesn’t look to have the talent to hang with the Buckeyes.

But the Boilermakers are 3-1 against top-3 opponents the past five years. They’d like to be the “Spoilermakers” once more.

Day’s history says that won’t happen, but Ohio State will have to prove it again.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Against Purdue, OSU to test perfect record under Day vs. unranked foes