COLUMBUS, OH — Will the No. 19 Purdue Boilermakers (6-3) have what it takes to win and spoil another No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (8-1) season? The history between these two teams points towards a competitive matchup considering Purdue's ability to upset teams ranked in the top five. Purdue and Penn State are the only two teams to beat Ohio State four times since 2004. This inter-conference matchup is either going to strengthen the Boilermakers upset magic or show us why Ohio State is ranked No. 4.

Boilermakers upset magic

This season alone, Purdue has knocked off two top-five teams — No. 3 Michigan State and No. 2 Iowa. Purdue was unranked during their matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes but wasted no time making them look like the unranked team. The Boilermakers upset the Hawkeyes in a 24-7 win last month.

Purdue shook the Spartans on Saturday during a 40-29 upset win. The undefeated Spartans took a devasting blow, falling to 8-1 and heavily damaging their playoff hopes. The Boilermakers made their presence known early after Aidan O'Connell drew first blood with a touchdown pass just eight minutes into the game.

Flashback to 2018 when the undefeated Buckeyes made the trek to Lafayette, Indiana to take on the 3-3 Boilermakers. The Buckeyes were expected to roll over Purdue during that matchup, but the Boilermakers shocked the sports world and knocked off No. 2 Ohio State 49-20. This upset kept Ohio State out of the College Football Playoffs even though they were 12-1. If history repeats itself, Purdue will be spoiling the Buckeyes playoff hopes once again considering they already lost to Oregon.

Ohio needs to be more successful in the red zone

Ohio State has been doing what they need to do to win, but that's not how things work against Purdue. For the Buckeyes to be more successful, they need to convert more in the red zone. To do this, they need to penetrate the Purdue defensive line with their run game. Ohio State is currently ranked No. 44 nationally in rushing and has a red-zone touchdown rate of about 66%. Although the Buckeyes run the ball 58.7% of the time, they need to hand the ball off more in the red zone and let their running backs and offensive line penetrate the line more. This will be the key to Buckeyes avoiding another Boilermaker upset.

Purdue is known for upsets and world-class QBs

Purdue doesn't have to rely on their ability to knock off top teams because they are great at producing talented quarterbacks. Aidan O'Connell has settled into his role at quarterback this season after Purdue struggled to find their QB1. O'Connell has completed 74.9% of his passes over the past four games. Although his touchdown rate isn't soaring, his interception rate has dropped significantly.

The Boilermakers will need to protect O'Connell in the pocket and give him time to move the ball downfield against the Buckeyes. His consistency will be key to making big plays Saturday and possibly add to Purdue's clutch upsets.

Details

No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 19 Purdue, Saturday, November 13, 3:30 PM EST, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio.