West Lafayette, IN (Sports Network) - The seventh-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes hit the road this weekend for a Big Ten Conference clash with the Purdue Boilermakers.

Since losing to USC by three points on September 12th, Ohio State has won four straight to move to 5-1 overall. The Buckeyes improved to 3-0 in conference with a 31-13 win over Wisconsin in front of the home crowd last Saturday. After surrendering 27 points to Navy in the season opener, OSU has held its last five opponents to fewer than 20 points, including back-to-back shutouts over Toledo and Illinois.

Purdue opened the season with a 52-31 romp over Toledo. Since then, however, the club has suffered five consecutive defeats, including four by seven or fewer points. Last weekend, the Boilermakers dropped a 35-20 decision to Minnesota to fall to 0-2 in Big Ten action.

Ohio State owns a commanding 37-12-2 lead over Purdue in the all-time series, which includes double-digit victories over the Boilermakers the last two seasons.

Ohio State is a mediocre offensive football team. Sure, the club's 29.7 ppg is solid, but the 338.3 total ypg that the team is averaging won't scare many opponents. Sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor is a threat to make big plays on the ground, and he has rushed for 333 yards and three touchdowns. As a passer, however, he hasn't been quite as good as expected, as he has completed 56.2 percent of his passes for 948 yards and nine touchdowns with six interceptions. Brandon Saine leads the team with 349 rushing yards, and Dan Sanzenbacher has 326 receiving yards and four touchdowns on just 16 catches.

While the offense hasn't been overly impressive at Ohio State, the defense surely has turned some heads. The club has shaken off the poor showing against Navy in the opener, and those back-to-back shutouts mentioned above illustrate just how dominant the defense can be. The Buckeyes are yielding a mere 12.0 ppg and 271.8 total ypg. Against the run, they are permitting just 89.2 ypg and 2.7 ypc. Ohio State has 18 sacks and 14 takeaways to its credit, proof of the defensive unit's big-play ability. Brian Rolle leads the team with 51 tackles, and Kurt Coleman has forced three fumbles.

In the 31-13 victory over Wisconsin last week, Ohio State was held to 184 total yards, while the Badgers posted 368 total yards. Pryor struggled, completing only 5-of-13 passes for 87 yards with one touchdown and one interceptions, and his 27 rushing yards on 10 attempts certainly didn't hurt the Badgers. Fortunately, Coleman returned an interception 89 yards for a touchdown, and Jermale Hines brought a pick back 32 yards for a score. Those two big defensive plays were the difference for Ohio State.

"I was tip-toeing down the line there for a second," said Coleman of his interception return. "I thought for sure I'd step out of bounds. Had to put on my dancing shoes."

"We did a great job," added senior free safety Anderson Russell. "I'm proud of those two guys (Coleman and Hines). We strive to score a defensive touchdown every week. So it was huge to get two."

Purdue is scoring 28.5 ppg while allowing 30.5 ppg, and while there isn't much disparity between those two figures, the record of 1-5 is bitterly disappointing. The Boilermakers are gaining 410.2 total ypg, a solid number, while holding opponents to 379.7 total ypg. So why has the team lost five of its six games thus far despite the edge in yardage? Look no further than the turnover department, as Purdue has suffered 20 giveaways in six outings, nine more than its foes. With 11 lost fumbles and nine interceptions, the Boilermakers have simply given games away.

Joey Elliott has thrown for 1,575 yards and 12 touchdowns while completing 60.1 percent of his passes, impressive numbers that are overshadowed by the turnovers. Kevin Smith, who has thrown a touchdown pass this season, leads the club with 42 catches for 585 yards and four touchdowns. As for Ralph Bolden, he paces the ground attack with 599 yards and four scores. Jason Werner is a stud defensively, as 11 of his team-high 50 tackles have resulted in lost yardage.

In the 15-point loss to Minnesota last weekend, Elliott threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. The Boilermakers gained 402 total yards while allowing 281 yards, but three giveaways hurt. Minnesota scored three offensive touchdowns on drives spanning 31 yards, 30 yards and two yards. Also, the Gophers blocked a Purdue field goal and returned it for a touchdown.

"It's like the old saying, when it rains, it pours," said Danny Hope, Purdue's head coach, after the ugly loss. "It happens sometimes that way. We start to fall apart, but then we put ourselves back in to position to win. That chain of unfortunate events in the last couple ball games has been tough to overcome."

"It's the same thing every week," added junior defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. "We just make too many mistakes in all phases of the game. We have to find a way to correct these mistakes."