College football has once again returned to the virtual world in EA Sports College Football 26, allowing fans of all 134 FBS schools to take control of their favorite team. For Buckeye Nation, that means
getting to dominate with one of the best rosters in the game.
The game also allows us to get a glimpse at what the season could look like, at least if the computers had their say. Each week, Land-Grant Holy Land will simulate Ohio State’s real-life matchup to see what our AI overlords think will happen.
Here are the results of our Week 11 sim:
Ohio State 37 – Purdue 16
I swear I did not play any part of this game and I let the computer run its course as I’ve done every week this season, but somehow virtual Ryan Day must have known this was Max Klare’s return to Purdue, because the former Boilermaker tight end scored the first touchdown of the afternoon on a 5-yard touchdown catch.
Klare actually went on to lead Ohio State with a team-high six catches for 47 yards and the score.
After Klare opened up the scoring, it wasn’t too long after that the Buckeyes found the end zone again, this time on a 12-yard touchdown reception by Jeremiah Smith, as the road team took an early 14-0 lead.
The second quarter was pretty defense oriented, as Purdue mustered two field goals through the first seven minutes of action. It was again Ohio State breaking through midway through the quarter, though, as Julian Sayin found Brandon Inniss on a three-yard score to put the Buckeyes up 21-6. Jayden Fielding would add another field goal before time expired to take a 24-6 lead into halftime.
The Buckeyes kicked another field goal to open up the second half, and Purdue answered with a field goal of their own as Ohio State now held a 27-9 advantage. CJ Donaldson made a rare play through the air for a 16-yard catch-and-run touchdown, and the Buckeyes headed into the fourth quarter with a comfortable 34-9 lead.
Fielding kicked one more field goal in the fourth quarter with Ohio State now playing mostly backups, and Purdue managed to score a garbage time touchdown against the second and third string defense with a few minutes left to play to wrap up a 37-16 contest that was far more lopsided in reality than it was on the scoreboard.
Ohio State out-gained Purdue 384-244, and the Silver Bullets completely stymied the Boilermakers’ rushing attack. Starting running back finished the game with nine carries for 16 yards, as Purdue finished with -1 rushing yards overall to go with four turnovers — three interceptions and a fumble. The Boilermakers converted only four times on 16 third downs, while the Buckeyes finished 12-of-20.
Key Contributors
Ohio State (Offense)
- Julian Sayin: 21-of-24 passing for 244 yards, 4 TD
- Bo Jackson: 19 carries for 49 yards
- Max Klare: 6 catches for 47 yards, 1 TD
- Carnell Tate: 5 catches for 89 yards
- Jeremiah Smith: 5 catches for 55 yards, 1 TD
Ohio State (Defense)
- Lorenzo Styles: 6 tackles, 2 PBU
- Kenyatta Jackson: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sack
- Tywone Malone: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack
- Davison Igbinosun: 3 tackles, 2 INT
- Malik Hartford: 3 tackles, 2 PBU, 1 INT
Purdue (Offense)
- Ryan Browne: 23-of-44 passing for 255 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
- Malachi Thomas: 9 carries for 16 yards, 1 catch for 1 yard (TD)
- Michael Jackson III: 7 catches for 84 yards
- Nitro Tuggle: 4 catches for 53 yards
- Christian Earls: 3 catches for 31 yards
Purdue (Defense)
- Mani Powell: 7 tackles, 1 TFL
- CJ Nunnally IV: 6 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack
- CJ Madden: 5 tackles, 1, TFL, 1 sack
- Charles Correa: 4 tackles, 1 PBU
Check back to see how Ohio State actually performed on the field compared to the simulation, and see how they fare in our Week 12 simulation against UCLA.
