By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS - The last time Ohio State met Purdue, the Buckeyes defined their 2002 championship season with one stunning play: a 37-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins on fourth-and-1 with 96 seconds left. The call was a sheer surprise, a radical departure for coach Jim Tressel's buttoned-down offense.

Yet as No. 11 Purdue comes to Ohio Stadium today, it'll find the fourth-ranked Buckeyes more bullish than usual. Balance and bolder play calls have helped OSU open up its offense in recent weeks.

Thought to have a predictable, limited attack as it sunk last month to a No. 114 rating in total offense among 117 Division I-A teams, OSU (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) has rounded things out just in time for the two foes with which it shares the league lead: Purdue and Michigan.

"We're playing our best ball when we need to be," offensive lineman Shane Olivea said.

OSU had balance last year, but that fourth-and-1 bomb was about as creative as OSU got. The rest of the time, it was Maurice Clarett (when healthy) running on first and second down, and Jenkins catching every third-down pass. In a 14-game season, only two receivers had more than 17 catches: Jenkins with 61 and Chris Gamble with 31.

This fall, OSU finally found itself the past three weeks. It has averaged 433 yards in that span, thanks to three 100-yard games from tailback Lydell Ross.

This year, the Buckeyes have written their tight ends into their attack. As many as five receivers could exceed 20 catches. Flea-flickers, shovel passes and end-arounds have all shown up in recent weeks, and another bold call - the "jump ball" Jenkins caught at Penn State - was a game-winner.

Without Clarett this year, and with Jenkins getting double-teamed, the Buckeyes gradually adjusted.

"You like to have in your repertoire the ability to attack across all fronts," Tressel said. "It became very apparent Michael Jenkins was going to get a lot of attention. . . . That's where I think the tight ends have done a good job . . . making plays when they have chances. The last three games, we've thrown it to our backs a little better.

"Especially when you get to play somebody like Purdue, if you line up and do the same thing (all game), they're going to get a bead on it."

The Boilermakers (8-2, 5-1) rank 10th nationally in total defense and seventh against the run. That's not far off OSU's rankings of fifth and first, respectively, in those categories.

The key is to keep Purdue guessing.

That's where surprises like Branden Joe help. The starting fullback on the 2002 team showed up last week at tailback - carrying six times and catching a pass.

Then there's the tight ends: Ben Hartsock has a career-high 30 catches and Ryan Hamby 14.

Erstwhile two-way threat Chris Gamble has returned to offense, catching passes each of the past three weeks.

Craig Krenzel rushed 11 times for 47 yards last week - excluding sacks - to re-establish a threat from last season.

"We're starting to gel, starting to have more balance," said Jenkins, who has 35 catches.

Purdue plays a similarly balanced style. Kyle Orton ranks third in the league in passing, averaging 218.4 yards per game, and Purdue also rushes for 159.8 yards per game.

"The (opposing) defense now is not quite sure which game to prepare for," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said.

With two victories, OSU would win its first outright league title since 1984. Purdue hasn't achieved that since 1967 - the last time it won in Columbus.

No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Purdue

Kickoff: 3:37 p.m. today, Ohio Stadium (101,568), Columbus.

Records: OSU 9-1 (5-1 Big Ten), Purdue 8-2 (5-1).

TV: Ch. 9, 2.

Radio: WBOB-AM (1160), WPFB-AM (910).

Series: OSU leads 34-11-2.

Line: OSU by 3 1/2.

What to watch: Purdue will look to out-Tressel the Buckeyes behind its top 10-ranked defense and mistake-free offense. The Boilermakers rank third nationally in turnover margin (plus-1.5 avg.). DE Shaun Phillips has won the past two Big Ten defensive player of the week awards; he leads the league in sacks (12 1/2) and tackles for loss (19 1/2). OSU should be all right if it can win the turnover battle.

OSU	Team stats	Purdue
324.7	Offense avg.	380.9
131.2	Avg. by rush	159.8
193.5	Avg. by pass	221.1
267.8	Defense avg.	283.1
45.0	Avg. by rush	82.6
222.8	Avg. by pass	200.5
25.0	Avg. points for	28.5
15.3	Avg. pts. against	16.0

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E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com