COLUMBUS: Ohio State's dreary 16-3 win over Purdue on Saturday was evocative of a bad spring practice game. But it was hard to tell what the Buckeyes were rehearsing, unless it was field-goal kicking.

The Boilermakers didn't figure to be a challenging opponent, and Ohio State never was in danger of losing. But that was hardly the point. This was the sort of game in which powerful teams run away and hide in the first half, so the head coach can replace his headset with an iPod in the third quarter and listen to Music of Your Life or John Phillip Sousa marches.

Not so the Buckeyes, whose only touchdown was scored by offensive stranger Etienne Sabino, a freshman backup linebacker, who picked up a punt blocked by Malcom Jenkins and ran 20 yards unimpeded to the end zone with 11:41 to play in the first quarter.

After that, Ohio State occupied its time with various failed drives — failed, if touchdowns were the objective — that brought home this salient point: Even a superb running back like Beanie Wells can be rendered ineffective unless the line blocks.

The Buckeyes netted only 125 yards on the ground, 98 by Wells, who averaged 4.3 per carry. Three times he broke loose for relatively long gains: 16 yards, 24 yards and 12 yards. But tellingly, he gained three or fewer yards on 12 of his 22 carries.

This is not a reflection on Wells' ability, desire or the fact that he missed a day of practice because he was sick. Simply stated, more than half of the time he touched the ball, he was surrounded by Purdue defenders.

For those fans inclined to blame coach Jim Tressel for his lack of creative play calling and his dependency on the run, keep in mind that the Boilermakers came in having given up an average of 196 yards per game. If that's not an invitation to run, I don't know what is.

On the other hand, Purdue is no dynamo defending the pass, averaging 239.8 yards per game. Of course, that was before Saturday.

Tressel readily admitted that his team spit the bit when it came to blocking, whether for Wells and his lodge brothers at running back or for quarterback Terrelle Pryor, when he dropped back to throw, which he did 17 times, including thrice when he was sacked.

Asked to describe the workmanship of the offense, Tressel said, ''Hit and miss. . . . We were not consistent at all.

''It will be interesting to watch the film, but from where I was, we certainly didn't control the line of scrimmage, and that's where it starts.''

The best thing Tressel could think of on behalf of his offense was this: ''We didn't get nearly as much done as we're going to need to get done, but we didn't turn it over.''

High praise, indeed. At least, the Buckeyes made 3-of-4 field-goal attempts.

Things to consider

So how about mitigating circumstances?

There were a couple of things.

The Buckeyes still might have been rubbing their bruises from the physical win over Wisconsin a week earlier. Moreover, no matter what kind of psyche job Tressel might have mustered, his troops were not going to believe Purdue would offer enough resistance to merit their full attention. If the running game wasn't working, why didn't Tressel loosen the leash on Pryor and let him throw more?

After all, Purdue's defense is equally shoddy when it comes to stopping the pass as the run. Tressel is nothing if not cautious. Pryor is a supremely talented player who can win games with his legs and his arm, but he needs much more work on his judgment to earn the coach's trust. As he did against the Badgers, Pryor often held the ball too long, thinking he could elude an entire defense and make a play.

I'm sure he did that in high school, but the Big Ten, even in its current lowly state (take note of Toledo's win over Michigan), is hardly high school. Yes, the kid will learn, but if Tressel can help it, his education won't come at the expense of losing games. The problem is this: The Buckeyes might lose anyway. I might have missed a rule change or two, but as far as I know Tressel cannot trade for an offensive lineman or sign one as a free agent. He is stuck playing the hand he has. For the time being, Tressel would be better off allowing Pryor to throw more downfield passes, that is, 20 yarders not 40 yarders, which might loosen things up for Wells. That might be a risk the coach prefers not to take, but it also might be the lesser of two evils.