Buckeyes shine in all three phases, earn impressive win over Indiana

For the second time this month, the narrative that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day struggles to defeat top-five opponents was weakened in emphatic fashion. On Nov. 2, the Buckeyes erased an early 10-point deficit to smother then-No. 3 Penn State in what finished as a 20-13 victory that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. And on Saturday, before a raucous crowd at Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes thoroughly outclassed previously unbeaten Indiana, 38-15, to earn a victory that moves them within striking distance of reaching the Big Ten Championship game for the first time since 2020.

Ohio State erased an early deficit by unleashing 31 straight points that reaffirmed the conference’s hierarchy despite the best efforts from the Hoosiers and their first-year head coach, Curt Cignetti. An unrelenting defensive effort overwhelmed an Indiana team that, until Saturday, had been regarded as one of the most explosive offenses in the country. But an Ohio State defense that reinvented itself midseason following a soul-crushing loss to Oregon has never looked better than it did on Saturday, holding the Hoosiers nearly 30 points below their season average.

Quarterback Will Howard completed 22 of 26 passes for 201 yards and three total scores in another predictably efficient performance. And a special teams touchdown from punt returner Caleb Downs meant all three phases contributed to the Buckeyes’ latest victory.

Here are some quick takeaways from the game:

Early difference

The Hoosiers opened Saturday’s showdown with an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that doubled as a statement of intention from the multi-score underdogs. There were big third-down conversions from quarterback Kurtis Rourke to wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, neither of whom were with the Indiana program last season, and two pass interference penalties on Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun as the Hoosiers’ plan to challenge the penalty-prone defender became increasingly clear. A 2-yard touchdown run from tailback Ty Son Lawton gave the visitors a 7-0 lead.

But the difference between that drive, which started at the Indiana 30-yard line, and the kinds of opportunities the Hoosiers were affording Ohio State quickly became the story of the first half. A third-down sack of Rourke by linebacker Cody Simon, who lived in the Indiana backfield, jarred the football loose and handed the Buckeyes possession in the high red zone. Several minutes later, Indiana punter James Evans gifted Ohio State the ball inside the 10-yard line when he was unable to cleanly field the snap on a punt, ultimately resulting in a loss of 23 yards.

And while the Hoosiers were able to force a turnover that absolved Rourke of his fumble on the earlier possession — deflecting a pass from Howard for an interception, the second time they thwarted the Buckeyes in the red zone during the first half — there were only so many bullets the defense could realistically dodge. One too many short fields allowed Ohio State to take a 14-7 lead with :21 remaining in the second quarter as tailback TreVeyon Henderson powered into the end zone to cap a three-play, seven-yard drive.

Play of the game

Trailing 14-7 at halftime, and with the Ohio Stadium crowd beginning to froth, Indiana needed a positive opening drive to begin the third quarter. Even if the Hoosiers weren’t able to manufacture points, any possession that could milk some clock and flip the field position would have gone a long way toward settling the team’s collective nerves. The last thing they wanted was a swift three-and-out that would give the ball right back to the Buckeyes.

But a positive gain on first down gave way to an eventual delay-of-game penalty that saddled Indiana with an undesirable third down. For the better part of two quarters, the Hoosiers’ retooled offensive line had struggled to handle the blitzes called by Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. And this situation proved no different: A pass from Rourke, who was hit from behind by edge rusher JT Tuimoloau, flicked off the hand of his intended receiver to force a punt that would prove far more costly.

Though Evans caught the snap without issue, his punt took two bounces that accelerated away from Indiana’s coverage unit. The extra time afforded Downs, a high-profile Alabama transfer, the chance to spin away from the first defender and gallop into open space down the right sideline. He made one cutback across the middle of the field and raced untouched to the end zone for a 79-yard punt return score that gave the Buckeyes a 21-7 lead.

Key stat

There were so many questions about Ohio State’s defense following an eye-opening defeat to Oregon last month. That night at Autzen Stadium, where the Buckeyes lost by a point, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ group surrendered 496 yards of total offense, including 341 through the air, and did not record a sack of quarterback Dillon Gabriel. The performance was so concerning that Day later said the coaching staff spent the subsequent weeks “reengineering” the defense before another high-profile matchup with then-No. 3 Penn State.

Saturday’s dismantling of Indiana, which entered the weekend with the No. 2 scoring offense in the nation at 43.9 points per game, was the latest indication that the changes Knowles made have proven wildly successful. Aside from the Hoosiers’ 11-play, 70-yard drive that produced a touchdown early in the first quarter, Ohio State never allowed more than 32 yards on a single possession until the waning moments of the second half. Seven of Indiana’s next eight drives amassed 8 yards or fewer as the swarming Buckeyes’ defense generated relentless heat on Rourke, who finished 8-of-18 for 68 yards overall.

The waves of pressure from Ohio State’s front seven reflected the shift in philosophy that has enlivened Knowles’ unit in recent weeks, a stretch in which they’ve allowed 35 points to Penn State, Purdue, Northwestern and Indiana combined. There were pass-rushing opportunities for the linebacker Simon, who recorded 2.5 sacks when the game was still in the balance. There were stunts and twists up front that freed edge rusher Jack Sawyer for 1.5 sacks, matching his season-high. And there were overload blitzes that created free rushes for Tuimoloau, who also recorded a sack.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, Ohio State had limited Indiana to 151 total yards.

What’s next for Ohio State?

Everyone knows what’s next in Columbus after the Buckeyes handled their business against Indiana on Saturday afternoon: another crack at Michigan. Nobody within the Ohio State program will care that the Wolverines have massively underachieved in their first season without former head coach Jim Harbaugh, now with the Los Angeles Chargers. Nobody will care that the Wolverines have already suffered their most losses since 2017 and won’t even sniff the discussion for this year’s College Football Playoff. All that matters to Day and his team is the chance to snap a three-game losing streak to Michigan that matches the program’s longest drought since dropping three in a row to the Wolverines from 1995-97. None of the Ohio State seniors that bypassed the NFL Draft for the chance to chase a national title have ever toppled The Team Up North. They’ve been waiting patiently for next week’s rematch.

What’s next for Indiana?

The coming weeks are likely to be riddled with angst and uncertainty for a team whose borderline College Football Playoff résumé will be dissected ad nauseam until the bracket is officially revealed on Dec. 8, once all the conference championships have been played. Between now and then, the Hoosiers will almost certainly earn their 11th victory of the season in a home finale against Purdue, which is 1-10 overall and 0-8 in Big Ten play, but that’s all Indiana can do. Cignetti’s team still won’t have a victory over a ranked opponent. Nor will it have a strength of schedule that ranks anywhere near the top 50 nationally on the Sagarin scale. Like it or not, the Hoosiers are in for two weeks of comparisons between themselves and any number of two-loss teams from the SEC. And there’s a decent chance they won’t have a good enough argument to earn an at-large berth in this year’s field. 

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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