Game 5: Ohio State v Indiana

GAME 5       OHIO STATE v INDIANA

October 8, 2016                                  Ohio Stadium              Columbus, OH

Indiana Hoosiers

Location: Bloomington, IN

Stadium: Memorial Stadium (52,929)

Coach: Kevin Wilson (6^th year): 23-42 at Indiana/overall, 9-32 v B1G, 0-5 v OSU

Series: OSU 71, Indiana 12, 5 ties

Last Meeting: 10/3/2015: OSU 34, Indiana 27

Last Indiana win: 10/8/1988: Indiana 41, OSU 7 (10/13/1990: OSU 27, Indiana 27)

2015 Indiana Hoosiers (6-7)(2-6)                  2015 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1)(7-1)

48        Southern Illinois          47                    42        at Virginia Tech                        24

36        Florida International    22                    38        Hawaii                                       0

38        Western Kentucky       35                    20        Northern Illinois                      13

31        at Wake Forest            24                    38        Western Michigan                   12

27        Ohio State                   34                    34        at Indiana                                27

  7        at Penn State               29                    49        Maryland                                28

52        Rutgers                        55                    38        Penn State                              10

26        at Michigan State         52                    49        at Rutgers                                 7

27        Iowa                            35                    28        Minnesota                               14

41        Michigan                     48 (OT)            28        at Illinois                                   3

47        at Maryland                28                    14        Michigan State                         17

54        at Purdue                    36                    42        at Michigan                              13

41        Duke                            44 (OT)          44        Notre Dame                            28

2016 Indiana Hoosiers (3-1)(1-0)                  2016 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0)(1-0)

34        at Florida Int                13                    77        Bowling Green                         10

30        Ball State                     20                    48        Tulsa                                          3

S17                                                                  45        at Oklahoma                           24

28        Wake Forest                33

24        Michigan State             21 (OT)            58        Rutgers                                       0

O8       at Ohio State                                                    Indiana

O15     Nebraska                                                         at Wisconsin

O22     at Northwestern                                              at Penn State

O29     Maryland                                                        Northwestern

N5        at Rutgers                                                       Nebraska

N12      Penn State                                                       at Maryland

N19      at Michigan                                                     at Michigan State

N26      Purdue                                                             Michigan

This week’s matchup features an improved Indiana squad in Coach Kevin Wilson’s sixth year.  Last year, the Hoosiers played Ohio State and Michigan tough.  They lost to Michigan in OT and were inside Ohio State’s ten-yard line when time expired with a chance to tie the game.  Ohio State’s average margin of victory over Indiana under Coach Meyer is 13.3 points, not bad for a Hoosiers team that hasn’t been ranked since 1994. And fresh off a confidence-building win over Michigan State last week, Indiana is approaching this game as a solid test for a program that has been under Coach Kevin Wilson for six years.

INDIANA OFFENSE v OHIO STATE DEFENSE: Indiana entered 2016 returning eight starters and 153 career starts on the offensive side of the ball.  Redshirt junior QB Richard Lagow has started the Hoosiers’ first four games and has gone a very good job in going 79-of 127 for 1278 yards and nine touchdowns.  He also has one rushing TD and caught a pass off of a throwback for a score.  Lagow currently sits atop the conference in total offense per game (312.5), passing yards per game (319.5), and yards per completion (16.2).  Lagow has the advantage of having not one, but two Biletnikoff Award Watch List receivers.  Junior Mitchell Paige comes into the game with 18 receptions for 217 yards and a score, while fifth-year senior Ricky Jones is just behind him, with 16 catches for 350 yards and a touchdown.  If they weren’t enough of a headache for opposing defenses, Lagrow can count on sophomore WR Nick Westbrook, who has been a pleasant surprise with his size and speed and leads all Indiana receivers with 18 receptions for 370 yards and four touchdowns.  One of Coach Wilson’s goals for 2016 is to get more production out of the running game.  Junior RB Devine Redding has not disappointed thus far, with 413 yards, shouldering the load with over 20 carries per game.  Mike Majette has been a capable backup and provides a change of pace, with his 127 yards on 23 carries.  Senior RG Dan Feeney, an Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award Watch Lister for the second straight season, anchors the Indiana offensive line and was also a consensus first team All American.  Joining Feeney are three fifth-year seniors in LG Jacob Bailey, RT Dimitric Camiel, and center Wes Rogers.  True freshman Coy Cronk has started all four games thus far this season at LT.

Ohio State’s front seven dominated a relatively experienced Oklahoma offensive line and will have a similar challenge from this offensive line.  Indiana’s hope is to be able to produce enough in the running game to open up short and medium passing routes and negate the fierce pass rush.  But, Ohio State’s speed among their front seven will be too much for this line to handle, providing they do not over pursue and don’t get beat deep in man-to-man coverage.

                                            QB Richard Lagow

INDIANA DEFENSE v OHIO STATE OFFENSE: Coach Wilson’s goal was to get better production out of his defense as they returned eight starters and 118 career starts on that side of the ball.  The improvement from last year to this year has been significant.  The Hoosiers are allowing 11 fewer points per game, 126 fewer yards per game, and are better defending on third down and are giving up fewer big plays.  Junior DT Nate Hoff paces the defensive line with 13 stops and came up big in their OT win over Michigan State, with a sack that forced an errant field goal try in OT.  Next to him is fifth-year senior Ralph Green III who was an honorable-mention All American in 2013 as a freshman and has continued with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack thus far in 2016.  Sophomore Jacob Robinson and junior Greg Gooch will be at the book ends.  Gooch with seven tackles, and Robinson with four are focusing on getting into opposing backfields on a regular basis.  Junior Tegray Scales leads Indiana in tackles with 35, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks and has a pick-six and forced fumble.  In the conference, he is tied for fifth in solo tackles, sixth in TFLs and 11^th in total tackles, and had 13 in the win against the Spartans last week.  Redshirt junior Marcus Oliver has assisted on 12 takeaways in his career and is just behind Scales this year in tackles with 29.  Redsihirt junior CB Rashard Fant has a pick-six already this year and leads the B1G in passes broken up with seven, to along with his seven tackles.  Junior Ben Bach mans the opposite corner position and notched his first career interception in their win at Florida International.  Bach has three tackles thus far this season.  Sophomore Tony Fields and junior Jonathan Crawford should be at SS and FS respectively.  Crawford  plays very good run support, with 21 tackles and two fumble recoveries, and Fields comes in with 15 tackles and five passes broken up.

Indiana’s improved defense will still have their hands full with all the speed and weapons Ohio State has on offense and, providing Ohio State holds down the penalties and has no turnovers, Indiana’s defense will eventually be overrun.

                                                            LB Marcus Oliver

SPECIAL TEAMS: Griffin Oakes was the 2015 B1G Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year has continued where he left off.  The Lou Groza Award candidate has connected on 5 out of 9 field goal attempts with a long of 49.  Sophomore Joseph Gedeon has taken over the punting chores for IU with a respectable 39.2 average with a long of 53.

SUMMARY: This is not the Indiana program of old, as the Hoosiers have made small, but steady strides every year under Coach Wilson.  The biggest win of the Wilson era was probably last week, upending last year’s B1G champions, MSU, 24-21 in overtime.  The Hoosiers will come in the game on a high with some confidence.  It may not happen right away, but the Hoosiers will be brought down to earth.  Providing Ohio State takes care of the ball and keeps the penalties down, they’ll wear Indiana down in the second half and win rather comfortably.

                       

                                                OHIO STATE 52, INDIANA 21