Game 1: OHIO STATE v INDIANA

GAME 1       OHIO STATE v INDIANA

August 31, 2017                                  Memorial Stadium                  Bloomington, IN

Indiana Hooisers

Location: Bloomington, IN

Stadium: Memorial Stadium (52,929)

Coach: Tom Allen (1^st year): 0-1 at Indiana/overall

Series: OSU 72, Indiana 12, 5 ties

Last Meeting: 10/8/2016: OSU 38, Indiana 21

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

Coach Meyer (6^th year): 61-6 at OSU/165-29 overall, 42-4 v B1G, 5-0 v Indiana

2016 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2)(8-1)                      2016 Indiana Hooisers (6-7)(4-5)

77        Bowling Green            10                                34        at Florida International           13

48        Tulsa                              3                                30        Ball State                                 20

45        at Oklahoma                24                                28        Wake Forest                            33

58        Rutgers                          0                                24        Michigan State                        21 (OT)

38        Indiana                        21                                17        at Ohio State                           38

30        at Wisconsin                23 (OT)                       22        Nebraska                                 27

21        at Penn State               24                                14        at Northwestern                       24

24        Northwestern              20                                42        Maryland                                 36

62        Nebraska                       3                                33        at Rutgers                                27

62        at Maryland                  3                                31        Penn State                                45

17        at Michigan State       16                                10        at Michigan                              20

30        Michigan                     27 (2OT)                     26        Purdue                                     24

  0        Clemson                      31                                24        Utah                                        26

            (Fiesta Bowl)                                                               (Foster Farms Bowl)

2017 Ohio State Buckeyes                                        2017 Indiana Hoosiers

A31      at Indiana                                                        A31      Ohio State

S9        Oklahoma                                                       S9        at Virginia

S16      Army                                                               S16      Florida International

S23      UNLV                                                               S23      Georgia Southern

S30      at Rutgers                                                       S30      at Penn State

O7       Maryland                                                        O7       idle

O14     at Nebraska                                                     O14     Michigan

O21     idle                                                                  O21     at Michigan State

O28     Penn State                                                       O28     at Maryland

N4        at Iowa                                                            N4        Wisconsin

N11      Michigan State                                                N11      at Illinois

N18      Illinois                                                              N18      Rutgers

N25      at Michigan                                                     N25      at Purdue

The Ohio State Buckeyes will take the field for the first time, exactly eight months after the debacle in the desert.  It is the first time they’ve played on a Thursday night since 2010 and the first time they’ve opened against a conference opponent on the road since 1975.

OHIO STATE OFFENSE v INDIANA DEFENSE: The Buckeyes are averaging 39.6 points per game in their last three trips to Indiana’s Memorial Stadium.  However, new Hoosiers coach Tom Allen was a defensive coach and made that a major focus in the off season, bringing in Mark Hagen as his defensive coordinator.  The Hoosiers allowed 27.2 points per game a year ago, but returns a few players with experience.  The defensive line returns experienced senior DT Greg Gooch and DE Nate Hoff.  Hoff led the defensive line with 38 tackles, six TFLs and a pair of sacks, while Gooch chipped in 26 to go with 5.5 tackles for loss.  Junior Jacob Robinson returns at the other DE spot with 17 tackles, five of which were sacks.  The NT position was wide-open during spring drills and it appears freshman Jerome Johnson has the edge (6-3, 300 lbs).  The linebacking corps will feature a potential All-American candidate in senior Tegray Scales who led the nation with 93 solo tackles and 23.5 tackles for loss.  He’ll be joined by sophomore Marcelino Ball, third on Indiana in tackles with 75 and two interceptions.  Seniors Jonathan Ball and Tony Fields return at the safety spots and each had over 70 tackles to lead an experienced Hoosier secondary.  Experienced senior CB Rashad Fant also returns after picking up 33 tackles, three interceptions and 17 PBU.  Sophomore A’Shon Riggins impressed enough in spring ball to apparently lock down the other corner spot.  Riggins managed 37 tackles, nine TFLS and an interception last year.

The Buckeyes counter with Heisman candidate QB J.T. Barrett, a thousand-yard runner in Mike Weber, and all-conference performers Jamarco Jones and Billy Price on the offensive line.  The Buckeyes should start out where they are most familiar, with Barrett runs, short tosses to the edge, and power running with Mike Weber.  Former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson was brought in as offensive coordinator and worked with Barrett and the receivers to get a deep threat established, something the Ohio State offense has lacked the last couple of seasons.  It will be interesting to see how it is unveiled here.  Curtis Samuel and Noah Brown’s early departure to the NFL left Ohio State down their two top receivers from 2016.  But, the Buckeyes benefit from the return of senior TE Marcus Baugh, who is the leading returning receiver with 24 receptions for 269 yards and two touchdowns.  Junior Parris Campbell had an outstanding spring as he is trying to fill the shoes of the departed Curtis Samuel at H-back.  Campbell started nine games a year ago and turned in 13 receptions for 121 yards.  Junior Terry McLaurin started four games and turned in 11 receptions for 114 yards and two scores.  The deep ball was a major emphasis during the spring with sophomores Binjimen Victor, K.J. Hill, Austin Mack, and junior Johnnie Dixon looking to get a lot more action this year.  Look for all of these players to get into the game as the offense will be experimenting with some different looks.

                                             LB Tegray Scales

OHIO STATE DEFENSE v INDIANA OFFENSE: Indiana’s new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord gets to work with experienced quarterback Richard Lagow, who has played well against Ohio State the past two years.  Lagow passed for 3362 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, but   Lagow, however, had trouble in the interception category, as he tossed 17 picks.  With junior WR Simmie Cobbs Jr returning from injury and leading receiver, junior Nick Westbrook coming back, Lagow has experienced receivers to help him out there.  Westbrook came up just shy of 1000 yards receiving on 54 receptions.  Junior Donovan Hale may get the start as he impressed the coaches in spring ball after making 13 receptions for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Luke Timian returns to his WR post after garnering 19 catches for 277 yards in 2016.  The next task is continuing a strong running tradition that featured Tevin Coleman, Jordan Howard, and Devin Redding in recent seasons.  Senior Camion Patrick is coming back from a torn ACL a year ago, will attempt to fill their big shoes.  Junior Mike Majette and redshirt freshman Cole Gest will see action as well from that spot.  Majette, as a backup last year to Redding, played in eight games and had 180 yards rushing.  Gest, out of St. Edward High School in Ohio, is a quick, lighter version, of former Indiana runner Mike Dunbar.  Despite the loss of Dan Feeney, the offensive line returns some experience, headed by junior center Brandon Knight, LG Wes Marin, and RT Delroy Baker.  Sophomore LT Coy Cronk and RG Simon Stepaniak impressed enough in spring practice, they have been penciled in as starters.  The key will be how well they can protect Lagow to cut down on his interceptions, while adjusting to a new offensive scheme and coaching staff.

Indiana will find the running game a tough go against the experienced Ohio State front four as all four starters with a combined 67 starts are back.  Defensive Line Coach Larry Johnson will mix, match, and move linemen around based on situation.  Tyquan Lewis was the B1G’s defensive lineman of the year and Sam Hubbard was an Academic All-American.  Nick Bosa and Dre’Mont Jones were freshman All-Americans.  Lagow will have to hope his offensive line will give him time to test the Ohio State secondary on deep routes to Cobbs and Hale.  Lagow is also a mobile quarterback, so Ohio State’s front seven will have to keep him contained and keep him from scrambling on passing downs.  The young secondary figures to use their raw talent, speed, and ball-hawking ability as they did a year ago to force turnovers. 

                                                        QB Richard Lagow

The venerable Griffin Oakes returns for his senior season after going 16 for 26 on his field goal attempts and experienced junior punter Joseph Gedeon is back after averaging just over 40 yards on his 61 punts.  For the Buckeyes, talented Australian punter Cameron Johnston, who led the conference in punting for three years, will be missed.  Attempting to fill his shoes will be redshirt freshman Drue Chrisman, who was the number one punter as a high school senior by several rating organizations.  Sean Nurenberger is back and he is 16-for-24 in his career on field goals and his 106 consecutive extra points is a school record.  Long snapper Liam McCullough will be back after handling all long-snapping duties.

SUMMARY Indiana has played Ohio State tough in Bloomington since Meyer has been coach.  A three-point Ohio State win in 2012 was followed by a seven-point game in 2015, in which the Hoosiers were less than ten yards away from forcing overtime.  Opening games are full of the unknown as it remains to be seen how new players mesh with the experienced ones on both sides.  With a sizeable home crowd, the Hoosiers will come out motivated and keep the game interesting for the first half.  The second half is where the superior talent and team speed of Ohio State asserts itself and the Buckeyes will pull away.

OHIO STATE 42, INDIANA 20