MY THOUGHTS.....Indiana

 

After the last two weeks on the road, Ohio State returned to the friendly confines of the ‘SHOE and although the snow swirled around at times, the weather was not an issue unlike last week and they ran roughshod over an overmatched Indiana squad. 

            Keeping in mind that Indiana’s defense was not that stout to begin with, still it was good to see Ohio State get solid production out of the ground game to the tune of 340 yards, averaging almost eight yards per carry.  There still remains some consternation about the Ohio State running backs.  TreVeyon Henderson sat out, still recovering from his injury and Miyan Williams appeared to injure an ankle late in the first half after racking up 147 yards and a TD.  Freshman Dallan Hayden stepped up and turned in his first 100-yard game of his career.  The Buckeyes actually ran for more than they passed in this game.  C.J. Stroud became the first B1G quarterback to throw for 30 TDs in consecutive seasons, a result of his five touchdown passes thrown.  Marvin Harrison Jr. once again, led the way with seven receptions for 135 yards, including an eye-popping highlight reel of a catch along the Indiana sideline.  Cade Stover was his usual dependable self, caching three passes, two of which went for touchdowns and Xavier Johnson caught two passes, had a 71-yard touchdown run, and recovered a blocked punt.  The best moment of the game came late when Kamryn Babb got in the game and hauled in a touchdown pass.  Babb, who has suffered through four ACL surgeries during his time at Ohio State, was given a standing ovation and mobbed by his teammates.

            The Indiana quarterbacks were able to complete just 38% of their passes.  Steele Chambers led the way with 10 tackles, while Lathan Ransom had nine stops, a sack, and blocked an Indiana punt.  Tommy Eichenberg had seven tackles, including three TFLs.  Ohio State’s defense held the Hooisers to 269 total yards, forcing nine 3-and-outs on Indiana’s 16 possessions.  They also held Indiana to just 3 of 17 third down conversions.  Through ten games, Ohio State’s defense is ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense.

Next week, it’s a road trip to Maryland.  The Terrapins come in on a two-game losing streak and were blanked 30-0 at Penn State.  Nevertheless, it still brings to mind the last time Ohio State made the trip there, in 2018 when they were lucky to come away with a 52-51 OT win.  As in 2018, this game also comes the week before the big one, so it will be a challenge for Ohio State to not look ahead.