MY THOUGHTS.....Indiana

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes went on the road and handed Indiana their first loss in 22 games in a game that was back-and-forth and wasn’t decided until the very end.

Offensively, the Buckeyes were hardly impressive.  Julian Sayin, who exited the game late with a shoulder injury, was off target a few times, completed barely over half his throws, and threw two picks.  Nevertheless, his fourth-down throw to Jeremiah Smith for a touchdown was perfect and Sayin utilized other targets well.  TE Mason Williams had two catches on the first two plays on the opening drive, making yards after the catch, leading to a field goal.  Chris Henry Jr. also had two receptions, including one along the sideline to get Ohio State out of tough field position and Bo Jackson hauled in a TD catch on a fourth-and-goal with seconds remaining in the first half to give the Buckeyes the lead for good.  The stingy Indiana defense doesn’t give up much on the ground and Ohio State was without RB Ja’Kobi Jackson and lineman Austin Siereveld.  So, RB Bo Jackson was slowed a bit, picking up a mere 56 yards.  Isaiah West picked up 45 yards, and Legend Bey managed to get three carries for six yards. 

Ther bend-but-don’t-break defense won the game with timely stops and turnovers and perhaps the pressure by Riley Pettijohn on Indiana QB Josh Hoover led to the last throw that Indiana WR Nick Marsh could not catch inbounds.  Earl Little Jr. led the way with eight tackles and recovered a Josh Hoover fumble to stop an Indiana scoring threat.  Jay Timmons forced a fumble and picked up seven stops.  So did Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Payton Pierce.  Jaylen McClain picked up the only sack, an eleven-yard loss that resulted in a fumble. 

Ohio State gets a much-needed break next week that will allow several players to heal and hopefully, QB Julian Sayin will have time for his injured shoulder to recover before they travel out to the west coast to play USC in another tough road contest.