Here's what it was like pregame on the field at Memorial Stadium.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Jacolby Hewitt led Indiana onto the field to the roar of the Hoosier faithful with a student section that started to chant “F--- Ohio” as its response.
This was a primetime matchup, a chance for Indiana to show what it can do on a national stage against the premier team in the Big Ten at home.
Ohio State was fired up, but it was as a team that has been in this position before.
Garrett Wilson lined up with the rest of the Ohio State wide receivers, stretching out in their warm-up gear on the 15-yard line with the linebackers. The offensive line room joined not too long after.
Dawand Jones lined up right next to Wilson, acknowledging the junior wide receiver and pointed to the ground, signifying that Memorial Stadium, Indiana’s home field in Jones’ home state, was Ohio State’s.
Indiana just didn’t know it yet.
In the first half, Ohio State quickly made it a reality, scoring 44 points on 38 plays, scoring six touchdowns — three by redshirt quarterback C.J. Stroud in the passing game and three in the ground game.
In the first half, after allowing a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive culminating in a seven-yard touchdown pass from QB Jack Tuttle to TE Peyton Hendershot, sending shockwaves across the Big Ten of “Is Ohio State about to go down again?" the Ohio State defense allowed -16 yards on Indiana’s next 14 plays.
This was just in the first half, but it’s all that Ohio State needed.
The Buckeyes have not slowed down from an off week. If anything, Ohio State’s only gaining steam.
And it starts with C.J. Stroud.
Coming in, the redshirt freshman quarterback had completed 41-of-56 pass attempts for 736 yards and 10 touchdowns against Rutgers and Maryland combined.
That was the Stroud head coach Ryan Day and the rest of the Ohio State offense was expecting to see when he won the starting job during the offseason. This was the Stroud that continued to show up Saturday night.
The redshirt freshman quarterback completed 16-of-21 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone, letting his receivers, whether Wilson — the leading receiver in the first 30 minutes with 59 yards on five catches — or wide receiver Chris Olave, running back TreVeyon Henderson and tight end Jeremy Ruckert, who brought in Stroud’s three touchdown passes in the first half, do the work in space.
It was a balanced approach, a patient approach, one that fed off the energy of the drive before, scoring six touchdowns in 14:38, continuing a streak of 19-straight drives with Stroud at quarterback in which Ohio State scored a touchdown, starting against Rutgers and excluding a kneel down to end a half.
It continued for Stroud until he exited the game at the start of the fourth quarter, finishing the game with a 75% completion percentage — his best in a single game this season — 266 passing yards and four touchdowns.
In his last three games, Stroud has completed 62-of-84 pass attempts for 1,002 yards, 14 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Day has found his match, and it seems like Heisman buzz could be coming.
But it didn't stop with the pass game.
Ohio State was short-handed coming into its primetime matchup with Indiana.
While it had gained back redshirt running back Miyan Williams, who had been out since the Akron game, Ohio State lost both Master Teague and Marcus Crowley to injury.
It didn’t matter. The balance of the Ohio State offense continued.
Henderson continued to put himself in the conversation of being the best running back in the country, finishing the day with 82 yards on nine carries, 14 yards on one reception and three overall touchdowns.
Williams shined too in his return to the field, recording 60 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, averaging 7.5 yards per touch.
This is a tandem that is extremely elusive in space, extremely hard to bring down even outside of the consistent rain Ohio State saw Saturday night.
In garbage time, freshman Evan Pryor added 48 yards on 11 carries.
It’s a room that will need to remain consistent if Ohio State wants to have continued success offensively, doing just enough to keep opposing defenses think about the possibility of the run. An average of 5.8 yards per carry for the room as a whole will do that.
However, Ohio State didn’t break the seal for the Indiana defense. No running back has recorded more than 100 yards in a game against the Hoosiers this season.
The defense followed the offense's lead.
Ohio State’s defense looked like it traveled back in time over the course of Indiana’s first offensive drive.
The Buckeyes could not get off the field on third down, as Indiana — despite sacks by defensive tackle Haskell Garrett and defensive end Zach Harrison — continued to move downfield, converting all four third downs, ending with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Tuttle to Hendershot.
Then Ohio State’s defense, especially its defensive front, got it together.
For the remainder of the first half, Ohio State allowed -16 yards on Indiana’s next 14 plays, with the Hoosiers finishing the game with 128 yards of offense.
Even without a turnover, the pressure was all the Buckeyes needed, swarming each of Indiana’s three quarterbacks that saw the field Saturday night for five sacks and 14 tackles for loss, limiting the ground game to 48 yards on 37 carries with a long of 15 yards by freshman QB Donaven McCulley.
And it wasn’t just one player.
Ohio State spread around its 14 tackles for loss to 15 different players, from Harrison and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, who brought in two each, to defensive end Tyreke Smith, who recorded a sack in his first game since Akron.
It’s a defensive unit that’s found its collective momentum. It’s a defensive unit that seems to be be just good enough to get opposing offenses off the field and let Stroud and the Buckeye offense create that margin of victory.
So where is Ohio State?
Ohio State is a College Football Playoff team heading into its biggest game of the season. There. It’s a reality.
Outside of Georgia at the top, this has been a season of instability, unsteadiness and change, something that basically started on the turf at Ohio Stadium Week 2.
As the inconsistency ravaged the rest of the national picture, from Iowa to Alabama, Ohio State found its groove, setting a foundation in its offense, while its defense continued to grow and mold into one that can seemingly keep up.
This is an Ohio State team people are dreaming about seeing match up against Georgia’s defense, pitting the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense, the heavyweight fight of the year.
But that’s where Ohio State is at this point: it’s a team that continues to control its own destiny.
It’s a team with a loss, sure. But it’s a team that remains on the path of the Playoff with Penn State up next.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Jacolby Hewitt led Indiana onto the field to the roar of the Hoosier faithful with a student section that started to chant “F--- Ohio” as its response.
This was a primetime matchup, a chance for Indiana to show what it can do on a national stage against the premier team in the Big Ten at home.
Ohio State was fired up, but it was as a team that has been in this position before.
Garrett Wilson lined up with the rest of the Ohio State wide receivers, stretching out in their warm-up gear on the 15-yard line with the linebackers. The offensive line room joined not too long after.
Dawand Jones lined up right next to Wilson, acknowledging the junior wide receiver and pointed to the ground, signifying that Memorial Stadium, Indiana’s home field in Jones’ home state, was Ohio State’s.
Indiana just didn’t know it yet.
In the first half, Ohio State quickly made it a reality, scoring 44 points on 38 plays, scoring six touchdowns — three by redshirt quarterback C.J. Stroud in the passing game and three in the ground game.
In the first half, after allowing a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive culminating in a seven-yard touchdown pass from QB Jack Tuttle to TE Peyton Hendershot, sending shockwaves across the Big Ten of “Is Ohio State about to go down again?" the Ohio State defense allowed -16 yards on Indiana’s next 14 plays.
This was just in the first half, but it’s all that Ohio State needed.
The Buckeyes have not slowed down from an off week. If anything, Ohio State’s only gaining steam.
And it starts with C.J. Stroud.
Coming in, the redshirt freshman quarterback had completed 41-of-56 pass attempts for 736 yards and 10 touchdowns against Rutgers and Maryland combined.
That was the Stroud head coach Ryan Day and the rest of the Ohio State offense was expecting to see when he won the starting job during the offseason. This was the Stroud that continued to show up Saturday night.
The redshirt freshman quarterback completed 16-of-21 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone, letting his receivers, whether Wilson — the leading receiver in the first 30 minutes with 59 yards on five catches — or wide receiver Chris Olave, running back TreVeyon Henderson and tight end Jeremy Ruckert, who brought in Stroud’s three touchdown passes in the first half, do the work in space.
It was a balanced approach, a patient approach, one that fed off the energy of the drive before, scoring six touchdowns in 14:38, continuing a streak of 19-straight drives with Stroud at quarterback in which Ohio State scored a touchdown, starting against Rutgers and excluding a kneel down to end a half.
It continued for Stroud until he exited the game at the start of the fourth quarter, finishing the game with a 75% completion percentage — his best in a single game this season — 266 passing yards and four touchdowns.
In his last three games, Stroud has completed 62-of-84 pass attempts for 1,002 yards, 14 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Day has found his match, and it seems like Heisman buzz could be coming.
But it didn't stop with the pass game.
Ohio State was short-handed coming into its primetime matchup with Indiana.
While it had gained back redshirt running back Miyan Williams, who had been out since the Akron game, Ohio State lost both Master Teague and Marcus Crowley to injury.
It didn’t matter. The balance of the Ohio State offense continued.
Henderson continued to put himself in the conversation of being the best running back in the country, finishing the day with 82 yards on nine carries, 14 yards on one reception and three overall touchdowns.
Williams shined too in his return to the field, recording 60 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, averaging 7.5 yards per touch.
This is a tandem that is extremely elusive in space, extremely hard to bring down even outside of the consistent rain Ohio State saw Saturday night.
In garbage time, freshman Evan Pryor added 48 yards on 11 carries.
It’s a room that will need to remain consistent if Ohio State wants to have continued success offensively, doing just enough to keep opposing defenses think about the possibility of the run. An average of 5.8 yards per carry for the room as a whole will do that.
However, Ohio State didn’t break the seal for the Indiana defense. No running back has recorded more than 100 yards in a game against the Hoosiers this season.
The defense followed the offense's lead.
Ohio State’s defense looked like it traveled back in time over the course of Indiana’s first offensive drive.
The Buckeyes could not get off the field on third down, as Indiana — despite sacks by defensive tackle Haskell Garrett and defensive end Zach Harrison — continued to move downfield, converting all four third downs, ending with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Tuttle to Hendershot.
Then Ohio State’s defense, especially its defensive front, got it together.
For the remainder of the first half, Ohio State allowed -16 yards on Indiana’s next 14 plays, with the Hoosiers finishing the game with 128 yards of offense.
Even without a turnover, the pressure was all the Buckeyes needed, swarming each of Indiana’s three quarterbacks that saw the field Saturday night for five sacks and 14 tackles for loss, limiting the ground game to 48 yards on 37 carries with a long of 15 yards by freshman QB Donaven McCulley.
And it wasn’t just one player.
Ohio State spread around its 14 tackles for loss to 15 different players, from Harrison and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, who brought in two each, to defensive end Tyreke Smith, who recorded a sack in his first game since Akron.
It’s a defensive unit that’s found its collective momentum. It’s a defensive unit that seems to be be just good enough to get opposing offenses off the field and let Stroud and the Buckeye offense create that margin of victory.
So where is Ohio State?
Ohio State is a College Football Playoff team heading into its biggest game of the season. There. It’s a reality.
Outside of Georgia at the top, this has been a season of instability, unsteadiness and change, something that basically started on the turf at Ohio Stadium Week 2.
As the inconsistency ravaged the rest of the national picture, from Iowa to Alabama, Ohio State found its groove, setting a foundation in its offense, while its defense continued to grow and mold into one that can seemingly keep up.
This is an Ohio State team people are dreaming about seeing match up against Georgia’s defense, pitting the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense, the heavyweight fight of the year.
But that’s where Ohio State is at this point: it’s a team that continues to control its own destiny.
It’s a team with a loss, sure. But it’s a team that remains on the path of the Playoff with Penn State up next.
Last edited:
