The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes came away with a critical Big Ten win on the road against the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers in a close game, 19-15, showing why they are still favorites to win the Big Ten title.
Ohio State Takes Another Step Toward Conference Championship
Big Ten Title Implications
The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Indiana Hoosiers came into the game rounding out the top-5 ranked teams in the country, giving us an early look at a potential Big Ten title showdown and possible college football playoff matchup depending on the seeds. With Indiana falling short on the day, they now rely on help from a strong unranked Wisconsin Badger team to defeat No. 12 UCLA on the road, and three key players for the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide to step up big against the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers for overall seeding.
First Half Defensive Stand-Off
Ohio State headed into the locker room at halftime with a 10-7 lead over the Indiana Hoosiers, after the Buckeyes’ head coach Ryan Day went for it on fourth and goal at the Indiana 2-yard line. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin completed a 2-yard pass to running back Bo Jackson, who took it in for the touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the first half in what was an impressive defensive chess match between both teams.
Ohio State had just 175 total yards offensively at the half, well below their season average of 251.8 total yards per half. The Indiana Hoosiers are averaging 231.4 total yards per half this season, and went into halftime with a measly 132 yards of total offense in today’s first half against the Buckeyes.
Quick Start to Fourth Quarter
Sayin left the game in the fourth quarter, but not after he led the Buckeye offense to a quick touchdown drive that took only seven plays for 62 yards in four minutes, 10 seconds.
Sayin connected with Heisman hopeful wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who snatched the ball out of the air over two Indiana defenders for a 38-yard touchdown after a gutsy fourth and 1 call by Day.
To put into perspective the significance of an opening drive in the fourth quarter by Ohio State, coming into today’s game, the Indiana defense had not given up any points in the fourth quarter, per Google Sports Data.
Indiana responded with an impressive touchdown drive of their own for 75 yards orchestrated masterfully by Hoosier quarterback Josh Hoover, who went four for six on the drive, culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass converting a two-point conversion, cutting the lead to four.
Buckeye Defense Holds Up, Lucks Out
The Ohio State defense didn’t give up a score for the rest of the game after the 75-yard drive by the Hoosiers. Ohio State forced Indiana to punt on its next drive after a suffocating Buckeye secondary forced three straight incomplete passes.
On the ensuing drive, Hoover began driving Indiana down the field for a much-needed touchdown, throwing deep to Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh on their last offensive play of the game.
Ohio State got help from the sideline after the pass that appeared to be completed for a touchdown was ruled incomplete after replay showed Marsh stepping out of bounds as he caught the pass.
The Last Word
Coming into the season, the Buckeyes were the favorite to win the College Football Playoff national championship, and they made a case for it again today, with a win in a hostile Indiana environment, surrounded by a deafening Hoosier fanbase. The future of the season is in question for the Buckeyes, after it was announced that Sayin is expected to miss several weeks after suffering a right shoulder injury.
You can expect Indiana to be in the Big Ten and College Football title mix at the end of the season. There are many reasons you can attribute to Indiana losing at home, but it quite literally turned into a game of inches, and the Hoosiers could have easily finished the game 6-0 on the season.
If you’re a Hoosier fan, you’re marking days off on the calendar for a rematch in the Big Ten title game.
Main Image: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
