Buckeyes always get a challenge from Indiana

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said earlier in the week that this was the best Indiana team that Kevin Wilson has had and the Hoosiers did not disappoint, at least in terms of giving the Buckeyes fits for much of the game. The Buckeyes got off to a slow start as J.T. Barrett had his worst passing game of the season and went 9-21 for 93 yards and would go more than two quarters between completions. Barrett would make up for it with 137 yards on the ground as Ohio State (5-0, 2-0) was finally able to hold serve with the Hoosiers in the 3rd quarter and finished off Indiana (3-2, 1-1), 38-17.

Curtis Samuel was not utilized for much of the first half but would end up 82 rushing yards and one score on the afternoon. Ohio State's offensive diversity was not evident as only 7 players registered either a rush or a reception on the day.

"(Curtis) had only nine carries, that is not enough," Meyer said. "It was just an awkward game."

For those who follow Las Vegas odds, the Buckeyes have never covered against Indiana under Urban Meyer. A win is a win but Vegas has installed Ohio State as heavy favorite four times going into this game and the Hoosiers have managed to cover four times. The Buckeyes were better than a four touchdown favorite going into this one.

"(That Indiana team) I think (had) their best personnel since we have been going against them," Meyer said after the game. "I think they've always had decent personnel. But that was a good team."

Barrett's numbers were not good throwing the ball, 9-21 passing for 93 yards and one touchdown and an interception.

"I think they just did a good job game planning," Barrett said. "They knew a couple of times where we trying to go with the football in the passing game and I did not play particularly well in the passing game by any means. With that, I have to do a better job of just reading the coverages better and getting the ball to our playmakers."

The Hoosiers would actually get on the board first after the Buckeyes fumbled on the third play of the game on a bad pitch from Barrett to Mike Weber. Indiana would start with the ball on its own 29-yard line but would only get three points out of it on a Griffin Oakes 21-yard field goal.

Ohio State would match the Hoosiers with a 37-yard field goal of their own off of the foot of Tyler Durbin and that is how the game would stand at the end of the first quarter.

The Buckeye defense would lead to Ohio State's first significant offense after Tyquan Lewis would hit Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow and force a fumble that would go off of Jerome Baker's body and end up in the hands of Jalyn Holmes. The play would go to replay but the call would stand as called and give the Buckeyes a short field to work with.

Ohio State only needed two plays to go nine years as Weber would pick up all nine on Ohio State's second play and put Ohio State up 10-3.

When Ohio State decided to use Samuel on offense, things started to click as Ohio State would only need five plays to cover 73 yards and would end the drive on a 5-yard Samuel run, on a drive where Samuel would touch the ball on four of the five plays. The Buckeyes led 17-3 at that point.

But the plucky Hoosiers would not give up and would use a Lagow to Ricky Jones 32-yard play on 3rd down to extend a drive and set up an 18-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Paige. The Hoosiers would only trail by seven at this point.

Ohio State would strike back immediately, set up by a 91-yard kickoff return by Parris Campbell. That would give the ball to Ohio State on the six-yard-line and would set up Ohio State's second two-play drive of the game. Barrett would keep it on the ground from five yards and give Ohio State a 24-10 lead, a lead that they would take into the half.

The Hoosiers would not go quietly into the night and marched down the field on their first drive of the second half. A combination of run and pass with Devin Redding and Tyler Natee would see the Hoosiers get into the Ohio State red zone. Ohio State looked like they may stall the Hoosiers but on a 3rd-and-goal from the seven-yard-line the Buckeyes did not cover tight end Danny Friend who was wide open for an uncontested pass from Lagow. IU would cut the game back to seven, 24-17.

Ohio State would answer Indiana's 13-play drive with a 13-play drive of more than six minutes that would culminate in a touchdown dive by Weber. The two drives would take up more than 11 minutes of the 3rd quarter.

Things would get dicey in the 4th quarter when Barrett attempted his first pass in some time. The pass would go off the hands of Marcus Baugh and into the waiting hands of freshman cornerback A'Shon Riggins, who returned it inside the Ohio State red zone.

On the ensuing play, Redding would fumble the ball and it appeared that Gareon Conley fell on the ball but the officials ruled an offensive recovery and replay could not overturn the call. Conley came close on three occasions to big plays with a near recovery and a pair of near interceptions on the day.

The football gods would smile on the Buckeyes, however, as the Hoosiers opted to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the 4-yard-line. Redding would get stonewalled by Nick Bosa and Raekwon McMillan, and the Buckeyes would take over on downs and avert a criss with 10 minutes left in the game.

"I was excited to get on the field and make a play for my team," Bosa said. "They put the people in on goal line for a reason, and I knocked them back, and made the tackle for loss."

The door for an Indiana comeback, which was ajar for most of the day, was finally closed for good with 4:00 remaining, when Barrett found Dontre Wilson for a 37-yard touchdown.

Ohio State is set to be back in action on Saturday against No. 11 Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin.