Each Sunday, Scarlet snd Gray Report will release a position-by-position grade card for Ohio State from Saturday's game. Here's how the No. 5 Buckeyes fared after their Week 8, 54-6 win against Indiana.
Quarterback: C.J. Stroud was special again Saturday night, completing 21-of-28 pass attempts — a season-best 75% completion percentage — for 266 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. In his past three games combined, the redshirt freshman has 1,002 yards, 14 touchdowns and no interceptions, looking much more confident in and around the pocket than his first three games of the season. While Stroud continues to turn into a Heisman hopeful, Kyle McCord also looked solid in his one drive of work, completing five-of-six pass attempts for 51 yards, while Jack Miller III added 35 yards on two completions. GRADE: A
Running backs: Facing a defense that has performed well against running backs all season, Ohio State continued to perform in the backfield. Freshman back TreVeyon Henderson led the way with 81 yards on nine carries — a nine-yard average — with two touchdowns on the ground, along with a 14-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass from Stroud. In his return to the field after missing the last two games, Miyan Williams added 60 yards and a score — an 11-yard touchdown in the first quarter — while freshman back Evan Pryor added 48 yards on 11 carries in garbage time. For a unit that was without Master Teague III and Marcus Crowley, Ohio State found that balance it was looking for. GRADE: A
Wide receivers: With the Indiana defense focusing on Chris Olave — bringing in two receptions on four targets for 24 receiving yards and a touchdown — Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith Njigba shined in the passing game, combining for 11 receptions on 14 targets for168 yards. Ohio State was also able to see what Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. could do in Stroud's passing game, bringing in four catches for 63 yards. Ohio State wide receivers, as a whole, brought in 18 of 25 total targets for 256 yards and one touchdown. GRADE: A-
Tight ends: It was Jeremy Ruckert's time to shine in the passing game. After bringing in one of four targets for 18 yards against Maryland, including a drop, the senior tight end brought in two touchdowns on five catches for 47 yards and was tied with Smith-Njigba for second-most targets against the Indiana defense with six. Cade Stover and Joe Royer each brought in catches with Gee Scott Jr. on the injury list. The tight ends also helped Ohio State running backs average 5.8 yards per carry. GRADE: A+
Offensive line: Not only did the offensive line help with the run game, helping Henderson and Williams combine to average 8.3 yards per carry and three touchdowns in the ground game, but Luke Wypler, Thayer Munford, Paris Johnson Jr., Nicholas Petit-Frere and Dawand Jones also limited Indiana's involvement in and around the offensive backfield. The Buckeyes allowed four tackles for loss, including a sack on the very first offensive play in the second half by linebacker Micah McFadden, but Stroud's pocket was relatively clean all day, with massive holes to work with in the run game. GRADE: A-
Defensive line: Ohio State's defensive line was providing pressure all night against the Indiana offensive line, bringing in 8.5 of the Buckeyes' 14 tackles-for-loss Saturday night, including all five sacks and one quarterback hit. The unit got much deeper too with the return of junior defensive end Tyreke Smith, who's one tackle against the Hoosiers was a sack. The defensive line also helped Indiana's quarterbacks complete 47.1% of their passes. GRADE: A+
Linebackers: While the tackle totals were relatively spread out evenly, linebackers were near the top, with Teradja Mitchell leading the way with four and Tommy Eichenberg tying for the team lead with three solo tackles along with two tackles for loss. Steele Chambers also forced a fumble on a five-yard tackle for loss in the second quarter, which was recovered by Indiana. GRADE: A-
Secondary: Other than a touchdown allowed in the back of the end zone at the end of Indiana's first drive, Ohio State was able to keep the Hoosiers pass offense at bay, allowing 80 yards passing and 10 yards per completion: working to keep the ball in front of the first-down marker. Sevyn Banks brought in Ohio State's only pass deflection. GRADE: A-
Special Teams: Marvin Harrison Jr. was the star of special teams, tackling the Indiana punter in the end zone for a safety, part of a 30-point second quarter for the Buckeyes. Jesse Mirco added two punts for 80 yards, including one landing inside the 20-yard line, while Noah Ruggles hit each of his extra points and a 26-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. On his only kick return of the day, Emeka Egbuka found daylight for 42 yards. GRADE: A+
Coaching: The biggest adjustments came from the defensive coaching staff, tightening up a group that allowed four third-down conversions in the first drive of the game to a unit that allowed the Hoosiers to convert on only one of their next 10 chances on third down and neither of their two fourth-down tries. Ryan Day's approach for the offense remained the same as it did against Rutgers and Maryland: using balance, but letting Stroud do the heavy lifting in terms of yardage and scores. GRADE: A
Final Overall Grade: A
