Ohio State is back.

After an off week that brought them one step closer to the top-four in both the AP and the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Buckeyes will officially start the second half of their season, traveling to Bloomington to take on Indiana Saturday night.

Here are three things we learned about Ohio State this week, two questions and one prediction ahead of the Buckeyes' matchup with the Hoosiers.

1. Ryan Day has stepped back from the Ohio State defense

After the Oregon game, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said that he would be much more involved with the defense, from scheme to personnel to coaching, something 35 points and 505 yards allowed warrants.

But after the defense's recent success, Day said that he's stepped back a little bit, allowing the defensive coaching staff to do its work.

In the past three games, Ohio State has allowed 37 points. In the past four games, the unit has recorded nine interceptions, allowing opposing backs to average 2.3 yards per carry without allowing a rushing touchdown.

Day has been clear that the rhythm between secondary coach and defensive play-caller Matt Barnes and defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, linebackers coach Al Washington and defensive line coach Larry Johnson has been working over the past four weeks, continuing to learn and mold its defense as its youth gains more and more experience.

"I think just the character of the people in the room," Washington said. "Everybody has a collaborative mentality. Where things are, we want to continue to push the needle forward. There's no ego, there's not of that. We're just doing everything we can to help.

"I think it speaks to the players, the maturity they have shown, the toughness they have shown to be a part of it too."

2. Luke Wypler has cemented himself at center

Luke Wypler made it clear what his two hobbies were: watching film and working out, something offensive line coach Greg Studrawa made clear was not normal.

"We got done with that game down in Miami, and we go home the next day, he sends me videos of him out there snapping the ball and executing certain blocks," Studrawa said. "I have a 30-minute video. I'm like, 'Spring ball's not coming up yet. You're OK.' That's the kind of kid he is."

Studrawa said Wypler's mentality as a redshirt freshman is something former Ohio State guard and center Billy Price was like as a junior and senior. It's what helped Wypler secure the starting center job when preseason starter Harry Miller went down with an injury — a race Studrawa said was still being decided 10 days before the season opener against Minnesota.

As Miller continues to work his way back to a level of consistency that will bring him back onto the field full time, Wypler has cemented himself on a national scale too, as one of six Big Ten centers named to the Rimington Award watch list, given at the end of the year to the best center in the country.

3. Expect more from Palaie Gaoteote IV moving forward

In a room without much depth — six scholarship athletes — Washington needs all the help he can get in his linebackers room.

But it seems as though he's getting some more help soon.

After arrived in Columbus in June, transferring from USC, linebacker Palaie Gaoteote IV was not sure of his future this season, waiting all through fall camp to see if he was eligible to play in 2021.

To Washington, this hindered his development in the room just because he wasn't sure if Gaoteote would be able to play. Despite gaining eligibility prior to the Oregon game, the linebackers coach said Gaoteote still has a ways to go, playing only 23 total snaps through the first six games of the year.

"He's done a very good job of picking everything up in terms of scheme and how we handle our business," Washington said. "He had a hiccup early on in terms of getting his body back together, but we expect him to continue to increase his role as the second half goes."

1. Will TreVeyon Henderson be the first 100-yard rusher against Indiana in 2021?

Indiana's run defense does not look all that spectacular on paper. The Hoosiers allow 122.3 rushing yards per game and 3.8 yards per rush — fifth-most in the Big Ten conference behind Northwestern, Illinois, Rutgers and Nebraska.

But when you take a step back, Indiana has not allowed one rusher to record more than 100 yards in a game.

It limited Michigan State junior Kenneth Walker III to 84 yards on 23 carries — a back who's recorded two games of more than 200 yards on the ground. It limited Cincinnati junior running back Jerome Ford to 66 yards on 20 carries — a back who's recorded four 100-yard games in 2021.

Indiana's next task: TreVeyon Henderson; the Ohio State freshman back who exploded for 277 yards against Tulsa, who's coming off a 102-yard game against Maryland after 19 yards on nine carries in the first half.

Henderson's use in the offense isn't pigeon-holed into the ground game, taking four receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown against the Terrapins two weeks ago. This is an offense that can adapt and respond to what opposing defenses can give them.

But if given the carries — averaging an NCAA-leading 8.77 yards per touch — Henderson can seemingly run against anyone, something the Indiana defense surely heard about Walker and Ford too.

2.Can Ohio State force Jack Tuttle to only rely on the pass?

Even with Michael Penix Jr. behind center, Indiana has struggled with the run game all season long.

With USC transfer Stephen Carr as their primary back, the Hoosiers, as a team, have averaged 3.4 yards per rush despite scoring over half of their touchdowns on the ground. Other than 100-yard performances against Western Kentucky and Idaho, Carr has averaged 53 yards per game, averaging 2.9 yards per rush with one touchdown.

Ohio State's rush defense has improved dramatically in the past four weeks. The Buckeyes have not allowed a rushing touchdown since their lost to Oregon, allowing backs to average 2.3 yards per carry.

So what happens if Indiana can't move the ball on the ground? Well, it comes down to Jack Tuttle, the likely starter for the Hoosiers, who replaces Penix Jr., who's out after separating an AC joint in his left throwing shoulder.

When Michigan State forced Tuttle to rely on the pass game, he did not respond well: completing 28-of-52 pass attempts — 53.8% — for 188 yards and two interceptions.

It's the same thing for Ohio State. Pressure on the run game forces pressure in the pass game, which leads to big, game-shifting plays, a pretty straight-forward game plan for a Buckeyes defense that's only been improving.

Ohio State's interception touchdown streak will carry on another week.

With Indiana's offense and how the Ohio State defense has been playing over the past three weeks, this will not come as a shock.

Ohio State has shown its ball-hawk ability in the secondary, with seven players bringing in nine interceptions in the past four games, including two each by Ronnie Hickman and Craig Young.

The Buckeyes also have a knack for getting their hands on the football, with 18 different players splitting 33 pass breakups, including six by freshman cornerback Denzel Burke.

The table is set for another defensive showcase, combining the pressure of a defensive line that's getting more and more comfortable as the weeks continue with a pass defense that has only two weapons in the passing game to worry about.

Expect Ohio State to bring in multiple interceptions, using its speed defensively to take one back.