Indiana's commitment to the run last week against Ohio State - in spite of its limited effectiveness this outing - wasn't anything new.

The Hoosiers ran the ball on 40 of 68 playcalls in Columbus, which comes out to roughly 59 percent of the time. Their season average of 55.4 percent ranks 49th nationally, according to TeamRankings.com.

So really, that's just two more run plays over the course of the entire Ohio State game than they've averaged this year.

It's worth asking about the commitment for this particular week, though, since the Hoosiers averaged just 2.5 yards per carry compared to 6.5 yards per pass attempt against the Buckeyes.

"We always feel with everything we do we want to establish the run," Indiana offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said on Tuesday. "And that's true with, I think you talk to any football coach across America and they want to establish the run.

"You never want to be a one-dimensional offense. For us we're going to keep trying, we did it against Michigan State and Ohio State, and if you know anything about Coach [Kevin] Wilson you know we always want to try to find a way to run the ball."

Outside some struggles in the Ohio State game, Indiana's offensive line has contributed more to the team's offensive success than might meet the eye.

Their adjusted line yards ranking - a stat that splits credit between the running back and line on carries - checks in at 23rd nationally, per FootballStudyHall.com, and that's after dealing with injuries to leaders Dan Feeney and Dimitric Camiel.

Indiana's adjusted sack rate also ranks all the way up at 15th nationally, according to the same site.

Part of those positives have come with starting a true freshman in Coy Cronk at tackle.

"He's such a great athlete, and you know, the athleticism is not the issue," Johns said of Cronk. "Now it's just a matter of seeing the schemes and looks.

"Really, there's nothing like game experience. You put your freshman tackle out there and he's growing every single week. He played against the No. 2 team in the country and now he gets to play the No. 10 team in the country. It's not like we're going against lower-level competition. These guys are the best in the country and he's learning on the run."

That's not to say the line has been perfect. Roughly one in five run plays gets stuffed at the line of scrimmage for zero yardage or a loss, which ranks 94th nationally, and the line's struggle in some short-yardage situations has contributed to the unit's struggle to finish drives.

It's really been some good and some bad this year for a group breaking in the freshman Cronk, and also utilizing sophomore Brandon Knight.

"We think the world of Brandon," Johns said of Knight. "Like Cronk he's only going to get better with time and experience.

"He's battled through some nagging injuries as well, but just doing a good job every week of using his athletic ability to put himself in good spots. Certainly with those young kids, him and Cronk, the want-to and desire is there. Not it's more game experience and reps.

"They're going to learn every single week."

And that's a good thing for Indiana, who also looks to return Feeney any week now.