Advertisement
football Edit

Ohio State embarrasses Indiana in front of a sellout crowd

Don't miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball and recruiting coverage. Get a 60-Day FREE trial to TheHoosier.com with promo code IU60

Saturday night's game against Ohio State was slated as Indiana's second sellout of the season.

However, it didn't take long for Indiana fans to head for the exits. Poor weather mixed with even worse play gave Hoosier fans nothing to stick around to see.

From the jump, Heisman candidate CJ Stroud found himself very comfortable. Stroud navigated the pocket at will, and if you give them enough time, his 5-star receivers will create space, which they did.

Stroud went 4-5 for 32 yards on the first drive of the game. But, Miyan Williams carried the load, rushing for 27 yards and punching it in to take an early lead.

Advertisement

The Hoosiers responded, however. Peyton Hendershot made multiple critical receptions on the first drive, most importantly, an acrobatic catch to convert on 3rd down. Freshman QB Donaven McCulley even scrambled for a first down in the red area on his lone snap of the drive.

Quarterback Jack Tuttle looked to be playing with a renewed sense of confidence as he connected with Hendershot in the back of the endzone to tie the game 7-7.

Just when the momentum looked to be back in the Hoosier's favor, Tuttle remained on the ground, injured after the touchdown completion. It was time for McCulley to prove if he could carry the offense consistently.

He couldn't.

After Ohio State put together a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to take a 14-7 lead, McCulley needed to respond and tie the game again.

On the corresponding play, McCulley slipped and fell, resulting in a 7-yard loss. The following two incomplete passes prompted a punt that would open the flood gates for Ohio State, seeing the Buckeyes quickly pull away.

Play by play, drive-by drive, Ohio State proved that they were more talented, more prepared, and flat out better than this Indiana team, taking a 44-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Treveyon Henderson ran for 81 yards and two scores, while Stroud completed 16 of 21 passes, gaining 201 yards and scoring three times through the air. In the first half.

The quarterback situation for much of the first half was a confusing one. McCulley got the quick hook after his three-and-out. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Grant Gremel got some snaps, too; even Jack Tuttle came back after recovering from his injury.

In the first half, Indiana's three quarterbacks combined were good for 5-10 and 41 yards passing. Their offensive line did them no favors either, Indiana was sacked five times, and Ohio State recorded fourteen tackles for a loss.

Coming out of the half down 37 points, Donaven McCulley returned to the game, taking over the reins permanently.

McCulley was able to move the ball somewhat efficiently on one of his many scoreless drives. Completing his first career pass, a 30-yarder to Ty Fryfogle, and extending plays with his legs, something the Hoosiers have seen very little of this season. But he couldn't find the endzone.

The defensive side of the ball was where the talent disparity reared its ugly head the most. Treveyon Henderson and Miyan Williams practically bullied Hoosier defenders, breaking tackles and making what has been a stellar defense look foolish. And, as I said before, the uber-talented Buckeye receivers created space when they needed to and won on 50/50 balls in the endzone frequently.

CJ Stroud finished 21-28 with 266 yards and four touchdown passes. He also had a quarterback rating of 201.9 by the time Kyle McCord replaced him. Tight end Jeremy Ruckert scored twice, Chris Olave and Treveyon Henderson added one score each through the air.

Garrett Wilson and Olave, however, took a backseat to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who hauled in six passes for 99 yards, leading the team.

Ohio State converted for 31 first downs to Indiana's ten and scored on six consecutive drives to start the game. A pretty good summary of how Saturday night went.

Indiana will have the chance to win their first Big Ten game this year next week against Maryland in College Park.

----

Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals

• Like us on Facebook.

Advertisement