Ohio State rocks Indiana in lopsided Top 5 matchup

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

COLUMBUS — Ohio State led Indiana 14-7 after a mistake-filled first half at Ohio Stadium then pulled away in the second half.

The second-ranked Buckeyes’ 38-15 win over No. 5 Indiana moved Ohio State one win from a Big Ten Championship Game rematch with Oregon, but first they will have to vanquish old rival Michigan next week.

Before that, they had to hand the Hoosiers’ their first loss after a charmed start to the first season under head coach Curt Cignetti.

“When there were triple zeros on that clock it was on,” said Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. “We know what’s coming up and how important this week is for everybody, Buckeye Nation, and most importantly our team and our obligation to play really well next week and win that game.”

The game Saturday started well for his squad as it forced a three-and-out then put together a methodical, 11-play touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead.

Ty Son Lawton capped it with a 2-yard touchdown run set up by three third down conversions and two pass interference penalties on Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun.

Ohio State followed with a 73-yard drive, but it went for nothing when Quinshon Judkins was stuffed at the 2-yard line on a fourth-and-1 run from the shotgun.

The Buckeyes got the ball back in good field position, though, and were able to cash in as Will Howard hit Emeka Egbuka for an 11-yard touchdown with 7:22 left in the second quarter.

They took the lead late in the second quarter on a 4-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson that was set up by a massive Indiana blunder.

The Hoosiers were attempting to punt the ball away with under two minutes left, but the snap went through James Evans hands. He was able to recover it but swarmed by Ohio State’s Caden Curry at the Indiana 7-yard line.

The second half was all Ohio State starting with a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown by Caleb Downs.

He fielded Evans’ punt on a bounce, made one man miss then spun away from another and sprinted up the sideline. There he got a block from C.J. Hicks before cutting back to the middle and outrunning the rest of the pursuit to the end zone.

“There was no doubt that I was going to field it,” Downs said. “There was enough space there and everybody did a really good job blocking. We talked about it all week that we had a real opportunity to enjoy this win. Just a true blessing from God to really be able to put it in the end zone.”

The Buckeyes reached in the way-back machine for their fourth touchdown, lining up in the Full House formation to set up a play-action pass from Howard to Jelani Thurman for one yard.

That made it 28-7, a score that looked insurmountable with the Ohio State defense seeming to get stronger as the game went on.

The Buckeyes sacked Rourke twice on the following drive to force another punt and drop the Hoosiers to 89 total yards on the day.

“We had to settle in a little bit and I think we did a good job,” said Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon, who had 2.5 sacks and forced a fumble. “When we are in the pass rush, good things happen.”

The Buckeyes later extended their lead to 31-7 on a 45-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter.

Indiana managed only 36 yards in the third quarter, but the Hoosiers put together a face-saving 75-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth.

After Indiana’s onside kick went out of bounds, Ohio State ended up tacking on another touchdown when Henderson broke through for a 39-yard run on the first play. He went down voluntarily at the 1-yard line, presumably to allow Ohio State to run out the clock, but Ohio State punched it in anyway two plays later on a 1-yard sneak by Howard.

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