Indiana Recap
1. On a cold and snowy day in the Horseshoe, Ohio State trounced Indiana by the final score of 56 to 14, which marked the Buckeyes' 28th victory in a row against the hapless Hoosiers. In the series, Ohio State now owns a record of 79-12-5 (.849 winning percentage) and has outscored Indiana 2,655 to 1,096 (27.7 to 11.4 on a per game basis).
2. As you might imagine from the final score, Ohio State did pretty much everything right in yesterday's game. Quarterback C.J. Stroud did nothing to hurt his Heisman chances, connecting on 17 of 28 passes (.607 completion percentage) for 297 yards (10.6 yards per attempt), 5 touchdowns, no interceptions, and no sacks. If we're going to be completely honest, Stroud was a little bit off at times and a couple of his touchdown passes were called primarily to pad his stats for the benefit of Heisman voters, although each pass did in fact have a secondary purpose as well (more or those later).
3. Marvin Harrison Jr. once again proved that he is the best wide receiver in college football (and would probably be a top-10 wide receiver in the NFL if he were playing in the League today). Harrison had 7 receptions for 135 yards (19.3 average), including a 58-yard touchdown (his career-long reception). Harrison's best catch of the day came along the sideline when (reminiscent of Michael Thomas in the 2015 Sugar Bowl) he was somehow able to get one foot down in bounds while all of his momentum was carrying him out:
4. Emeka Egbuka had a quiet day with just 2 receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown. Julian Fleming had 2 receptions for 24 yards, but also dropped what would have been a 45-yard touchdown. Jayden Ballard added a 24-yard reception from backup quarterback Kyle McCord.
5. The first of Stroud's stat-padding touchdowns was a one-yard pass to tight end Cade Stover in the third quarter. Showing a "heavy" look (I-formation, three tight ends), Stroud faked a handoff to the I-back and then lobbed a pass to Stover who blocked, released late, and found himself wide open in the corner of the end zone for the score. While Stroud was able to add an easy touchdown to his résumé, the play was also a nice constraint to the power running attack which once again failed to produce the necessary results in short yardage situations (see below). For the game, Stover had 3 receptions for 45 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
6. The second of Stroud's "gravy" touchdowns came with 8:49 left in the game with the Buckeyes maintaining a commanding 49-14 lead. Under normal circumstances, Stroud would have been on the bench watching the reserves mop up the Hoosiers, but Ryan Day dialed up a feel-good play worthy of the Hallmark Channel:
7. Miyan Williams had his best day as a Buckeye, with 15 carries for 147 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown. However, Williams suffered the dreaded "lower body injury" in the second half and was helped off the field and carted to the locker room. With TreVeyon Henderson already out of the game with an injury of his own, true freshman Dallan Hayden saw extended action and racked up 102 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. When Hayden got dinged up, wide receiver Xavier Johnson filled in and promptly broke off a 71-yard touchdown run (with a key downfield block provided by Marvin Harrison Jr); Johnson added two receptions for 47 yards and recovered a blocked punt on special teams.
8. Although the running attack accounted for 345 yards and 3 touchdowns on 41 attempts (8.4 average), the Buckeyes still had problems in short yardage situations. The Buckeyes ran the ball seven times with one or two yards needed for a first down, with the following results (in game order):
To recap: seven short yardage situations, two successes (one first down, one touchdown), five failures (including a turnover on downs). Not good, which is why we will probably see more play action passing from heavy formations.
9. The Buckeye defense generally played a great game, surrendering only 14 points, 269 total yards (4.2 per play), and 11 first downs while forcing 12 punts (nine after three-and-out drives) and holding Indiana to 3 of 18 (16.7%) on third and fourth down conversions. The defense recorded ten TFLs (including 4 sacks) for 38 yards lost, but they did not force any turnovers and allowed two long gains (a 49 yard pass and a 44 yard run). Safety Lathan Ransom led the way with 9 tackles and 1.5 sacks; linebacker Tommy Eichenberg had 7 tackles and 3 TFLs; linebacker Steele Chambers had 10 tackles and a sack; and end Jack Sawyer had 1.5 sacks.
10. The special teams blocked a punt (Lathan Ransom) that was recovered at the Indiana 2-yard line (Xavier Johnson) and led to a quick touchdown, but also muffed two punts (one recovered by the Hoosiers that they converted into seven points).
11. The refs let both teams play, calling only five penalties all game (three against Ohio State for 15 yards; two against Indiana for 20 yards).
1. On a cold and snowy day in the Horseshoe, Ohio State trounced Indiana by the final score of 56 to 14, which marked the Buckeyes' 28th victory in a row against the hapless Hoosiers. In the series, Ohio State now owns a record of 79-12-5 (.849 winning percentage) and has outscored Indiana 2,655 to 1,096 (27.7 to 11.4 on a per game basis).
2. As you might imagine from the final score, Ohio State did pretty much everything right in yesterday's game. Quarterback C.J. Stroud did nothing to hurt his Heisman chances, connecting on 17 of 28 passes (.607 completion percentage) for 297 yards (10.6 yards per attempt), 5 touchdowns, no interceptions, and no sacks. If we're going to be completely honest, Stroud was a little bit off at times and a couple of his touchdown passes were called primarily to pad his stats for the benefit of Heisman voters, although each pass did in fact have a secondary purpose as well (more or those later).
3. Marvin Harrison Jr. once again proved that he is the best wide receiver in college football (and would probably be a top-10 wide receiver in the NFL if he were playing in the League today). Harrison had 7 receptions for 135 yards (19.3 average), including a 58-yard touchdown (his career-long reception). Harrison's best catch of the day came along the sideline when (reminiscent of Michael Thomas in the 2015 Sugar Bowl) he was somehow able to get one foot down in bounds while all of his momentum was carrying him out:
4. Emeka Egbuka had a quiet day with just 2 receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown. Julian Fleming had 2 receptions for 24 yards, but also dropped what would have been a 45-yard touchdown. Jayden Ballard added a 24-yard reception from backup quarterback Kyle McCord.
5. The first of Stroud's stat-padding touchdowns was a one-yard pass to tight end Cade Stover in the third quarter. Showing a "heavy" look (I-formation, three tight ends), Stroud faked a handoff to the I-back and then lobbed a pass to Stover who blocked, released late, and found himself wide open in the corner of the end zone for the score. While Stroud was able to add an easy touchdown to his résumé, the play was also a nice constraint to the power running attack which once again failed to produce the necessary results in short yardage situations (see below). For the game, Stover had 3 receptions for 45 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
6. The second of Stroud's "gravy" touchdowns came with 8:49 left in the game with the Buckeyes maintaining a commanding 49-14 lead. Under normal circumstances, Stroud would have been on the bench watching the reserves mop up the Hoosiers, but Ryan Day dialed up a feel-good play worthy of the Hallmark Channel:
7. Miyan Williams had his best day as a Buckeye, with 15 carries for 147 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown. However, Williams suffered the dreaded "lower body injury" in the second half and was helped off the field and carted to the locker room. With TreVeyon Henderson already out of the game with an injury of his own, true freshman Dallan Hayden saw extended action and racked up 102 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. When Hayden got dinged up, wide receiver Xavier Johnson filled in and promptly broke off a 71-yard touchdown run (with a key downfield block provided by Marvin Harrison Jr); Johnson added two receptions for 47 yards and recovered a blocked punt on special teams.
8. Although the running attack accounted for 345 yards and 3 touchdowns on 41 attempts (8.4 average), the Buckeyes still had problems in short yardage situations. The Buckeyes ran the ball seven times with one or two yards needed for a first down, with the following results (in game order):
3rd-and-2: 1 yard gain
3rd-and-1: 48 yard gain (TD)
3rd-and-2: 1 yard gain
3rd-and-1: no gain
4th-and-1: 1 yard loss
1st-and-2: 1 yard gain
3rd-and-1: 3 yard gain (first down)
3rd-and-1: 48 yard gain (TD)
3rd-and-2: 1 yard gain
3rd-and-1: no gain
4th-and-1: 1 yard loss
1st-and-2: 1 yard gain
3rd-and-1: 3 yard gain (first down)
To recap: seven short yardage situations, two successes (one first down, one touchdown), five failures (including a turnover on downs). Not good, which is why we will probably see more play action passing from heavy formations.
9. The Buckeye defense generally played a great game, surrendering only 14 points, 269 total yards (4.2 per play), and 11 first downs while forcing 12 punts (nine after three-and-out drives) and holding Indiana to 3 of 18 (16.7%) on third and fourth down conversions. The defense recorded ten TFLs (including 4 sacks) for 38 yards lost, but they did not force any turnovers and allowed two long gains (a 49 yard pass and a 44 yard run). Safety Lathan Ransom led the way with 9 tackles and 1.5 sacks; linebacker Tommy Eichenberg had 7 tackles and 3 TFLs; linebacker Steele Chambers had 10 tackles and a sack; and end Jack Sawyer had 1.5 sacks.
10. The special teams blocked a punt (Lathan Ransom) that was recovered at the Indiana 2-yard line (Xavier Johnson) and led to a quick touchdown, but also muffed two punts (one recovered by the Hoosiers that they converted into seven points).
11. The refs let both teams play, calling only five penalties all game (three against Ohio State for 15 yards; two against Indiana for 20 yards).
Last edited:
