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Game Thread Indiana at tOSU, Sat. Nov. 23, 12pm ET, FOX

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LordJeffBuck said:
Just a few quick postgame notes before moving on to Hate Week....

1. The weather was lousy. I don't know if you could see it on TV but there was a fine mist falling for most of the first half, which likely contributed to some of the ball control issues that both teams experienced. It was also quite cold with a chill wind. Slightly below ideal football weather.

2. The Buckeye offense didn't do much – 316 total yards, 14 first downs – but it didn't need to do much with the defense generally stonewalling the Hoosier offense and the special teams creating short fields (fumbled snap, onside kick) or scoring outright (punt return). Will Howard had a decent game on the stat sheet (22/26, 201 yards, 2 TD, INT) but most of his passes seemed slight off target (possibly due to the poor weather). The running backs had tough sledding until TreVeyon Henderson broke off a 39-yard run in the final minutes of play (more on that in a bit).

3. The Buckeye defense had a great game overall, holding Indiana to 15 points and 151 total yards (2.56 per play). Almost all of Indiana's offense came on their two touchdown drives, when they ran a total of 26 plays for 112 yards (for a not very impressive 4.31 yards per play); converted 5/6 on 3rd down and 1/1 on 4th down; and were the beneficiaries of not one, not two, but three DPI penalties (all on Davison Igbinosun). For the rest of the game, the Hoosiers ran 33 plays for 39 yards (1.18 yards per play) and were 1/8 on 3rd down and 0/1 on 4th down. The Buckeye defense forced a turnover and had 5 sacks and 3 additional TFLs.

4. Caleb Downs might not admit this, but early in the 3rd quarter when he fielded a punt on the second hop he was probably just trying to prevent Indiana from downing the ball inside the 10-yard line. But after making a nifty spin move, Downs found some running room along the right sideline. It looked like Downs was going to be tackled near the Indiana 40-yard line but then C.J. Hicks (#11) laid out a Hoosier defender with a devastating block, and Downs was able to cut across field and eventually cruise into the end zone. Downs's 79-yard punt return TD was the 7th longest in Buckeye football history, and the first since Jalin Marshall's 54-yard return against Indiana in 2014.

5. Jayden Fielding connected on a 45-yard field goal in rough weather, a good sign for the future. Overall, the special teams had a great day and that will need to continue next week when the weather and the opponent will likely dictate another Tresselball type of game.

6. After scoring their second touchdown late in the 4th quarter, the Hoosiers attempted an onside kick still down 16 points. The kick went out of bounds and Ohio State gained possession at the Indiana 40-yard line with 1:18 remaining on the clock. On the first play from scrimmage, TreVeyon Henderson took a handoff a broke free. Instead of going into the end zone for the "sweep the leg" touchdown, Henderson slid down at the 1-yard line. But head coach Ryan Day didn't want to run out the clock, he wanted to run up the score. To be honest, it was kind of a dick move on Day's part. But I'm okay with that. For far too long, Day has been seen as a bland corporate CEO whose teams lack toughness, energy, and killer instinct. Not no more, my friends. The Buckeyes played with their hair on fire all game long and Day rewarded them with the coup de grâce in the final minute. Kudos to Coach Day and let's see some more of that next Saturday.

7. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti might have learned an etiquette lesson today – respect your opponent. If not, then perhaps simply a practical lesson – don't poke the bear.
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Just to add to the kind of a dick move. I think Day probably has paid a little for mouthing off and sometimes you gotta learn the hard way

Further, Indiana was obviously playing to maybe get it a little closer but not win. Lets just run the ball then onside kick? That was the end of our graciousness. Kick it deep and we probably take a knee. You're trying to contest this to the end, and you'll get the shit end of the stick. Not some miracle to get to 8 or 10 and then say "hey it wasn't that bad" - I have no fucking respect for stopping trying to win. I won't mention the punt.

Edit: and I would like to add that I am indeed implying that not only were the killing clock but they were trying to control the ball to keep us from running it up...
 
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Captain Buckeye said:
We for sure need to figure out these poor starts. Maybe we can weather bad starts vs Indiana or even TCUN but vs a team like Oregon etc we have to do a better job of hitting the ground running.

Been saying this for weeks and so far hasn’t hurt us too badly but geez it’d be nice to get off the field quick to start a game for once.
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Heard a lot like this all year. Not to pick on you but it reminds me of 2014. "We can win turning the ball over against Indiana and TSUN but pull that shit against bama or Oregon and we're toast"

*Have like 4 turnovers in each game and still walk to the trophy
 
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colobuck79 said:
I’m out, my feed is too slow. I’ll be back to celebrate the big win!!!!
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:pimp:

Some takeaways,
(1) where did that amazing pass rush come from?
(2) we still make too many mistakes.
(3) I’d like to see a little more in the vertical passing game.
(4) the cornerbacks scare me.
(5) great special teams game for the good guys!
(6) Howard is good enough to take us to the promised land.
(7) Cignetti looked like he lost his best friend lol.
 
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