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.
