Indiana football’s unbeaten run came to a painful stop Saturday afternoon, and the final 19-15 score against Ohio State at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington only tells part of the story.
The Hoosiers were right there for most of the day. They hung around, traded punches, and gave themselves a real shot late.
But when the game tightened, the Buckeyes made the bigger plays and Indiana didn’t. The ending was as brutal as the margin was close.
Josh Hoover is not Indiana’s problem. He’s also not giving the Hoosiers a clear edge, and that matters too.
He doesn’t need to be flawless for Indiana to win, but he does need to hit the throws that are there, and that didn’t happen often enough on Saturday. He dealt with an arm injury for much of the second half, but even before that he was missing open targets or trying to fit the ball into traffic.
He has mostly cleaned up the turnover issues, and he hasn’t really put Indiana in danger that way. At the same time, he hasn’t consistently put his receivers in a position to thrive either.
The short version: he’s been fine, just not quite enough.
Indiana’s coordinators did their part. Bryant Haines and Mike Shanahan came away looking as good as they possibly could have.
Haines had the defense playing at a high level from start to finish, while Shanahan created enough opportunities in the passing game for Indiana to move the ball. Curt Cignetti also made some notable decisions, including the challenge on Chris Henry Jr.’s catch and the long field goal attempt, but the overall game plan from the coordinators was strong.
The defense, in particular, did more than enough to win. Indiana’s offense and Ohio State’s offense produced remarkably similar numbers, but the difference was Jeremiah Smith.
He changed the game with the late touchdown catch that pushed the Buckeyes ahead by multiple scores. Still, Haines’ group forced two interceptions, recovered a fumble from Julian Sayin, and recorded six tackles for loss.
Holding Ohio State to 19 points should have been enough. It just wasn’t, because Indiana couldn’t execute well enough in the passing game when it mattered most.
And there’s still a lot left ahead in this season. Michigan is next, and that trip looms large.
The Wolverines are struggling, but they’re still talented and dangerous, especially in the Big House. If Indiana wants to get back to the College Football Playoff for a third straight season, it can’t afford many more setbacks.
The way this one ended only made it sting more. It had the feel of one of those old Indiana heartbreaks, the kind that used to define the Kevin Wilson era and the years before it - a game where the Hoosiers were right there, then watched it slip away at the worst possible moment. Take away everything else, and that finish alone felt ripped straight from the chaos team era.
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