Indiana had its chances, but Saturday’s game turned on the kind of mistakes that are hard to survive against Ohio State. The Hoosiers fell 19-15 at Memorial Stadium, and the defeat came down to a familiar trio of problems: turnovers after halftime, missed kicks, and a ground game that never got going.
The first swing came right after the break. Indiana opened the second half with the ball, but its first two possessions ended in giveaways. Davion Chandler fumbled after a catch that would have set up strong field position on the opening drive of the half, then Josh Hoover was sacked by an unblocked blitzer and coughed it up on the next trip into Ohio State territory.
That was a brutal turn for a team that had entered the day with just one turnover all season.
Special teams also left points on the field. Nico Radicic, who had made 36 of 39 field goals for his career before Saturday, missed a 32-yard attempt in the first half and later pushed wide a 55-yarder.
Indiana’s choice to try the longer kick stood out, especially with Radicic’s career long already sitting at 55 yards and his profile not built around long-range attempts. Ohio State answered both of IU’s misses with touchdowns.
Then there was the run game, or lack of one. Indiana managed only 73 rushing yards on 29 carries, a 2.5 average per attempt, and even after accounting for sack yardage the total was only 84 on the ground. Turbo Richard led the way with 46 yards on 16 carries, while Lee Beebe, Jr. added 24 yards on nine attempts.
With the run game bottled up, Hoover had to carry the offense through the air, and the results were uneven. He finished 20 of 40 passing in a day that never found much rhythm.
Indiana is now 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play and heads to Michigan next Saturday.
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