Indiana’s unbeaten run ended Saturday in Bloomington, and the final number that stings most is the one that kept the Hoosiers from pulling off the late knockout punch: 19-15 against Ohio State.
Indiana had the game in reach deep into the afternoon and was still in position to take the lead late before Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh couldn’t connect on fourth down. The loss drops Indiana to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten, with a trip to Michigan next on the schedule.
A few numbers from the game helped explain how this one slipped away.
Jeremiah Smith finished with 4 catches for 68 yards, which is a credit to how hard Indiana made his afternoon. Bryant Haines’ defense kept the nation’s best player in check for long stretches, pressuring Julian Sayin into shaky throws and breaking up several plays that had Smith’s name on them. Smith eventually broke through anyway, turning one of those catches into a 38-yard touchdown that accounted for more than half of his yardage.
That kind of performance from Indiana’s defense is the sort of thing teams usually want to bottle up. It wasn’t enough to win, but it showed what this unit can do when it’s forcing mistakes and making elite talent work for every inch.
The bigger issue was Indiana’s ground game, which was held to 2.5 yards per carry. Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. had powered Indiana early in the season, with strong showings against Northwestern and Rutgers, but the last two weeks have been far less productive.
Nebraska’s numbers came with the Cornhuskers keying on the run in windy conditions in Lincoln, while Ohio State simply kept Richard and Beebe Jr. from getting loose. That left Indiana leaning more heavily on the passing game for explosive plays.
If the Hoosiers want to get back to what has made their offense dangerous, the balance has to come back soon.
On the other side of the passing attack, Charlie Becker delivered the day’s loudest stat line. He caught 9 passes for 165 yards and was the most effective receiver on the field, even without finding the end zone. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day even tracked him down after the game to exchange a few words.
The takeaway is simple enough: Indiana still has one of the country’s most dangerous receiving threats on its roster. And while he’s still wearing an Indiana uniform, it’s worth taking in every bit of it.
In Other News...
Cignetti Reveals What Cost Indiana In Painful Ohio State Loss
Curt Cignetti left the postgame podium sounding equal parts frustrated and encouraged after Indianas 19-15 loss to Ohio State, a game in which the Hoosiers had enough defensive resistance to stay in it but could not cash in on the offensive chances that came their way. He pointed to missed opportunities as the difference, with third-quarter turnovers helping swing the flow of the night, even as the defense kept finding ways to make life difficult for the Buckeyes.
Ferrells interceptions were among the standout moments Cignetti mentioned, part of a defensive effort that gave Indiana a chance deep into the game. The next step, he said, is turning a painful finish into a lesson and moving on quickly to Michigan, where the Hoosiers will need a cleaner performance if they want the result to go the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Fans Have One Big AP Poll Debate After Costly Loss
Indianas setback on Oct. 18 came in a wild day around the AP Top 25, one that saw five teams inside the top seven go down, including Notre Dame, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. For Hoosier fans, the immediate concern is less about the national chaos and more about where Indiana lands when the next poll comes out, especially with the rankings likely to get a major shakeup after a Saturday that turned the top of the bracket upside down.
The ripple effects could reach well beyond Bloomington, with other movers such as BYU, Oregon and Oklahoma State also in the mix depending on how the voters sort out the weekends results. Indianas own drop is the obvious subplot, but the broader debate is whether the committee-style scramble around the AP voters leaves the Hoosiers punished more for one costly loss than for what happened everywhere else around them. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Was At The Center Of A Costly Officiating Controversy
Indiana found itself tied to another officiating flashpoint over the weekend, this time as a college football landscape still buzzing from a clock mistake in the Notre Dame-BYU game. The Big 12 acknowledged that error and said it would review its end-of-game officiating process, a reminder of how quickly one broken sequence can take over the conversation when a game ends with precious seconds still in question.
For Indiana fans, the frustration comes with a familiar edge because the Hoosiers were already part of a separate controversy in their own game against Ohio State. A roughing-the-passer call extended an Indiana drive and drew plenty of attention in a matchup the Buckeyes still won, leaving the Hoosiers connected to another night where officiating became part of the story instead of the football. [Read more 🡒]