Bloomington, Ind. – The Indiana Hoosiers (2-1, 0-1) fell 51-10 to the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0, 1-0). Indiana trailed early and never caught their footing against the Buckeyes behind backup QB Peyton Ramsey.

Indiana RB Stevie Scott
Source: IndianaHQ

The Hoosiers held their own over the first quarter against the Buckeyes only ending up down 7-3. Standout kicker Logan Justus connected from 29-yards to keep the game close after the quarter.

The second quarter was what broke the game open for the Buckeyes. Just when the Hoosiers started to find their rhythm, Ohio State QB Justin Fields connected on a deep 37-yard pass to Olave with 11:26 left in the second. In less than three more minutes of play, the Buckeyes added another TD and a safety on a blocked punt by Olave.

The Hoosiers never found their rhythm again the first half and kept it within striking distance on a 49-yard pass from Hale to Hendershot.

The second half was not kinder for the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes scored another 21 unanswered points in the third quarter which was capped off by a 96 yard interception return by Arnette for a TD. After this point, the Buckeyes pulled many of their starters and were led by backup QB Chris Chugunov.

Ohio State QB Fields
Source: IndianaHQ

The fourth quarter was focused on development and pulling starters for the Hoosiers as well. Jack Tuttle played for the final 6 minutes of the game. No points were scored in the final quarter for either side of the ball.

Ohio State looked like a team that could compete for the College Football National Championship behind first year head coach, Ryan Day. Indiana has a lot of work that needs to be done before it can compete against the best the Big Ten has to offer.

Quick Key Stats

Source: statbroadcast.com

Star Ohio State RB, J.K Dobbins was the key difference maker in this game that the Hoosiers could not answer. In the first half Dobbins had 175 yards on the ground alone while Indiana’s leading rusher was Ramsey with 7 yards. Surprisingly, the Hoosiers had more yards passing thanks to their final 49 yard TD pass from Hale.

The Hoosiers have had weekly troubles with missed tackles and this week put that weakness on the spotlight again. Indiana needs to find answers for the uncertainties for their starting QB, their running game productivity, and their porous defense.

Injured QB Michael Penix during warmups
Source: IndianaHQ

Of note, redshirt freshman Michael Penix Jr. was seen during warmups in full uniform; however, he was focused on helping Ramsey warm up.

This is Indiana’s biggest loss since the 51-3 loss at No. 22 Wisconsin in 2013. Additionally, the biggest home loss since Wisconsin in 2012 62-14.

Indiana has now not won against the Buckeyes for the past 25 meetings.

Next Up

The Hoosiers remain at home to play University of Connecticut (1-1, 0-0) who are on a bye week. No. 6 Ohio State heads home to play Miami (OH) (1-1, 0-0).