Game Day Primer: Indiana at Ohio State
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Written By T.J. Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
Week 6 Primer
What: Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio State Buckeyes
When: Saturday, October 8 at 3:30 PM
Where: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on ESPN. You can listen to the audio broadcast on the IU Radio Network
What’s at Stake: The Indiana Hoosiers haven’t won in Columbus since 1987 and they have never knocked off ranked opponents in back-to-back games. Their task is about as tough as it gets as the Ohio State Buckeyes are the #2 team in the country and hoping to continue their quest towards a Big Ten East title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. A win for Indiana would turn the college football world on its collective head but even a solid performance by the Hoosiers would help carry momentum into October 15’s Homecoming clash with Nebraska.
A Few Things to Look For
Slowing the Run
As SB Nation’s Bill Connolly pointed out in a recent article, Ohio State isn’t great at passing on 3rd and long situations. However, putting them into those situations is an incredibly tough challenge. Ohio State has the most efficient rushing attack in the nation and they are ranked third in Rushing S&P+, averaging 332 rushing yards per game. A number of Buckeyes are very capable of hammering the Hoosiers on the ground. Mike Weber is the leading rusher, averaging 7.3 yards per carry on 68 rushes. Urban Meyer has compared him to former OSU and current San Francisco 49er, Carlos Hyde and he’ll be the bell-cow back on Saturday. Curtis Samuel is the most dangerous and explosive rusher, averaging 8 yards per carry on 41 carries. The Buckeyes will split him out wide as well and do everything they can to get their dynamic playmaker the ball in space. Demario McCall, a freshman from Ohio, will see some carries and he’s done well in limited work thus far. The Hoosiers can’t forget about the running threat of quarterback J.T. Barrett either. He’s averaging only 4.7 yards per carry but he leads the team in rushing touchdowns with three. Indiana has only allowed 140 rushing yards per game, a number that is far exceeding expectations, but they’ll be tested all afternoon by one of the top ground games in the country. Sure tackling in space, discipline on assignments and penetration against OSU’s defensive line will be critical factors.
Dodging the “Silver Bullets”
Indiana’s offense sputtered through a very conservatively-called first half against the Michigan State Spartans. However, they came alive just in time as they notched 21 straight points on a trio of terrific scoring drives led by an energized rushing attack and an accurate Richard Lagow. They’ll need that kind of execution throughout the contest, not just in one half, if they plan on being anywhere close to Ohio State this Saturday because the Buckeyes “Silver Bullets” defense is very strong. They have forced 11 turnovers in four games and have given up only 13 points in three home games. In their lone road game of the season so far, they held the powerful Oklahoma offense in check and only surrendered 24 points. The secondary is led by Marshon Lattimore and Malik Hooker and linebacker Raekwon McMillan leads the team in tackles.
The Hoosiers hope to have All-American right guard Dan Feeney back from a concussion that has cost him the past two games. His presence would be a massive boost to a run game that will be heavily leaned on. Devine Redding and Tyler Natee figure to handle the bulk of the carries and it would be nice to see Devonte Williams and Mike Majette get to the edge a few times and have chances to make some big plays. Ohio State’s defense has been very good but the IU offense is certainly better than the previous three opponents they’ve seen at home (Bowling Green, Tulsa and Rutgers) plus the Buckeyes are still really young. If IU can get them off-balance and unsure of themselves, perhaps the Hoosiers offense can have a nice day.
Make no mistake, Saturday night’s overtime victory over Michigan State was the biggest win of the Kevin Wilson era and the best win IU football has had in quite some time. The overall impact of that game won’t be determined until the end of the season (and the recruiting impact of it won’t be felt for longer than that) but there’s no arguing that it was a major momentum building win for the Hoosiers. Traditionally, IU football hasn’t dealt well with success. It’s been somewhat rare for them to play really well in successive weeks. In order for this program to reach the next level and become a regular visitor to bowl games, this is something that must change. That doesn’t mean that IU has to beat Ohio State in order to maintain momentum. Rather, having a good performance and playing competitively for 60 minutes will leave IU fans with a positive feeling heading into a huge Homecoming matchup against another top 25 opponent (and potentially a top ten opponent if a couple of outcomes fall correctly). Getting stomped by 50 points at “The Horseshoe” isn’t going to erase the Michigan State victory but playing well this Saturday will help keep some of the positive vibes generated from the upset of the Spartans.
Names to Know and Injury Notes:
-Ohio State hasn’t rushed the passer incredibly well thus far and IU dealt with a better pair of ends last Saturday against Michigan State but the Hoosiers will need to be wary of Tyquan Lewis, Nick Bosa (yes, he’s the younger brother of Joey Bosa) and Sam Hubbard. I think Hubbard is the best of the three right now and Tyquan Lewis is definitely capable of making some plays but they have only combined for 5.5 sacks this season. Keeping Lagow clean will be important because any slight mistakes made against this secondary could result in a turnover. IU’s Brandon Knight will continue to play right tackle and it appears that Coy Cronk at left tackle and Brandon Knight at right tackle is a sight Hoosier fans can get used to…they both should be here for at least another couple of seasons.
-Ohio State is largely unproven at wide receiver, particularly when you get past the top three targets. However, there’s no question that Curtis Samuel, Dontre Wilson and Noah Brown are all capable of burning IU’s improved secondary with big games. Brown had four touchdowns against Oklahoma on five catches but he only has ten total catches on the season. Samuel leads the conference in all-purpose yards and he’s one of the most, if not the most, dynamic player IU will see all season. Wilson is a true veteran on this offense and he has 12 catches with three touchdowns this season. J.T. Barrett is the best quarterback in the conference but OSU has mostly leaned on the running game so far this season.
-I mentioned these two earlier but it’s worth mentioning again: Marshon Lattimore and Malik Hooker have been outstanding so far. They each have three interceptions on the young season and they’ve combined for 12 passes deflected and six pass break ups. In addition, Hooker has 1.5 tackles for loss and is third on the team in tackles with 19. They are game-wreckers and the IU offense will need to be very careful when challenging them.