Game Wrap and Reaction: Ohio State 49 Indiana 21

Richard Lagow set a school record for passes attempted. Image: Sammy Jacobs HoosierHuddle.com

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Opponent: Ohio State Buckeyes

Location: Thursday, August 31st, Memorial Stadium (Bloomington, IN)

Why They Played:  The Hoosiers and Buckeyes opened the season as conference foes in an effort to get the Big Ten in the spot light on the opening weekend with an early conference match-up.

What The Game Meant

This game was a chance for IU to showcase its football program on national TV. In the grand scheme of things it was just one game, but the opportunity was huge.

Top Offensive Performers

Simmie Cobbs, WR, Indiana- Cobbs was the best receiver on the field on Thursday night as he routinely abused the Ohio State secondary. Cobbs, in his first game in just under a year, made 11 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.

Richard Lagow, QB, Indiana- Lagow was asked to throw the ball a school-record 65 times on Thursday night against one of the best pass rushes in the nation. He completed 40 passes (61.5%) for 410 yards and three touchdowns. He was much better than people are giving him credit for, as he had to throw quickly before getting pummeled. Lagow did throw two interceptions, lost a fumble and was sacked five times. Overall, he was fine.

Ian Thomas, TE, Indiana-Thomas and the tight end position has been talked about at length and after one game in Mike DeBord’s offense, he has basically doubled his 2016 numbers. Thomas caught five passes for 53 yards including two touchdowns. It was a welcome site to see the IU offense use this weapon.

J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State- Dobbins came in with huge praise and many people thought he would wrestle away the starting job from Mike Weber, who was out Thursday night. In a spot start as a true freshman all Dobbins did was run for a freshman Ohio State record 181 yards on 29 carries. He gashed the IU defense and despite not scoring a touchdown, he set up OSU’s offense for success.

Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State-Campbell’s 74-yard touchdown was the blow that turned the tables in Ohio State’s favor. He caught six passes for 136 yards including the score.

J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State- Barrett wasn’t great, but he got enough help from his receivers in the passing game and made some plays with his legs when it counted. He accounted for 365 total yards and four touchdowns.

Top Defensive Performers

Tegray Scales, LB, Indiana- Scales led the Hoosiers in tackles with 12, but failed to record a tackle for loss. He played well, but did not nearly have the impact the Hoosiers needed to spring the upset.

Marcelino Ball, Husky, Indiana- Ball recorded 11 tackles including a .5 tackle for loss.

Rashard Fant, CB, Indiana-Fant was solid in pass coverage and the Hoosiers missed him when he went down for a few plays when Ohio State was making their run. He made three tackles and broke up a pass, but he did keep plays in front of him pretty well.

Ohio State Defensive Line-The difference in the game was the way the Buckeye defensive dominated the Indiana offensive line. Eight OSU defensive linemen combined for 15 tackles, five sacks and six tackles for loss. They held the Hoosiers to a microscopic 0.6-yard per carry average and Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow didn’t have much time in the pocket to throw.

Jordan Fuller,Safety, Ohio State- Fuller was probably Ohio State’s best defensive back on Thursday night as he made five tackles and came away with a big interception deep in OSU territory.

Chris Worely, Linebacker, Ohio State-Worely was a force at linebacker making six stops including one behind the line of scrimmage.

Special Team Performance

The special team’s performance was solid, nothing great, just solid. Kicker Griffin Oakes hit all three extra points and looked to have his leg strength back to where it was in 2015 as he booted two of his four kickoffs for touchbacks and he got the ball into the end zone even going into a steady wind.

Haydon Whitehead was solid in his American football debut. He punted nine times for a net average of 38 yards. He pinned the Buckeyes inside their 20-yard line three times, but had one touchback. Ohio State only had two opportunities to return punts and gained seven yards off those returns.

J-Shun Harris was reliable returning punts but did not have an opportunity to return one.

On kick returns, Devonte Williams had a long return of 30 yards, but only averaged 16 yards per attempt. Ohio State is great at covering kicks, but Indiana needs to improve in this area as the season progresses.

Key Stat(s)

0.6

The Indiana Hoosiers averaged 0.6 yards per carry (including sacks) against the Ohio State defense. This rendered the Hoosiers one-dimensional on offense and forced quarterback Richard Lagow to throw the ball a school-record 65 times.

Turning Point

The turning point came midway through the third quarter after the Hoosiers had just regained the lead 21-20 on a two-yard touchdown catch by Ian Thomas. After the ensuing kick-off it took the Buckeyes on play to go 74 yards to take a 27-21 lead as J.T. Barrett hit Parris Campbell on a short pass and the receiver raced past the IU defense to the end zone. The big play took all of the air out of an electric Memorial Stadium.

I Knew it Was Over When…

Ohio State defensive lineman Jashon Cornell beat Delroy Baker and put a blindside hit on Richard Lagow that forced a fumble that was recovered by Jonathan Cooper. It gave the Buckeyes the ball at the Indiana 11-yard and the offense would score on the next play.

Players of the Game

Simmie Cobbs, Indiana-Cobbs flexed his muscles with 11 catches for 149 yards. He should have an All-Big Ten, maybe even an All-American caliber year.

Ohio State Defensive Line-The line was the difference. They shutdown IU’s running game and forced Lagow into some rushed throws.

What I Took Away From the Game

Thursday’s game against Ohio State was a huge opportunity for the Indiana Football program. They got to show off their facilities, fan base and team. The problem though was that the game was against the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The Hoosiers looked good through almost three quarters as they led 21-20 with 4:56 left in the third. After that they ran out of gas.

Let’s start with the good and move to concerns and areas where Indiana needs to improve in if they want to get back to a bowl game in 2017.

The good? The Indiana receiving corps is as good as advertised (although Nick Westbrook went down with a knee injury). Simmie Cobbs was the best receiver on the field, Donavan Hale made some big catches on his way to 67 yards on five receptions while Luke Timian became a reliable security blanket for Lagow hauling in 10 catches for 72 yards.

Ian Thomas has emerged as a real weapon for the Indiana offense. Also, we now know Mike DeBord is going to push the pace as the Hoosiers ran 95 plays.

On defense Indiana held their own for the first half before running out of gas in the second half. The held the Buckeyes to two early field goals deep in the red zone and a streak of four straight punts after the first field goal.

Special teams was also one of the brighter spots for the Hoosiers. As I stated above Haydon Whitehead was very solid in his first ever-American football game and Griffin Oakes looked very good while the coverage units did their job.

Anytime you lose 49-21 though, there are areas that are troubling and need to be improved. First, the offensive line needs to be better. I get that Indiana was going against probably the best front in the nation and it was not going to be a walk in the park, but they averaged under a yard per carry and allowed their quarterback to be sacked five times. The Hoosiers aren’t going to win many games with that type of production or lack there of. True freshman Harry Crider replaced Hunter Littlejohn mid-game and played well enough to where he probably earned a start versus Virginia next week, but there were more issues on the edge. Right tackle Delroy Baker had issues all night long and the Hoosiers are hoping Brandon Knight can give it a go next week and maybe they can reshuffle the rest of the line.

On the other side of the ball the Indiana defensive line was just as troubling, especially in finding someone to pressure the passer. True freshman Juan Harris and LaShaun Minor played solidly on the interior, while Nate Hoff added tackle for loss. Indiana only recorded one sack on Thursday, by Greg Gooch right before half time. Other than that it is was quiet. If the Hoosiers are not going to get to the passer regularly, they need to get their hands up to block the passing lanes, something they failed to do against Ohio State.

Indiana hits the road, for what I have been calling the most important game of the season all offseason, as they will take on Virginia in Charlottesville. Indiana cannot start the season 0-2 and Virginia is the type of team Indiana should matchup well against even on the road.