Hoosier Defense Out Gunned in 54-7 Loss to Buckeyes

Written by Evan Orris

The Indiana defense needed to be perfect against the No.1 ranked offense in the NCAA. However, it was far from it as the unit got steamrolled by the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes for 539 total yards in a 54-7 loss.

The Buckeyes struck quick as they took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards down the field on 12 plays. The long drive was capped off by an 11-yard rushing touchdown from an untouched Miyan Williams. However, the bleeding wouldn’t stop there.

After an impressive drive to answer the Buckeyes, the defense returned to the field for a rather brief time. It took Ohio State and potential Heisman trophy winner, C.J Stroud, just 5 plays to go 75 yards. Stroud made two impressive throws to Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but it was running back TreVeyon Henderson who scored on a 21-yard run. 

As the game went on, the defense felt the effects of the struggling offense. The offense simply could not drive down the field and often fell victim to three-and-out drives. The defense was exhausted from being on the field longer than it should have. Before the Hoosiers knew what hit them, it was already a 37-point game.

"It was ugly. That's the best way to describe it. It was painful. That second quarter window, it was just not good." Head coach Tom Allen described the first half.

With Reese Taylor inactive, and Tiawan Mullen not 100%, the secondary could not stop the lethal passing attack of the Buckeyes. Stroud, Kyle McCord, and Jack Miller III combined for 352 passing yards and four touchdowns—all those coming from Stroud.

"I expected us to play better. I did. Not having Reese or Tiawan makes a major difference.” Allen said. “We knew we weren't going to have Reese at all. We were hoping to have Tiawan more, but that ended up not being the case." 

On the ground, the defense did not fare much better, allowing 187 yards for an average of 5.8 yards per carry. The Buckeyes also scored three touchdowns. The offensive line was able to create huge holes up front, while the running backs ran rampant and danced around defenders. 

"I was most disappointed in our tackling in the first half," Claimed Allen as the team allowed OSU to break off for huge gains. “We weren’t good enough against the run. If you can’t stop the run, it really makes it hard.”

Overall, it was not a good game in general for the Indiana Hoosiers. They will look to tune up the defense and hopefully get players back from injuries in time for next week’s matchup against the Maryland Terrapins.