Ohio State Pulls Away For 23-3 Win Over Hoosiers

Written by: TJ Inman

Indiana has not beaten the Ohio State Buckeyes since 1989 and while the Hoosiers gave Ohio State a real challenge in the first half, that did not change this afternoon. A large number of Ohio State fans invaded Memorial Stadium in Bloomington for the 2023 season-opener for the Indiana Hoosiers (0-1) and the #3 Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0) as the Buckeyes won their 29th straight clash against IU.

Neither team has settled on a quarterback so the game saw both squads play two different signal-callers. Ohio State eventually wore down the Hoosiers and the IU offense never really threatened the Buckeyes. Indiana’s defense performed admirably for much of the game but Ohio State was able to methodically gain 380 yards and outgain the Hoosiers by more than 200 yards in the 23-3 contest.

The contest began with Indiana taking the ball at the 25-yard line and Brendan Sorsby starting at quarterback. A third and one was turned into a third and six thanks to a false start penalty on the Hoosiers and IU had to punt without getting a first down. Ohio State took over at the 20-yard line and marched down the field, converted a fourth and two and scored on a seven-yard scamper by Miyan Williams to make it 7-0. A penalty on the kick return moved Indiana back to the eight-yard line and the Hoosiers again went three and out. The IU defense responded in kind, stopping the Buckeyes and forcing a punt. Tayven Jackson entered the game for Indiana and the Hoosiers picked up a first down before having to punt. IU’s defense continued to play well, forcing a fourth and two pass that was intercepted by Phillip Dunnam. The Hoosiers had their best drive of the game as Cam Camper caught a pass for 24 yards and Christian Turner ran for a first down to set IU up in scoring territory. They had to settle for a field goal and Chris Freeman bounced the attempt off of the upright and through to make the game 7-3. A third and short run for Ohio State was stuffed by Andre Carter and the Buckeyes were forced to punt. Indiana moved into Ohio State territory but were unable to convert a fourth down and gave the Buckeyes the ball back with 38 seconds left in the first half. OSU was given a major boost with a taunting penalty called on Indiana’s Jamari Sharpe. They added a completion to Cade Stover to move into scoring territory. Jacob Mangum-Farrar appeared to have forced a fumble that was recovered by Aaron Casey but it was ruled an incomplete pass. OSU settled for a field goal from Jayden Fielding to close the half at 10-3.

Indiana forced a three and out to begin the second half but the offense just could not get going against the elite Ohio State defense, going three and out again. The Buckeyes marched into scoring territory but Andre Carter again stymied their attack inside the ten-yard line. Fielding hit another short field goal to make the score 13-3. The Hoosiers went three and out on offense again and the Buckeyes took advantage against a tired IU defense, driving quickly down the field. Miyan Williams scored his second touchdown of the afternoon to make the score 20-3. Ohio State converted a fourth down on its next drive but eventually settled for another Fielding field goal to finish the scoring.

Kyle McCord led Ohio State with 239 yards passing on 20 of 33 completions. The Buckeyes were held to 4.6 yards per carry but Miyan Williams did have two touchdowns. Brendan Sorsby was the better of the two quarterbacks for Indiana but he was only 8-16 for 58 yards. Tayven Jackson was 1-5 for 24 yards. The Hoosiers managed just 71 yards on the ground with Christian Turner leading the way with 29 yards rushing. Andre Carter and Aaron Casey were standouts for the Hoosiers on defense and the IU secondary limited the superstar receiver duo of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka to just five catches for 34 combined yards. The Hoosiers will look to get in the win column next week as they host the Indiana State Sycamores on Friday night. Hoosier Huddle will have ongoing coverage of the season-opening defeat.