Special Teams Dooms Hoosiers in 38-15 Defeat to Buckeyes

Written by: TJ Inman

The Indiana Hoosiers entered Saturday’s game against Ohio State with an opportunity to land a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game as well as go a long way towards locking up a bid for the College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers started the game exceptionally well but a pair of critical special teams blunders and an inability to protect for Kurtis Rourke led to a potentially very costly loss for Indiana as they dropped to 10-1 on the season and lost their 30th straight game to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Ohio State Buckeyes began the game with possession and were forced to punt without picking up a first down. Kurtis Rourke missed a deep pass to Myles Price but the offense converted a third and long and found a rhythm as they mixed the run and pass and were aided by a pair of pass interference penalties on Davison Igbinosun. TySon Lawton finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run on a direct snap and IU took the 7-0 lead with a 12-play drive. A penalty and then a tackle for loss forced Ohio State into a 3rd and 35 situation but they completed a 25-yard pass and then converted on fourth down to move into the red zone. Indiana’s excellent run defense stood tall with a huge goal-line stand. IU’s offense picked up a first down but a false start penalty on James Bomba put the Hoosiers into third and six, IU did not convert and had to punt. The Buckeyes were set up at Indiana’s 45-yard line and converted for a touchdown to Emeka Egbuka to tie the game. Ohio State’s defensive line began to put Kurtis Rourke under pressure and sacked him while forcing a fumble that they recovered at the Indiana 18-yard line. The Hoosiers answered as De’Angelo Ponds knocked away a pass and Jaylin Walker snagged the interception to prevent the Buckeyes from taking the lead. Indiana’s offense picked up a pair of first downs on the ground and ran the clock inside the two-minute warning before being forced to punt. Disaster struck as James Evans dropped a perfect snap and was tackled at the 7-yard line. Ohio State’s offense pounded it in on third down as TreVeyon Henderson found the end zone with 21 seconds remaining in the first half. The Hoosiers took a knee and headed to the locker room down 14-7 but the Evans blunder felt like a gigantic momentum swing.

The second half began much like the first ended as IU’s offense had a fumble and then a false start that forced a punt. This time, Evans got the punt off but Caleb Downs took the return off the bounce and scampered away from the coverage team for a 79-yard punt return that felt like a fatal blow to IU’s chances. Indiana’s offense continued to struggle to block for Kurtis Rourke and they went three and out again. The Buckeyes marched down the field and converted in the red zone for a touchdown to Jelani Thurman to make it 28-7. The teams traded punts for much of the rest of the way with Ohio State throwing in a 44-yard field goal before a late IU drive and a second Ty Son Lawton touchdown run plus a converted two-point play to make it 31-15 and then attempted an onside kick that was failed. TreVeyon Henderson burst through to the one-yard line and then Will Howard powered in on a quarteback sneak to finish the season at 38-15 in Columbus.

Indiana’s passing attack was kept in check as Kurtis Rourke was under pressure for much of the game and struggled to find his rhythm. Rourke was held to just 68 yards passing on 8-for-18 passing. In total, Indiana had only 151 yards of offense despite getting 79 yards from Lawton and 62 yards from Justice Ellison. Ohio State’s defense and special teams carried the day for the Buckeyes and IU must now wait to see how the Playoff Selection Committee views IU’s overall resume heading into the Old Oaken Bucket Game next weekend.