Indiana’s Keys to Overcoming Ohio State

Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)

While the odds are against Indiana going into Saturday’s home game, it is not to say defeating Ohio State is impossible. Breaking the 26-game losing streak to the Buckeyes is hands down the Hoosiers’ toughest task of the 2019 season. A few key things will have to be in order for Hoosiers to be successful.

Create turnovers and take them to the bank

Saturday’s turnover-less matchup ended the country’s longest streak Indiana boasted, recording at least one takeaway in 19 consecutive games until last Saturday’s matchup against Eastern Illinois. In a game where every possession counts, the Hoosiers are going to have to find a way to create turnovers— and capitalize off them.

Play 60 minutes of hard football with no mental mistakes

I’ve heard this goal from many mouths of IU players and coaching staff throughout the year, and Indiana has no choice but to achieve just that if they want to come out on top Saturday. Ohio State’s depth and talent is far too great for Indiana to let up on. 

Indiana can look back at last year’s matchup against Ohio State to learn what went wrong against a squad that will mostly be returning for Saturday’s matchup. Going into halftime last year, Indiana was trailing No. 3 Ohio State 28-20. They came out lifeless in the second half and the Buckeyes ran them out of the Horseshoe 49-26. 

Special teams continue to take care of business

Special teams has been stunning so far this season— especially Logan Justus. The Indiana-native kicker continues to be a crucial key in IU’s offense, and with a perfect 4-4 for field goals and 8-8 for extra point kicks, the Hoosiers feel like they can rely on him to get the job done. 

A failed two-point conversion and missed field goal not only failed to get points on the board, but slowed momentum in last year’s matchup. Overall, special teams continues to be a strong position group for the Hoosiers, so they just have to continue to take care of business on that end. 

Target OSU’s playmakers 

Shutting down junior running back J.K. Dobbins and sophomore quarterback Justin Fields is at the top of the Hoosiers’ defensive to-do list Saturday. Indiana can’t afford to enable OSU’s playmakers to do what they do best— disappear into the end zone. 

Defensively the Hoosiers struggled with missed tackles, posting 25 against Ball State. Last Saturday they cut missed tackles down to nine, but with much faster and stronger players coming to town this week, IU defense needs to be on their A-game. Consider Saturday IU defense’s truest test. 

Feed the fans

The Memorial Stadium crowd will be electric without a doubt and it’s things like interceptions, missed field goals and extra points that can be a real downer. Minimizing mistakes is more than missed points on the scoreboard— it is energy out the door. 

They need to take advantage of thousands of Hoosier fans expected to pack the Rock on Saturday and fight the hard fight for a full 60 minutes. If the Hoosiers play intense, the crowd will be intense. The fans and the team will need each other Saturday.