Missed opportunities haunt Indiana’s offense in 19-15 loss to Ohio State

Charlie Becker was open across the middle. Josh Hoover had a chance to move the chains and get Indiana’s offense going on its first possession.

The throw sailed high.

It was only one play, but it became a familiar sight Saturday. Indiana had opportunities against Ohio State. Open receivers, chances to extend drives and possessions that reached scoring range. Too often, the Hoosiers couldn’t finish.

Indiana finished with 369 yards of offense, outgaining Ohio State’s 313, but fell 19-15 in a game where the missed chances added up. Hoover completed 20 of his 40 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown, while the running game managed just 70 yards on 25 carries.

The offense wasn’t without its moments. Becker consistently found room against Ohio State’s secondary, finishing with nine catches for 165 yards. Nick Marsh caught a fourth-quarter touchdown that brought Indiana within four. But those plays were surrounded by inaccurate throws, stalled possessions and two costly fumbles.

Indiana’s defense kept giving the offense chances. The Hoosiers just didn’t do enough with them.

“We had a lot of pass game opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of enough of them,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said.

A slow start without much help on the ground, Indiana punted on its first three possessions. Hoover missed Becker on third down during the opening series, then threw high to Marsh on another third down to end the third possession.

“I had two big throws, just kind of threw a little too high for Charlie,” Hoover said.

The Hoosiers finally broke through when Amare Ferrell’s interception and 23-yard return put the offense at Ohio State’s 7-yard line. Two plays later, Turbo Richard ran up the middle for a touchdown and a 7-3 Indiana lead.

That short field produced Indiana’s only points of the first half.

The Hoosiers had a chance to add more on their next possession. Hoover found Becker for 16 yards along the sideline and Marsh for another 19, helping Indiana move into scoring range. But on 3rd and 6, his pass to an open Richard was low and behind the running back. Radicic’s field-goal attempt then hit the upright.

The lack of a consistent running game made it harder to recover from those misses. Richard finished with 46 yards on 16 carries, while Beebe added 24 yards on nine attempts. Indiana averaged 2.5 yards per carry and generated only one rushing first down all game.

Indiana received the second-half kickoff trailing 10-7, with an opportunity to take the lead. Instead, Davion Chandler caught a pass for a sizable gain and fumbled on the second play of the possession.

Ohio State turned the takeaway into a field goal, extending its lead to 13-7.

Indiana’s next drive ended with another lost fumble. A 36-yard completion to Becker helped move the offense downfield, but on 4th and 5, Jaylen McClain came off the edge and hit Hoover from behind, knocking the ball loose.

Even after Ferrell’s second interception gave Indiana another possession, the offense couldn’t turn it into points. That drive stalled following a third-down miscommunication between Hoover and Marsh, and Radicic’s 54-yard attempt came up short.

Down 19-7 in the fourth quarter, Indiana finally put together the touchdown drive it needed.

Hoover connected with Marsh for 19 yards, then found Becker for gains of 14 and 21. On 3rd and 8, he dropped a pass to Marsh along the sideline for a 19-yard touchdown. Richard’s diving catch on the two-point conversion cut Ohio State’s lead to 19-15 with 10:30 remaining.

It showed what Indiana’s passing game could do when the throws were on time and on target. The Hoosiers just couldn’t sustain it.

Asked what kept the passing game from getting going earlier, Cignetti pointed to execution.

“You got to execute,” Cignetti said. “When all 11 guys do their job, it tends to work.”

After punting on its next possession, Indiana got the ball back at its own 30 with 3:06 left. Becker made catches of 25 and 16 yards during the final drive, but a false start and a holding penalty pushed the offense backward.

Facing 4th and 4 from Ohio State’s 27, Hoover threw toward Marsh who had his man beat along the left sideline. Marsh caught the ball but was out of bounds, ending Indiana’s last chance with 1:02 remaining.

“It’s not Nick’s fault at all, right? Like if I put it a little bit further inside, it’s easy catch, right?” Hoover said.

Indiana converted half its third downs and averaged more yards per play than Ohio State. But it finished 0/2 on fourth down, lost two fumbles and watched both field-goal attempts miss. In a four-point game, the Hoosiers didn’t need every possession to be perfect. They needed a few more to end differently.