Game Wrap and Reaction: Ohio State 23 Indiana 3

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Opponent: Ohio State Buckeyes

Location: Bloomington, Indiana

Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Buckeyes play as members of the Big Ten East annually.

What The Game Meant: The meaning of season openers can vary. A win and IU shocks the world, a close loss and there may be a little hope, but a blow out lost would continue the downward trend.

Top Offensive Performers

James Evans, Punter, IU- Evans helped flip the field and give the Hoosiers a chance to hold Ohio State down, which was more than anyone on offense could do.

Cade Stover, TE, Ohio State- One of the reasons Ohio State is so good is that they have multiple weapons who can do damage even if an opponent takes away one or two of the first options. Stover made five catches for 98 yards including a 49-yard catch and run.

Top Defensive Performers

Aaron Casey., LB, Indiana- Casey led the Hoosiers in tackles with 11 including nine solo stops and a tackle for loss. He is excellent at dissecting plays in big moments.

Jacob Mangum-Farrar, LB, Indiana- The newcomer from Stanford was all over the field and nearly had a strip sack (ruled incomplete pass). He made five tackles total and broke up two passes.

Andre Carter, DE, Indiana- We have said all offseason that Andre Carter was a game wrecker and he proved that against Ohio State. He had four tackles and two tackles for tackles for loss where he just bullied his way to the ball carrier.

Sonny Styles, Safety  Ohio State – Styles started the game with a tackle for loss and finished with four stops including 1.5 coming for loss.

Special Team Performance

Once again the Hoosiers had an inconsistent day on special teams. James Evans was elite punting the ball to the tune of a 54.2 yard average and Jaylin Lucas flashed what he could do in the return game. Also, Chris Freeman banked in his first career field goal from 41 yards out.

Where IU struggled was on kick return with penalties. Too many times IU was called for a hold or block in the back that wiped out good or decent field position. It did not give the offense, who needs as much help as they can get, the boost it needs.

Key Stat(s)

5.7 to 2.8

Ohio State average 5.7 yards per play, which means IU did a good enough job on defense to win or at least give the offense a chance. The Hoosiers mustered just 2.8 yards per play, which is not good enough to win anything.

Turning Point

I thought the turning point was early on with the reversed targeting call that was followed up by a false start. Had the targeting been upheld IU would have had a first down at the 49-yard line and maybe a little momentum going to create a drive. It was still third-and-one, but a false start made it a longer try and IU punted.

I Knew it Was Over When…

When IU turned it over on downs after a 14-play drive early in the fourth quarter.

Players of the Game

IU’s Defense- Indiana’s defense held Ohio State to their lowest output against the Hoosiers since 1993. They buckled down in the red zone and held the Buckeyes to field goals instead of touchdowns. IU won the turnover battle and looked very solid up front and in the secondary holding Marvin Harrison Jr to just two catches and 18 yards.

Ohio State’s Run Game- As Indiana stifled the passing game, the Buckeyes found moderate success on the ground. They ran the ball 31 times for 143 yards (4.6ypc) and both of their touchdowns.

What I took away from the game

There is plenty to be said about this game that can be positive or negative. Opening the season with a top-five opponent is never easy and really not how one could build momentum as a program or in the season.

With that said, IU acquitted themselves well on defense. Major questions about the secondary and the defense were answered with great play from transfers and youth. It seemed that when IU’s defense needed a play there was Aaron Casey, Jacob Mangum-Farrar or Andre Carter. Defensive backs Kobe Minor, Phillip Dunnam, Louis Moore and Nic Toomer locked down a vaunted Ohio State passing attack. There is plenty to build off of on this side of the ball. Also, it seems like everyone on defense came away healthy.

The offense was a different story. Almost the complete opposite to be frank. IU didn’t name a starter not because of head games but because nobody separated themselves and that was clear on Saturday.

Brendan Sorsby started the game and played the first two series where IU ran six plays for seven yards. To be fair, a false start on a third and short killed the first drive and a block in the back on the kickoff of the second drive took IU from starting at their own 34 to inside the 10.

Tayven Jackson, who will start against Indiana State, and played the rest of the first half. The offense showed enough life that Jackson started the second half before they went cold again and Sorsby came in.

Sorsby finished the game completing 8-of-16 passes for 58 yards while Jackson was just 1-of-5 for 24 yards. Neither threw an interception and Jackson added 11 yards rushing.

Indiana offensive coordinator Walt Bell needs to get it figured out. He totally tooled the offensive scheme to run an option-style offense. Yes it was Ohio State, but it didn’t look good. So to all the people saying IU should just run the option…well it didn’t work.

Indiana needs to take the kid gloves off the quarterback next week against Indiana State and let both quarterbacks try and make plays downfield. The offensive line looked much better and gave the quarterbacks a pocket to throw. That pocket should last longer next week.

Overall, we come out feeling very optimistic about the defense, should they stay healthy, and very pessimistic about the offense. The question going into Friday night’s game against Indiana State is, is the IU offense that bad or was it a very good Ohio State defense? It could very well be both.

What’s Next

The Hoosiers return to the field on a short week as they take on the Indiana State Sycamores on Friday night at Memorial Stadium.