Rapid Reaction: No. 6 Ohio State too much for Indiana

Playing without starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Indiana had no answer for the dominating Buckeyes on either side of the ball.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind — Indiana was hoping it was closing the gap on the big boys in the Big Ten, but No. 6-ranked Ohio State proved otherwise on Saturday, pounding the Hoosiers 51-10 at Memorial Stadium.

The Hoosiers had no answer for Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins, who rushed for 175 yards on 20 carries in the first half alone. That was something of a surprise because Indiana had been better against the run in its first two games, something that has been a point of emphasis all fall.

But this increase in talent level with Ohio State was too much to overcome. Indiana has now lost 25 games in a row on the field (one was vacated) to Ohio State, and hasn't beaten the Buckeyes since 1988. Ohio State is now 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Big Ten. Indiana is 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten.

Peyton Ramsey started at quarterback for Michael Penix Jr., who was out with an undisclosed injury. His absence was felt in a big way, because the Hoosiers continued to try to throw the ball deep downfield, but Ramsey doesn't have the arm strength to get it to open receivers. Penix does. 

The Hoosiers had only two scoring drives in the first half, a 9-play, 59-yard drive that ended with a Logan Justus 29-yard field goal late in the first quarter to make it 7-3. The only touchdown came on a trick play, where Ramsey threw a backyard pass to wide receiver Donovan Hale, who then hit a wide open Peyton Hendershot for a 46-yard score late in the second quarter.

By then, though, the Hoosiers were already in deep trouble. That score made it 30-10 because Ohio State had scored three touchdowns on its three second quarter possessions. Justin Fields, their redshirt freshman transfer from Georgia, had touchdown passes to Chris Olave and 14 yards to K.J. Hill and Dobbins broke several tackles for a 26-yard run. 

Indiana continued to struggle running the ball. In the first half, it had only 9 yards rushing on 12 carries and the only positive run was a broken-play scramble by Ramsey that went for 20 yards. 

Another issue with this team early in the season has been with tackling, and it was a real problem Saturday against the Buckeyes. Dobbins broke tackles on his 56-yard touchdown run and backup running back Master Teague did the same on his 40-yard TD run in the third quarter, which capped a 97-yard drive and made the score 44-10 after OSU's second TD of the quarter. Fields hit Dobbins on a 4-yard pass in the flat for that first score.

Ramsey's worst throw of the day came on the last play of the third quarter. Indiana had looked good on a long drive, but he made a lazy throw into the flat, and it was intercepted and returned 96 yards for a touchdown by Damon Arnette.

Ohio State had 528 yards of total offense, including 314 on the ground and 214 in the air.

NEXT UP: Indiana is back home at Memorial Stadium next Saturday for a nonconference game with Connecticut. The game starts at Noon ET and will be televised by the Big Ten Network. UConn is 1-1 on the season, with a win over Wagner and a loss to Illinois. The Huskies were off this week.