Indiana Hangs Tough With Ohio State, Doomed By Quarterback Play in 23-3 Loss
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bizarre.
That's how anyone who watched Ohio State defeat coach Tom Allen and the Indiana Hoosiers 23-3 on Saturday would describe what they saw.
Four quarterbacks played before the five-minute mark of the second quarter.
The country's No. 3 ranked team struggled mightily to score on Indiana, a squad projected to finish last in the Big Ten East by most national media.
Heck, even inside the Memorial Stadium press box, both the WiFi and the plumbing gave out at multiple occasions.
Contrary to previous games in Bloomington when IU has kept it close with the Buckeyes, it was the opening that played out the worst for the Hoosiers.
At long last, Allen revealed his starting quarterback to be Brendan Sorsby, who promptly led the Indiana offense to a three-and-out. Opposing quarterback Kyle McCord had no such troubles, and soon an 80-yard drive capped off by a Miyan Williams touchdown put the visitors up 7-0.
Indiana and Ohio State traded failed drives after that, and Sorsby was sent to the bench in favor of Tayven Jackson on the Hoosiers' third drive.
Jackson didn't produce anything magical in his first snaps under center, though the team finally picked up a first down with him running the triple option. The Buckeyes weren't truly threatened until Indiana safety Phillip Dunnam made the best play that anyone wearing crimson had on Saturday.
Ohio State drove deep into opposing territory midway through the second quarter, when its offense was confronted with a 4th and 2. Coach Ryan Day opted to leave his offense on field, but the Buckeyes' play-action design quickly fell apart, with McCord's first option getting his legs tangled and falling to the turf.
This necessitated some free lancing on the part of McCord, which did not go well.
Dunnam's interception gave the stadium life, and the Indiana offense turned it into a 43-yard field goal from kicker Chris Freeman that doinked in after hitting the right upright.
Indiana's defense almost created another game-changing takeaway right before halftime, but fate wasn't on the Hoosiers' side. A controversial decision from the officials gave the ball back to Ohio State, ruling that what appeared to be a fumble forced by Indiana's Jacob Mangum-Farrar was instead an incomplete pass by McCord. The Buckeyes kicked a field goal to go up 10-3 at the half, and the Hoosiers lost their best shot at truly striking fear into the heart of the heavily favored visitors.
The second half was a slow march to what felt like inevitable victory for the Buckeyes. Jackson eventually returned to the bench in favor of Sorsby, who led IU into Ohio State territory in the fourth quarter, but didn't do much from there.
The Ohio State offense routinely lived in Indiana's side of the field during the game's second half, but didn't have any sort of offensive explosion. The Buckeyes added a Chip Trayanum touchdown and a pair of field goals, and ultimately escaped Bloomington with a 23-3 victory.
It feels weird to say given that the Hoosiers lost by three scores, but a lot of positions on Indiana over performed relative to expectations.
The new-look defense held what is routinely one of college football's most deadly offenses to two touchdowns and less than 400 yards in the game. Skill players like Jaylin Lucas delivered on their promise, offering up multiple explosive kick and punt returns throughout the day.
Even the much maligned offensive line had a good outing on Saturday. Bob Bostad's group didn't open any gaping holes in the run game, but held up against a fearsome Ohio State front four and provided Jackson and Sorsby ample time to throw on most drop backs.
The problem, however, was what the two IU quarterbacks did with all their time — not a whole lot.
Jackson completed only one of his five passing attempts for 24 yards, and on the ground he finished with a modest 11 yards on three carries. Sorsby eventually found more success through the air than his counterpart, going 8-for-16 on passes for for 58 yards, but that's still not a performance to write home about.
This team has the outline of a competent Big Ten squad. The defense prevented explosive plays all game, while the offense blocked well enough to provide a chance for their quarterbacks to make a play.
Some of the lacking statistics speak to a lack of confidence the coaching staff might have in their current crop of passes. You don't come out in triple option looks that much as a non-service academy team if you think you have capable gunslingers on your roster
But even with the limited reps they were given to make plays through the air, both Sorsby and Jackson disappointed. Neither looked like a replacement level Big Ten quarterback in their snaps, and that's obviously a major concern.
Indiana fans should not leave today's game without hope. From the offensive line to the linebackers, and from the running backs to the secondary, those positions all showed on Saturday that they are not outmatched in this conference.
But the 2019 and 2020 teams taught fans here what the No. 1 most important thing is to having a good football team — it's all about the quarterback. An elite quarterback covers a multitude of sins, while a standard one can still help you win games when surrounded by the right talent.
Indiana's quarterbacks are below the standard right now, and that's something Allen and Co. have to fix in the remaining 11 games.
Related Stories on Indiana Football:
- SORSBY STARTS FOR IU IN WEEK 1: The secretive quarterback battle in Bloomington leading up to the 2023 season opener resulted in redshirt freshman Brendan Sorsby stepping out onto the field for the Hoosiers in their first snap against the Ohio State Buckeyes. CLICK HERE
- WATCH PHILLIP DUNNAM'S WEEK 1 INTERCEPTION: The true sophomore safety picked off Ohio State's Kyle McCord midway through the second quarter in what ended up being Indiana's best play of the game. CLICK HERE
