Ohio State Hands Indiana Its 1st Loss in College Football

Who would have thought that on November 23rd of the college football season, once beaten and second ranked Ohio State would be playing against an unbeaten and fifth ranked Indiana Hoosiers team? Well, it happened, and despite the close records of the two, Ohio State showed that the Hoosiers aren’t quite in the Buckeyes’ league yet, especially when the game is played in the intimidating venue of Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

It started out well for Indiana, as the Hoosiers led after one quarter 7-0 on a Ty Son Lawton 2 yard touchdown run. But after that, the Buckeyes scored 31 unanswered points before Indiana scored on another Lawton 2 yard run, followed by a missed two point conversion attempt, with 7:03 left in the 4th quarter. OSU added another touchdown late for a final score of 38-15.

Indiana had just 153 total yards and only 68 through the air while Ohio State had 316 total yards. OSU quarterback Will Howard was 22 of 26 passing for 201 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. The Ohio State defense sacked IU QB Kurtis Rourke five times; Howard was not sacked at all by the Indiana defense.

Still, Indiana could find itself in the expanded college football playoff. The Hoosiers should easily beat 1-10 Purdue in the regular season finale on November 30th and finish 11-1. That’s a good record, but Ohio State was IU’s only ranked team on its schedule, so that might work against it when at large teams are selected. Ohio State hosts 6-5 Michigan on the 30th, and a win would put the Buckeyes’ into the conference championship game against top ranked Oregon (11-0). The Ducks host Washington (6-5) but have already clinched one of the spots in the championship game. Oregon beat Ohio State earlier this season. Penn State (10-1) could reach the championship game with a win over 4-7 Maryland and a loss by OSU. The Buckeyes beat Penn State earlier this season. Indiana would need losses by both Ohio State and Penn State to reach the championship game. The conference champion gets an automatic berth in the college football playoff field.