Ohio State vs. Indiana: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes did everything they could to keep the Indiana Hoosiers in the game Saturday night before a red-zone stand in the final moments gave the defending national champions a 34-27 win on the road.

The game ended after Indiana sophomore quarterback Zander Diamont's last-second heave into the end zone fell incomplete. On a 4th-and-goal from the Ohio State 9-yard line, Diamont was forced to scramble following a bad snap. He bought himself just enough time to launch a pass that nearly found Ricky Jones for a potential game-tying score. Instead, the ball fell to the turf, and the Buckeyes survived a serious scare.

Ezekiel Elliott is the single-biggest reason for the victory after rushing for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the second half. Following his third score—on which he ran 75 yards—former Buckeyes running back Chris Wells couldn't help but to start making the Heisman push:

Elliott covered up for what was an otherwise average offensive performance for OSU. Cardale Jones played the entire game, going 18-of-27 for 245 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The Buckeyes again struggled to create any big plays over the top of the opposing secondary. Jalin Marshall's 34-yard reception in the second quarter was Ohio State's longest pass play. 

Many have looked at the offense as the biggest reason behind Ohio State's somewhat-underwhelming start. Neither Jones nor J.T. Barrett has stamped his place on the starting quarterback job, and Elliott entered Saturday averaging one yard less per carry than he did in 2014.

Despite those issues, Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer remained even-keeled about his team's problems on the offensive side of the ball, per Ari Wasserman of the Northeast Ohio Media Group:

"

We had two--I think two games that we didn't perform very well offensively, and that happens.

If there is a critique on our offense over the last 13, 14 years, whatever it's been, it's the early-in-the-season funk that you're in sometimes, and a lot of it is because of the maybe new defenses. Or you take a couple key players out of that lineup for us. Jeff Heuerman was a real guy. You take Darryl Baldwin out of the lineup, and there are a little bit of growing pains.

"

Somebody Meyer left out in that assessment is Tom Herman, who was Ohio State's offensive coordinator last year before taking over as head coach of the Houston Cougars. ESPN's Elika Sadeghi was among the throng of OSU fans hoping Herman could make a triumphant return to Columbus, Ohio:

One look at the halftime score tells you everything about Ohio State's performance through the first two quarters. Indiana led 10-6 heading into the locker rooms, and the Hoosiers should've been up by more than four points on the balance of play.

As AllHoosiers.com's Justin Albers noted, Indiana essentially handed the Buckeyes half of its point total:

Ohio State's first three drives all ended in punts, and the offense gained a paltry 36 yards in the process.

In the meantime, Griffin Oakes connected on a 34-yard field goal to give the Hoosiers an early three-point edge. On Indiana's next possession, Sudfeld led the offense 80 yards in five minutes, culminating in Devine Redding's one-yard touchdown run, with 13:38 left in the half.

ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach did his best to motivate the Indiana players to retain their 10-point lead:

After getting the ball back, Ohio State finally put together a scoring drive as the offense marched 70 yards in 10 plays. Although the Buckeyes had to settle for a 23-yard Jack Willoughby field goal, they had to start somewhere.

Between its next two drives, OSU should've at the very least taken the lead before the conclusion of the second quarter. Marshall fumbled the ball inside the Indiana 10-yard line after catching a pass from Jones. Then came Willoughby's second field goal of the game after Ohio State started with the ball on the Hoosiers' 13-yard line.

Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson opted to gamble on a 4th-and-1 inside his own 20 and called for a fake punt. The play call didn't work at all, giving the Buckeyes marvelous field position. But Indiana's defense held strong and limited OSU to just the three points.

Although the first half was a major success for Indiana in a number of areas, the Hoosiers did have a setback in the form of an injury to running back Jordan Howard, per Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star.

Howard returned to the game for a short time, but he was clearly laboring as a result of his sore ankle. Without his presence on the ground, Indiana's offense was much less effective in the second half, which put a ton of pressure on its defense.

Whereas the backfield was a source of stress for the Hoosiers, it proved to be Ohio State's saving grace.

Elliott broke through the Indiana defense for a 55-yard touchdown run at the 8:57 mark in the third quarter. Once the junior bounced to the outside, nobody could catch him before his dive into the end zone, per ESPN College Football:

Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer was most impressed by the distance Elliott traveled on his final leap:

Indiana quickly retook the lead, 17-13, with the assistance of linebacker Tegray Scales' interception of a Jones pass. Scales returned the ball to his own 45-yard line, giving the Hoosiers solid field position. Redding capped off the scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.

Ohio State once again called upon Elliott to provide a spark, and the strategy paid off in spades. On a 4th-and-1 at his own 35, Elliott broke through the heart of the Hoosiers defense and had nothing but green space between himself and paydirt, as ESPN College Football highlighted:

For ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler, the margin between success and complete failure on the play was incredibly slim:

Needless to say, the Buckeyes contingent on hand was pleased to see Ohio State take a 20-17 lead, per Deadspin's Timothy Burke:

Jones added to the advantage with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas six seconds into the fourth quarter. After Oakes trimmed the Indiana deficit to a touchdown, 27-20, Elliott picked up his third rushing score of the game, running 75 yards on OSU's first play from scrimmage following the field goal.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, he's the first player in the last decade to have at least three touchdown runs of 50-plus yards.

You thought Ohio State would be free and clear from that point forward, but Diamont quickly dispelled that notion with a 79-yard dash to the end zone, which came a mere 21 seconds after Elliott's TD.

The Buckeyes couldn't put their opponents away, and that nearly bit them in the final seconds.

As much as you wonder whether Ohio State is ever going to snap out of this funk, the Buckeyes can likely keep playing well below their best and still tack on win after win until Nov. 21. OSU finishes its regular season at home to Michigan State and then on the road against Michigan.

Before that, the Buckeyes get Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers, Minnesota and Illinois, all of which will need a lot to go right to beat Ohio State.

Indiana, on the other hand, has a tough stretch of games upcoming. The Hoosiers get the Nittany Lions on the road next, which will be a difficult game for them. Following their matchup with Rutgers, they then play Michigan State, Iowa and Michigan, all in succession.

Postgame Reaction

On one hand, switching between quarterbacks is rarely an optimal strategy. Sticking with Jones for the entire game might have been the right decision for Meyer. After the game, he told reporters he never planned on bringing in Barrett, per SB Nation's Land-Grant Holy Land.

On the other hand, giving Barrett a start might not be a bad idea. Jones has had numerous chances to distance himself in the quarterback battle and hasn't done so. Sure, we don't see the two in practice every day, but based on last year, Barrett couldn't be much worse (and could be much better) for the OSU offense.

Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod believes it's time for a change:

If Meyer does plan on changing his starting QB, then he could hold off on making the news public so as to keep as much of a competitive edge as possible on his opponents.

For Indiana, the health of Sudfeld and Howard will be key stories next week. Wilson said after the game the two players have "ankles, minor deals," per Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star.

While Diamont filled in well for Sudfeld on Saturday, the Hoosiers would be better off having Sudfeld available.

And the impact of Howard's absence was evident in the second half. Indiana is a worse offensive unit when he is on the sidelines.