Breaking Down Ohio State’s Win Over Indiana

The Buckeyes cruised to an easy 38-10 victory on Saturday against the Hoosiers. The score doesn't really even do this game justice, as Bill Lynch and company put up about as much of a fight as EMU did. It sure is funny how the Wolverine defense made them look like an offensive powerhouse.

Let's look back at the Five Things to Watch For that we posted on Friday, and see how they impacted the game.

1) Watch for how the Buckeye defense handles the Pistol Offense.

I was a little caught off guard this week with all the predictions about this game. I predicted a 31-14 final score, and thought I was being a little generous to the Hoosiers. Turns out I was. The Buckeye defense completely handled whatever Indiana threw at them all afternoon, and it started on the defensive line. They didn't register a sack, an area that has continued to be a struggle, but Chappell had little time to breath.

Both Cameron Heyward and Nathan Williams were in his face a lot especially Williams who had six tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss. The secondary also had one of its best games, helping to hold Chappell to 106 yards and two interceptions. Chekwa had seven tackles, which led the team, while also adding a pass breakup. Jermale Hines had five tackles himself, and Torrence added an interception on an arm punt from Chappell.

It was also good to see some of the youngsters get into the act on Saturday. Jonathan Hankins had three tackles, and continues to improve on the inside of the defensive line. The big man has some big things in store.

Also, Travis Howard (3 tackles) and Storm Klein (4 tackles, 1 TFL) brought the heat in the second half, making the most of their playing time. Both guys would get nailed with penalties for helmet to helmet hits, but as Chris Spielman would point out in the commentary, they were just solid football plays.


2) Watch to see how the running backs perform.

Well, the running game didn't silence any doubters after the performance against Indiana. Herron started the game, and had 12 carries with 68 yards and two touchdowns. The problem is that if you don't count his 39 yard touchdown run in the first quarter, he averaged under three yards a carry.

I know that sounds overly critical, but the running game didn't pass the "looks test" against the Hoosiers. Let's not forget this defense was giving up 207 yards a game while allowing opponents to average 6.3 yards a carry. Yet outside of his one long run, Herron was stymied all afternoon. Saine on the other hand didn't get a carry, but was used creatively in the offensive game plan, primarily as a receiver (84 yards, 1 TD). 

Jordan Hall was only given one carry in the game, while Carlos Hyde (9 carries, 48 yards) and Jaamal Berry (5 carries, 42 yards) split carries in garbage time in the fourth quarter.

At this point it's obvious that the state of the running game can be equally blamed on the offensive line and the running backs. The offensive line has shown great improvements in pass blocking this year, but has continued to struggle with opening holes, being  physical and keeping penalties to a minimum.

With that said, Herron (and previously Saine) haven't helped them out at all. I like Herron and think he runs hard, he just isn't a premiere running back by any measure. Behind a really good line I think he would be fine, kind of like Pepe Pearson was, but this line has been average. Enter Jordan Hall, Jaamal Berry, and Carlos Hyde.

The young backs would obviously be an improvement (they are premiere backs IMO), even if they were to just get a few carries in crunch time. I don't buy the crap that Tressel won't play youngsters, as guys like Beanie Wells and Terrelle Pryor jumped up the depth chart when they were needed. I think the time has come for Berry, Hyde and Hall.  

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3) Watch Christian Bryant.

There is not a ton to talk about here. Bryant registered two tackles in the game, and was much less of presence than against Illinois. A lot of this can be attributed to the lack of a sustainable passing game for the Hoosiers and the fact that they weren't able to move the ball with any consistency. I have a feeling we will know much more about how he is filling in for Moeller this next week against Wisconsin. 


4) Watch the time of possession for both teams.

This category didn't really prove important thanks to Tressel's game plan. I assumed, as many did, that Tressel would want to run the ball more and take time off the clock. The complete opposite ended up being true as Pryor came out slinging and the Buckeyes scored quickly on big plays.

I also assumed that Indiana would move the ball down the field with intermediate passes, much like when Northwestern comes to play. In fact here was my quote:

"There has been a lot written about how Indiana will want to speed up the tempo and score lots of points, but that is not entirely accurate. Last week Indiana had the ball for over 41 minutes, with three of their four touchdown drives lasting over five minutes. They won't be a big play, quick scoring offense tomorrow, but instead will take their time marching down the field with intermediate passes."

Well that never came to fruition thanks the Silver Bullets.


5) Watch Terrelle Pryor and his health.

Pryor obviously isn't 100 percent, regardless of what Tressel says. The fact that no running plays were called for him says a lot, and as Dave Biddle reported, there were reports that Pryor was still having soreness this last week. The nice thing was that Pryor's legs were not needed against the Hoosiers.

Instead, he showed off his greatly improved mechanics, going 19-of-24 for 280 yards with three TDs in the first half. It didn't hurt that the Hoosier pass rush was nonexistent for most of the afternoon, and that he rarely had to throw to a covered receiver. Still, he worked the ball around well and completed a few throws that he never could have done last season.