By Cameron Teague Robinson, Justin Williams and Scott Dochterman
No. 2 Ohio State handed No. 5 Indiana its first loss, 38-15, bringing more clarity to the Big Ten championship picture while raising questions about the Hoosiers’ position in the College Football Playoff race.
In its first top-five matchup since the 1968 Rose Bowl and arguably the biggest regular-season game in program history, Indiana scored a touchdown on its first possession and was even with the Buckeyes until late in the second quarter. But two special teams plays — a fumbled punt snap and a punt return touchdown — shifted the game to Ohio State, which dominated the Indiana offense for the final three quarters until the Hoosiers added a late touchdown.
Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson broke off a 39-yard run after Indiana’s final score but intentionally slid short of the end zone to take time off the clock, though quarterback Will Howard punched in a touchdown two plays later to make the final margin 23 points.
CALEB DOWNS TO THE HOUSE 🏠🌰@OhioStateFB starts the second half with a bang ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/XT4Wrax5CI
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 23, 2024
Indiana has won 10 games for the first time in program history, with its first nine wins by double digits, but it also doesn’t have a win against a ranked opponent. It entered Saturday with a 79 percent chance to make the Playoff, according to The Athletic’s projections model, and will finish the regular season against Purdue, which has just one win. Ohio State, which plays rival Michigan next week, is viewed as a virtual lock for the Playoff thanks to its wins over the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions.
Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) is now 2-1 against top-five teams this year, losing to Oregon by a point but beating Penn State. Indiana (10-1, 7-1) has only one top-five win in program history, against Purdue in 1967.
Ohio State closing in on Big Ten title game
For the 12th consecutive year, Ohio State enters its final regular-season game with a chance to clinch a berth in the Big Ten championship game, this time opposite top-ranked Oregon.
With the win against Indiana, all the Buckeyes need to do is beat rival Michigan for the first time since 2019 to earn their first trip to Indianapolis since 2020. Ohio State had the same scenario intact in each of the past three seasons, only to fall short against the Wolverines, who earned the berth themselves in those games. This time, the Buckeyes will be heavily favored.
Of the previous 11 times Ohio State could clinch, nine were outright opportunities, while the Buckeyes would have needed help twice (2016, 2015). They were successful six times. Ohio State couldn’t advance to the Big Ten title game in 2012 because it was ineligible for the postseason.
Indiana is a long shot now, needing both Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State (which plays at Minnesota on Saturday afternoon) to lose at least one more game. The Hoosiers lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with Ohio State and Penn State has a better strength-of-victory component. — Dochterman
Big Ten title race
| Team | Conf | Overall | Remaining games |
|---|---|---|---|
|
8-0 |
11-0 |
Washington |
|
|
7-1 |
10-1 |
Michigan |
|
|
7-1 |
10-1 |
Purdue |
|
|
6-1 |
9-1 |
at Minnesota, Maryland |
What does the loss mean for Indiana’s Playoff hopes?
This was the worst-case scenario for Indiana: getting handled in its first and only real test against a quality opponent this season.
The Hoosiers didn’t have to win in Columbus to fend off the Playoff skeptics, but a more competitive showing and final score would have really helped their cause. Now Indiana will have to hope for losses elsewhere — from the likes of Texas, Penn State and the crowd of two-loss SEC teams — and point to a dominant start against a dodgy schedule, all while battling the horde of fans and talking heads poking holes in its resume.
Help is already coming, at least, as Florida upset No. 9 Ole Miss on Saturday to likely knock the three-loss Rebels out of the Playoff chase and give the Hoosiers some breathing room.
Saturday’s loss doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The Hoosiers are still a 10-1 team that passed the eye test entering this weekend, and stumbles elsewhere in the CFP race will keep them in the mix. But Indiana ceded the upper hand in its Playoff argument, especially in trying to host a first-round game, and with lowly Purdue waiting next week, it won’t have another chance to earn it back unless it gets a lot of help and sneaks into the Big Ten title game. — Williams
Ohio State defense showing how much it’s grown
Saturday felt like a statement performance from Ohio State and its defense under coordinator Jim Knowles.
Indiana came into Saturday with the Big Ten’s top scoring offense, and it started hot, too, with a touchdown drive aided by two pass interference calls against corner Davison Igbinosun. But for most of the rest of the afternoon, it couldn’t block Ohio State’s blitzes, get anybody open downfield or sustain a rushing attack. Indiana totaled 145 yards on its first and last drives and 6 yards the rest of the game.
This is the performance Ohio State has been building up to since the loss to Oregon.
GO DEEPER
Did Ohio State need to lose at Oregon to reach its full potential?
After a bye week, there was an obvious change in tendencies by the defense. It started blitzing more, moving its defensive line around and changing its coverages to keep teams off-balance. All the experimentation against teams like Northwestern and Purdue paid off on Saturday, as Ohio State had Rourke uncomfortable all game. He completed just 8-of-18 passes for 68 yards with one fumble, easily his worst performance of the season.
An Ohio State defense that got beat deep against Oregon often gave up just one pass over 15 yards. That’s especially impressive considering Indiana came into the game ranked ninth nationally in explosive play rate, per TruMedia. The coverage on the back end was good, but Ohio State also benefited from pressure that it didn’t generate against Oregon. Ohio State sacked Rourke five times and rattled him to the point where he looked uncomfortable even when there wasn’t pressure.
Sacks: 5
TFL: 8No. 2 @OhioStateFB‘s defense showed up in a big way vs. No. 5 Indiana 🔥#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/Unjt5PhqEp
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 23, 2024
Ohio State still has room to grow on defense, but if you take anything away from Saturday’s performance, it should be that this defense is indeed much different and improved from the one that lost 32-31 at Oregon on Oct. 12.
Michigan is next week, but everything is leading up to a rematch with Oregon in the Big Ten title game. That’ll be the true measuring stick of defensive growth, though it shouldn’t take away from another dominant performance by the defense Saturday after the Buckeyes also held Penn State without an offensive touchdown. — Teague Robinson
Hoosiers not good enough to overcome special teams miscues
Indiana started the afternoon by forcing a three-and-out on defense and then ripping off an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to take an early 7-0 lead. The Hoosiers gained just 81 yards the rest of the game.
A stymied offense was knee-capped by a pair of dreadful plays on special teams. The first was a muffed punt snap that squirted through the hands of Indiana punter James Evans late in the second quarter, handing Ohio State the ball on the Indiana 7-yard line and a gift-wrapped touchdown right before the half. Then after a three-and-out to open the third quarter, Indiana gave up the punt return score to Downs for a 21-7 deficit.
It proved insurmountable for an offense that barely crossed midfield the rest of the way. The Hoosiers entered the game averaging 453.2 yards per game and 6.9 yards per play, the latter good enough for a top-10 ranking in the FBS. Ohio State held them to 151 yards and 2.6 yards per play — and well below the 43.9 points-per-game average they came to Columbus boasting. This comes after Indiana managed just 18 second-half yards in a close win against Michigan.
As good as the offense has been this season, Indiana needed some fortunate bounces against a more talented Ohio State roster. Instead, the Hoosiers were sunk by self-inflicted errors and a dominant Buckeyes defense. — Williams
(Photo of Carnell Tate: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)
