Offensive line struggles against Buckeye defense

IU coach Terry Hoeppner believes in the old football mantra, "Games are won in the trenches."\nUnfortunately for the Hoosiers, IU never gained an advantage in the trenches on either side of the ball during Saturday's 44-3 loss against No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.\n"The line of scrimmage is obviously very important," Hoeppner said. "A lot of people say -- and I don't disagree -- if you win up front (you win the game)."\nAfter playing well the last two weeks in victories against Illinois and Iowa, IU's offensive line was never able to clear any running room for the Hoosier backfield. On 28 total carries during the game, five IU rushers were only able to gain seven net yards.\n"(Ohio State's defensive line) was really good at getting off of blocks," freshman left guard Pete Saxon said. "You've got to hand it to them. They played smart defense, and we shot ourselves in the foot a lot of times."\nFreshman quarterback Kellen Lewis suffered the brunt of the Buckeye pass rush. Lewis finished the game 15-for-28 for 106 yards and found himself scrambling out of the pocket much of the game.\n"Ohio State did a good job of coming with pressure and not giving me much time to throw the ball," Lewis said. "It's a little bit different when you have to find your open guy a little faster."\nFor much of the game, the Buckeyes tried to rattle Lewis by \nbringing in their cornerbacks to blitz, which helped give Ohio State four sacks on the day for a total loss of 46 yards.\n"They did a great job of moving around," Lewis said. "We had some checks we went over this week, certain blitz packages, and they just did a good job of moving around before we snapped the ball."\nOn the other side of the ball, the defensive line put pressure on senior quarterback Troy Smith, but the potential Heisman trophy candidate was able to elude the IU defense, finishing the game 15-for-23 for 220 yards and four touchdowns.\n"He's not the type who just sits in the pocket and just lets you come in and get a sack," freshman defensive end Jammie Kirlew said. "He was elusive, running around, and that causes problems for everybody. That's why they're No. 1 and he's up for the Heisman."\nKirlew did force a third-quarter Smith fumble and also recovered the ball.\nTo balance the passing attack, Buckeye junior running back Antonio Pittman ran for 111 yards in leading the rushing attack. Ohio State racked up 279 yards on the ground.\nOn a day where his team struggled to keep up with the No. 1 team in the country, Hoeppner was not willing to place the blame on any one group.\n"We need to coach better, starting with me and the staff, and we need to play better," Hoeppner said. "It's hard to find many things we did well today. That's a tribute to the Buckeyes because they didn't allow us to do the things we've been able to do the last two weeks"