IU football's lone touchdown agains Ohio State a partner effort

In the late minutes of Saturday’s 38-10 loss, redshirt freshman quarterback Dusty Kiel finally had the Hoosiers on the brink of their first touchdown of the day.

As he took the snap for a third-and-goal play from inside the Ohio State five-yard line, Kiel stepped to his right with a handoff to freshman running back Antonio Banks.

Banks moved to grab the ball, but the play was one where Kiel had the option to fake the handoff and rush the ball himself.  

Indecision appeared to ensue nearly instantaneously as Kiel had a hand on the ball while Banks cradled it — both moving toward the goal line. Somehow, they just crossed the line, both still searching for possession of the ball.

It was IU’s lone touchdown of the day — one that withstood a challenge by Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel — but one that left a few laughs from an otherwise dismal day in Columbus, Ohio.

“Dusty came off the field asking Banks why he took it from him, a typical quarterback thing. He wants the ball in his hands,” IU senior quarterback Ben Chappell said with a laugh Monday.

Banks received the nod as the official scorer of the touchdown because he held on the longest, Chappell said.

“Dusty fell off at the end, and Banks had the ball, so that’s who they gave it to,” Chappell said. “Maybe they can give them both a half of a touchdown or something.”

IU coach Bill Lynch didn’t know exactly who should have been credited with the score but remarked it probably did get under the skin of the Buckeyes.

“That was only the fifth (touchdown) they’ve given up all year, so that’s probably why they wanted to replay it,” Lynch said with a laugh.

Buckeye defensive line a tough force to beat

In a day that marked Chappell’s lowest statistical output of the now five-game-old season, the factor that kept IU’s offense from finding a rhythm was the pressure the Hoosiers’ offensive line faced.

“The biggest thing that happened is that they could put pressure with their front four,” Lynch said, talking about the Buckeyes’ defense. “They didn’t have to blitz a lot.”  

The result was Chappell having less time than normal in the pocket, throwing into an OSU secondary filled with defenders who didn’t have to blitz.

“What we’re pretty good at is the short passing game — the throw and catch and run with our guys,” Lynch said. “They were jumping us pretty good because they weren’t worried about getting beat over the top.”

Chappell said the OSU line advantage extended to both sides of the ball.

“They’re pretty good on the line, both sides,” Chappell said. “Their guys had some time to throw it, and we didn’t — (we) couldn’t get through the reads. But I think that’s the game of football. It’s won and lost at the line of scrimmage.”

Big plays hurting Hoosiers

Two separate signs near the IU weight room at Memorial Stadium clearly state the goals for the Hoosier offense and defense, and both include specific areas related to “big plays” — single plays that result in large yardage gains or scores.

“Our goal is to give up four or less per game,” Lynch said. “Offensively, we’d like to have six or more. Breaking them down that way, we’ve given up 28 big plays on defense, so we’re at five-plus a game. We’ve got to cut that back a couple per game.”

The defensive big plays have certainly hurt the Hoosiers in the previous two losses, but Lynch said connections between each are hard to come by.

“Is there a common theme? We’ve looked at everything from what defense we’re in to what coverage we’re in. What was the down and distance? Was it a mistake? Was it a missed tackle? Was it somebody beating somebody?” Lynch said. “What it was? It was all of those things.”

Having so many separate issues, especially on defense, doesn’t warrant drastic changes, Lynch said.  

“By study, it just kind of brings it into focus that we’ve just got to keep going. There’s no panic,” Lynch said, earlier having acknowledged that Ohio State is a deserving top-ranked team. “There’s no ‘We can’t play this coverage or do this’ because it’s giving up big plays. It’s been something a little bit different each week.”

Lynch pays respects to OL Damisch’s father

The IU offensive line was without a starter Saturday.

Sophomore Marc Damisch left the team after his father passed away Wednesday.
On Sunday, Lynch visited Damisch and his family in the Chicago suburbs and said Damisch will likely return to the team today.

Damisch’s father’s funeral was Monday.

“I went to Arlington Heights (Sunday),” Lynch said. “I went up to the showing. We’re expecting him back (today), but he’s had a tough week, his family has had a tough week and really a tough period of time.”

Damisch started the season’s first two games at right guard and played at both guard positions in nine games last year.