Defense makes strides in 34-20 loss to No. 16 Ohio St.

After IU lost to Virginia early in the season, players said they had to find a way to play well while having fun. For the first time since that game, players made similar statements after a 34-20 loss to Ohio State on Saturday.

“It was just us having fun and playing ball the way we’re capable of,” junior defensive tackle Larry Black Jr. said. “We’re capable of doing that every game. We just need to do it more often.”

Advantageous field position helped the Hoosiers jump out to a 10-0 lead, as the opening kickoff landed out of bounds and the IU defense forced its first turnover since Oct. 8 against Illinois.

After Ohio State’s true freshman quarterback, Braxton Miller, put the Buckeyes on the board with the longest quarterback run in OSU history — 81 yards — the difference between the teams was never more than seven points until the final minutes. IU Coach Kevin Wilson said he wasn’t surprised at how close the game was, despite the 27.5-point spread.

“We thought if we played up to our ability, we could have a chance,” Wilson said. “We talked about having some fun and playing hard and not worrying about mistakes.”
Sophomore wide receiver Kofi Hughes, who led all receivers with eight receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown, said they found added inspiration from a newspaper article that claimed playing IU was like having a bye week.

“That was our motto all week and coming out to the game: ‘Hey, it’s just a bye week. We’re just a bye week,’” Hughes said. “Of course, we’re not like that, and we came out with an aggressive attitude that we’re going to run the ball.”

IU ran the ball for 159 yards but allowed more than 300 yards on the ground for the second straight week. Three Buckeyes rushed for more than 100 yards. Ohio State found the most success on the ground during the third quarter, in which they rushed for 148 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown run from Miller.

“They were very effective in the third quarter,” Wilson said. “We knew the quarterback draw was going to be the lead play. Even when it’s not draws, you have to account for him, and that’s just smart football. To let him out was disappointing.”

Despite allowing 34 points, players said strides were evident. Senior linebacker Jeff Thomas, who returned from a separated shoulder to play, recovered a fumble in the first quarter, and junior safety Alexander Webb picked off a pass from Miller in the third quarter and also led the team in tackles with 11.

IU sacked Miller six times. Redshirt freshman linebacker Chase Hoobler had two sacks and compiled nine total tackles.

“This week, we just wanted to prove ourselves as a defense,” Hoobler said. “We’re not hitting how we should the last couple of weeks, and for me, personally, I just had to step it up.”

Black said he understood the strides on defense but wasn’t satisfied with the team’s play on third down. The Buckeyes converted three of nine third down chances.

“We definitely took a step forward, but we’ve just got to get off the field on third down,” Black said. “We had them at third-and-10 or more on a lot of occasions. We just need to convert it and get off the field.”