COLUMBUS, Ohio. — It was said best by Mike Tyson: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
As No. 5 Indiana football traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for a meeting with No. 2 Ohio State, a plan was in place, and it was working. Then, tied at 7, senior punter James Evans fumbled a snap that led to an Ohio State touchdown, putting the Buckeyes up 14-7.
Indiana got punched in the mouth and never found a way to get back into the game.
Ohio State fell behind a touchdown early and let up just one more score on its way to a 38-15 victory. The Buckeyes welcomed Indiana into Ohio Stadium and dominated every aspect of the game for the final three quarters. Among all the questions that will circulate around Indiana, the biggest one is how will it respond to this newfound adversity, having something other than a zero in the loss column?
First, the Hoosiers need to address the offensive front. The offensive line was one area where it seemed like Indiana could hang with the best teams in college football. Against Ohio State, it gave up five sacks and eight tackles for loss while only rushing for 83 yards on 41 attempts. Indiana had no answer for Ohio State’s pass rush, with sixth-year senior Kurtis Rourke finding himself on the ground more than he has this season.
This game was proof that Indiana still has some work to do before it competes up front with a blueblood program that gets some of the best prospects in the entire country. With time and recruiting, the Hoosiers will get to a point where they can physically play with teams like Ohio State.
“I feel like this loss was an eye opener,” seventh-year redshirt senior Ty Son Lawton said postgame. “We want to come out with the win, but I feel likes this loss really helped us.”
While it was a disappointing finish for the Hoosiers, there are still some good takeaways to recognize for the rest of the season. The Buckeyes put up 316 yards of offense, the lowest number for them all season. Indiana went into a ruckus environment against one of the best offenses in the Big Ten that averaged 451.4 yards per game through their first 10 games and didn’t look outmatched on defense.
The environment was one of the biggest questions heading into the game for Indiana. With over 105,000 people in attendance, it was by far the largest crowd the Hoosiers have played in front of thus far. While the crowd was a bit of a non-factor early on, Indiana’s mistakes allowed the crowd to come alive and become an issue, throwing off the Hoosiers’ rhytmn.
“I didn’t think we handled it too bad,” junior linebacker Aiden Fisher said about the crowd. “Playing in big time games and learning from them. We’ll correct them.”
For Indiana, the mistakes it was making were errors that the Hoosiers haven’t made this year. The tiny details of the game –– punting, putting pressure on the quarterback and finishing tackles –– were all massive issues for Indiana that led to the 23-point loss.
Getting back to the brand of football the Hoosiers played in the first 10 games is going to be important to convincingly knock off Purdue and get a bid for the College Football Playoff.
“I’m more so focused on Purdue right now, rather than the playoffs,” Fisher said. “We’ll handle Purdue and you guys can judge that for yourselves.”
For the remainder of the season, there will be some people in the media who are going to tell you that the Hoosiers don’t belong in the playoffs. Those people are wrong.
You can bring up the schedule that was made a year ago and showcased not one, but both teams featured in the 2023 national championship game. You can bring up the lack of notable wins this season despite the historic numbers the Hoosiers were putting up on both sides of the ball. Even with the loss, Indiana is still averaging 425.7 yards and 41.3 points per game despite putting up its lowest totals in both categories against the Buckeyes.
In an expanded 12-team playoff, a team with just one loss to the No. 2 team in the country in the second-best conference should be in the playoffs. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
There isn’t much time for the Hoosiers to feel bad for themselves with in-state rival Purdue coming to Bloomington next weekend for the final regular season game of the year.
The bell has rung, the round is over and the Hoosiers lost. It’s time to get a drink of water, lean into the coaching staff that has gotten them to this point, put the mouthpiece back in and keep fighting.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
