Ohio State holds off comeback effort by Indiana to take 42-35 decision.
Buckeyes hold off rally by Hoosiers to capture battle of the unbeatens
After climbing to its highest AP Top 25 poll ranking in more than a half-century, No. 9 Indiana got a chance find out how it measured up with Big Ten behemoth Ohio State, a team the Hoosiers hadn’t beaten in 32 years.
They came up short but sure made it interesting — and a lot closer than the No. 3 Buckeyes would have liked.
Behind quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Indiana (4-1) rallied from a four-touchdown deficit in the second half only to be outlasted by the Buckeyes 42-35 on a rainy Saturday in an allbut-empty Ohio Stadium.
“You know, people didn’t think we belonged on the field with Ohio State, but I think we showed that today,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “I think we’re a good football team, a really good football team.”
The Buckeyes (4-0) were happy to get out of there with a win after leading 35-7 early in the second half and allowing Indiana to climb back to within one score. Two weeks ago, Ohio State led 35-3 at halftime and were outscored 24-14 in the second half in a win over Rutgers.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to close out games,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “This is kind of the second week now we let a team hang around a little bit, and we’ve got to get that fixed. But (there were) so many great things in this game. Indiana is a good team, they’re a top-10 team so this was not easy.”
The Buckeyes’ defense in the second half struggled to slow down Penix, who had the best statistical day of his career — 27-for-51 for a career-high 491 yards and five touchdowns.
Penix passed for four touchdowns in the second half but also made a critical error, tossing an interception that Ohio State’s Shaun Wade returned for a touchdown at the end of the third quarter. The game might have been different if it weren’t for that.
The running game helped Ohio State maintain control when things were dicey. The Buckeyes had two late drives after the Hoosiers got within in a touchdown that didn’t result in points, but burned clock and Indiana’s timeouts.
The Hoosiers’ last possession started deep in their own territory with 38 seconds left and ended with a desperation lateral play that never crossed midfield.
Master Teague ran for a career-high 169 yards and two touchdowns, and Justin Fields accounted for three scores as the Buckeyes amassed 607 yards of offense.
Fields was 18-for-30 for 300 yards and two touchdown passes, but he also threw his first three interceptions of the season and was sacked five times. He ran for 78 yards and a touchdown.
“Of course I made bad decisions,” Fields said. “I ended up with three picks but we got the W today. That’s all that matters. We got the W, and we’re 4-0.”
Garrett Wilson had seven catches for 169 yards — his fourth straight game of 100-plus yards — and two scores for the Buckeyes.