Hoosiers can’t climb to Buckeyes’ altitude
Penix puts a scare into the Big Ten’s best with a second-half rally, but underdogs fall short.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — After climbing to its highest ranking in more than a halfcentury, No. 9 Indiana got to see 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 fourtouchdown deficit in the second half only to be outlasted by the Buckeyes 42-35 on a rainy Saturday in an all-butempty Ohio Stadium.
“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 was 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 score at the end of the third quarter.
The running game helped Ohio State maintain control. 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. They also had two drives after the Hoosiers got within a touchdown that didn’t produce points but burned clock and Indiana’s timeouts.