No. 6 Ohio State steamrolls Indiana 51-10

Two years ago, J.K. Dobbins burst onto the college football scene with a 181-yard debut on a Thursday night against the Indiana Hoosiers. On Saturday, he had a 175 yards on the ground in the first half, and was a big reason for the Ohio State Buckeyes coming away with a 51-10 win against their Big Ten East foe.

Getting 22 carries, Dobbins used his speed, agility, and strength to leave IU defenders in the dust. On his 26-yard touchdown rush in the first half, he broke at least four tackles before reaching the end zone for his lone TD on the ground. For the game, Dobbins, the most reliable source on the rushing attack for either team, concluded with 196 yards. Master Teague also got in on the rush game, getting 106 yards and a touchdown off 10 carries in his first road game appearance.

While not as sharp as prior weeks, quarterback Justin Fields was just as effective in the passing and rushing departments. Going 14-of-24, the Buckeye signal-caller picked up 199 passing yards and three TDs. On the ground, Fields also had a touchdown; for the day, he picked up 11 yards on four carries.

Six wide receivers caught footballs from Fields. Chris Olave led the way in yardage, getting 70 off three receptions. Olave’s lone TD grab was also his longest catch of the day, going for 37. Binjimen Victor had the most receptions for the Bucks, reeling in four for 66 yards.

For another week, the OSU defense proved their stoutness. Defensive end Chase Young had a team leading 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. On the afternoon, four total sacks were tallied by the Buckeyes, with Tyreke Friday and Zach Harrison getting the other two. In pass defense, the Buckeyes also showed up in Bloomington. Seven pass breakups were recorded, with Damon Arnette leading the DBs with two. Arnette also had an interception in the game — returning it for a 96-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the third quarter.

After 15 minutes of action, only four points separated the Buckeyes from the Hoosiers. However, OSU went on a 23-7 scoring run in the second quarter, and then a 21-0 run in the third quarter to pull away.

Even though reports had Michael Penix Jr. warming up (not throwing) in pregame, Peyton Ramsey was the QB to run out with the Indiana starters to begin the game. The opening drive didn’t produce anything — not even positive yardage. Two straight stuffed rushes and an incompletion forced the Hoosiers to punt the ball away. On the punt, a kick-catch interference on IU bonused the Buckeyes 15 yards, setting them up at the IU41 to begin the drive.

Out of the gate, Dobbins got the ball three times, picking up first down yardage. A couple of incompletions — including a near interception — stalled the OSU drive inside the red zone. Kicking from the near hash, Blake Heubeil’s 32-yard try hooked too far and sailed past the right upright. Already in the first four minutes both teams got the ball, but couldn’t score.

Indiana would go backwards again on their second drive, racking up -3 yards of offense. Ohio State’s second drive was a complete contrast to that, collecting four first downs en route to a touchdown. The Buckeyes did a little bit of everything; Chris Olave hauled in a pass, and Dobbins and Fields rushed for yardage.

Going with a strength, Ramsey started to sling the football against the OSU defense. It proved to be effective in the early going, as four straight completions on drive No. 3 allowed for the QB to scramble for 20 yards — setting up a field goal. The Hoosiers got on the board, but it was about to be a very long half in Bloomington.

A 7-3 Ohio State lead after the first quarter ballooned in the second. Early in the new frame, Fields hit a wide open Olave for a 37-yard score. The pass play was set up thanks to Dobbins picking up positive yards on three of his four rushes.

Another Hoosier drive went three plays, but this time Chase Young got in on the stops —getting Ramsey for a sack. Special team woes continued for IU, as Olave blocked the punt. The ball rolled back in and out of the end zone for a safety. For the second straight week, the Buckeyes got a block on a kick, and for Olave, it’s his first blocked punt since Michigan last November. the two points moved the score to 16-3 in favor of OSU.

Ohio State got possession after the safety and made quick work of the opportunity. Dobbins found a seam in the defense, rushing upfield for 56 yards before getting wrapped up by two Hoosier defenders. Two plays after Binjimen Victor hauled in a 20-yard catch, Fields hit K.J. Hill on a corner route in the back of the end zone.

Indiana was working on a score-worthy drive after Ramsey found wide receiver Whop Philyor for 26 yards, and Cole Gest for six yards. But, two busted rushes ended the drive around midfield.

The theme of gobbling yards continued for Fields and the OSU offense. Olave picked up another completion (a 15-yarder) and Dobbins capped off the drive by hauling the ball 26 yards to the house.

Needing some sort of momentum, the Hoosiers had their most productive drive of the day in the waning minutes of the half. In what appeared to be a screen in the flats, Donovan Hale caught the reception behind the line of scrimmage before taking a step back to throw the ball. The OSU secondary committed to stopping Hale from running, so when the ball was thrown to tight end Peyton Hendershot, he had about two county zip codes worth of free space around him. Hendershot hauled his way the final 20 or so yards, completing a 49-yard score. For the season, it was one of the more lengthy drives the Bucks have given up; the Hoosiers went 78 yards in six plays, burning 3:02 off the clock.

Ohio State kept the ball on the ground to run out the first half clock, giving Dobbins three cracks at breaking the IU defense one more time. Picking up 26 yards on those rushes, Dobbins concluded a masterful 30 minutes of action. In his return to Memorial Stadium, Dobbins had a first half career-high 175 yards on 20 carries.

To begin the third quarter, the Buckeyes’ offensive dominance continued. Three straight first down plays (Dobbins rush, and completions to Victor and Austin Mack) set the tone that OSU wasn’t playing around with a 30-10 lead. Fields delivered a strike to Victor for 25 yards, setting up the Bucks at the IU4. One play later, a play action rollout lead to a tight-window throw from Fields to Dobbins at the pylon. Ohio State had a 37-10 advantage in the waxing minutes of the third.

While it was the day of Dobbins, Teague also broke off a long TD. Following another Hoosier drive that was left stranded around midfield, the Buckeye offense relied on the rusher to do the heavy lifting on the ground. Originating from their own 3-yard line, a defensive holding call gave the Bucks new life. Teague had 15, 4, and 16-yard rushes before breaking off a 40-yarder right through the middle.

The final 4:58 of the third quarter featured one of the more meticulous drives of the game. IU worked 12 plays to get 68 yards, but the end play erased all that. Trying to hit his receiver on the goalline, defensive back Damon Arnette jumped the route and intercepted the ball. After dodging a diving Ramsey upfield, Arnette weaved in and out of blockers and defenders to bring the ball back for a pick-6. Going 96 yards, Arentte’s return was the fifth longest in school history.

With a commanding 51-10 lead, the Buckeyes brought in Chris Chugunov at QB in the fourth quarter. Ohio State controlled the tempo and ran out the clock they had — readying for their next game on the schedule.

For the 16th time in a row, the Buckeyes have scored at least 30 points against the Hoosiers. With the win, Ohio State has now taken the last 25 contests against Indiana. The last time IU won was in 1988, where the home team Hoosiers routed the Bucks 41-7.

Up next for Ohio State will be the Miami RedHawks on Saturday, Sept. 21. The Buckeyes will be returning home, playing in the 3:30 p.m. ET time slot.