COLUMBUS, OH — The Ohio State Buckeyes continued their impressive football season with a dominant 38-15 win over the Indiana Hoosiers, improving their record to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten Conference. This victory extended their winning streak over the Hoosiers to 29 games and marked the Buckeyes’ 31st season with ten or more wins in school history.
The Buckeyes took a while to really get their game plan going in the first half, but once they did, there was just no turning back. They maintained that imperial effort at the Horseshoe against the Hoosiers in the second half.
That brings Head Coach Ryan Day’s career record to an outstanding 66-9. He remained a perfect 6-0 against Indiana. It was also his 20th Top 25 win, using a clever strategy to gain victory.
Will Howard, yet again, made all the right reads at quarterback, going 22 of 26 for 201 yards with two touchdown passes. Howard was on target again — for the sixth game this season, he completed 80 percent of his passes, becoming the only Buckeye quarterback to accomplish that feat in a career. Howard additionally proved to be an all-purpose threat, getting in on a one-yard rush. This gives him 101 career touchdowns (74 passing, 26 rushing and one receiving).
Emeka Egbuka led the Buckeyes’ receiving with 80 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions. His performance elevated his career stats, tying Garrett Wilson for eighth with 23 touchdown receptions and moving to third with 180 career receptions at Ohio State. Egbuka also climbed the all-time receiving yards list to seventh, surpassing Devin Smith with 2,549 yards.
TreVeyon Henderson was a force on offense with 68 rushing yards and a touchdown. His scoring play tied him for fifth on Ohio State’s career touchdowns list with 43 rushing touchdowns, alongside Buckeye legends J.K. Dobbins and J.T. Barrett.
Caleb Downs exhilarated the special teams with a fantastic, untouchable 79-yard punt return for a touchdown. That was Ohio State’s first punt return touchdown in a decade. The Buckeyes were formidable on defense, as they held Indiana to an impressive total of 151 yards of total offense. Cody Simon led with a career-high 2.5 sacks, contributing to Ohio State’s season-high five sacks on the day.
“Our guys just played with a chip today, and that’s the way you got to play the game of football,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day told the media.
In a display of team depth, 21 Buckeyes recorded tackles, with Simon and Sonny Styles leading with ten and eight tackles. The Buckeyes saw immaculate plays from Jack Sawyer, who finished with 1.5 sacks, and JT Tuimoloau, with another sack in the game. This collective team effort secured Ohio State’s victory, underscoring their dominance and depth as they march toward facing the Michigan Wolverines next Saturday.
“We don’t win this game, and we have no chance to go to Indianapolis and play in the Big Ten championship. And that’s real. We’ve had that approach for the last few weeks now, more than that,” Day said.
With one more obstacle standing in their way next Saturday, a win over Michigan will guarantee an earlier-season rematch against the Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten Championship, where the Buckeyes will be looking to avenge that loss at Autzen Stadium.
Indiana, which has had some extreme success this season, could lose its opportunity to participate in the 12-team College Football Playoffs (CFP) with one blowout loss.
The Wolverines face the Buckeyes on Saturday, Nov 30 at 12 Noon ET on FOX.
