Exit, Mike Davis.

Enter, former Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson.

When it appeared that Davis’ days in Bloomington were numbered last season, many thought the next Hoosiers’ coach might be former IU players Steve Alford or Randy Wittman.

On March 29, Sampson was named head coach at Indiana replacing Davis, who resigned.

With the hiring of the Sampson, the Bob Knight era is officially over, but it also raised some eyebrows.

Sampson and the Oklahoma basketball program were under an NCAA investigation for their recruiting practices at the time of his hire. The accusations against Oklahoma include “lack of institutional control,” one of the NCAA’s most serious findings.

Last May, the NCAA banned the Hoosiers’ new coach from calling recruits and making off-campus visits for a year, ruling Sampson and his staff at Oklahoma deliberately broke NCAA rules by making 577 extra phone calls to basketball prospects.

The decision, announced by the NCAA’s infractions committee, also requires Indiana to adopt self-imposed restrictions put in place by Oklahoma. Those sanctions include a ban on Sampson being paid performance bonuses for next season, but Indiana will suffer no scholarship penalties.

Last year, Indiana had enough talent to win the Big Ten, they just underachieved.

One player they sorely missed having on the court last season was 6-9 junior forward D.J. White, who was named to the Big Ten Conference’s Preseason All-League Team for the 2006-07 season.

The former Big Ten Freshman of the Year following the 2004-05 season was limited to five games last year after two foot injuries, but he still averaged 9.2 points and six rebounds.

During his freshman campaign, White averaged 13.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

White, a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was rumored to leave Indiana and transfer to wherever Coach Davis landed a job, who was eventually hired at Alabama-Birmingham.

While White opted to stay, last year’s second-leading scorer Robert Vaden, a 6-5 swingman from Indianapolis, followed Davis to UAB. Vaden averaged 13.5 points per game.

Australian import Ben Allen, a 6-10 sophomore, will take over at center for the departed Marco Killingsworth. Allen played in all 31 games last season, starting two, and averaged 10 minutes of game action while scoring 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest.

Killingsworth was Indiana’s top scorer last season averaging 17.1 points per game.

Indiana’s top returning scorer is 6-4 senior guard Roderick Wilmont, who averaged 9.2 points per game, fourth-best for the 2005-06 season. Wilmont played in 30 games last year, starting eight of those contests.

Wilmont will have plenty of help in the backcourt with Earl Calloway, a 6-3 senior, who averaged 5.7 points a game last season. 6-2 junior A.J. Ratliff (3.5 ppg) and 5-11 senior Errek Suhr (3.4 ppg) can provide quality minutes off the bench.

The lone starting spot left will probably go to junior college transfer Mike White, a 6-6 forward, who last played at Lee College in Baytown, Texas.

During his sophomore year at Lee, White averaged 19.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per contest.

Another option may be true freshman Xavier Keeling, a 6-6 forward from Huntsville, Alabama.

Sampson has some talent at IU to begin his first season, but it seems that he’s already on the “hot seat” before the Hoosiers have even played a game and Sampson can’t afford one slight mistake.

I realize that some of the bigger names pulled out of consideration for the IU job, like Marquette’s Tom Crean and Gonzaga’s Mark Few, but why take a chance on a known cheater. I hope IU’s can brace itself years down the road if Sampson is found guilty of infractions again.

Indiana fans expect a 20-win season and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Anything less will give the Crimson & Cream faithful a reason to blame university administrators on the hire.

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It was a near-perfect day for the top-ranked team in the nation playing in front of a capacity crowd on Homecoming Day in Columbus.

Other than coughing up the pigskin three different times on fumbles, the only other complaints that could be lodged have nothing to do with game itself.

It would of been nice if Mother Nature turned off her industrial-strength fan, along with actually being able to purchase a “hot” dog at the concession stand.

But the rest was perfect, especially the defense, as Ohio State defeated Minnesota 44-0.

The Buckeye defense, led by linebacker James Laurinaitis, held the Golden Gophers’ to just 10 first downs and 182 yards of total offense.

Laurinaitis recorded 11 total tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss.

In recent years, Minnesota has had a potent running attack. But on Saturday, Ohio State held the Gophers to a mere 42 yards on the ground.

Minnesota also found that throwing the football to be a difficult task against Ohio State, holding senior quarterback Bryan Cupito to 120 yards on 13-of-25 passing while being sacked twice, and intercepted three times.

Cornerbacks Antonio Smith and Malcolm Jenkins, along with free safety Jamario O’Neal each had a pick. With that, the Buckeyes have intercepted at least one opponent pass in all nine games this season, and now have 18 INTs on the year.

It was a near-flawless game for Ohio State offense, the only blemishes were a fumble by backup tailback Chris Wells that was recovered by Minnesota inside their 10 yard line.

Another costly miscue happened on OSU’s next possession after forcing Minnesota to punt.

With a first-and-10 the the OSU 44 yard line, Smith dropped back to pass and was sacked by defensive end Steve Davis, with the ball being knocked out of his throwing hand on the play. Minnesota defensive tackle Neel Allen recovered the fumble at the OSU 38.

That turnover, like the others, did not cost the Buckeyes’ thanks to a impenetrable defense.

Cupito threw two straight incompletions until connecting with wide receiver Logan Payne for a gain of nine. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the OSU 29 yard line, defensive end Jay Richardson and O’Neal stuffed Minnesota tailback Amir Pinnix for no gain.

Offensively, it was a productive day as the Buckeyes racked up 44 points and 484 yards.

In a stunning turn of events, Ohio State won the toss and elected to receive. After a fine return by Ted Ginn Jr. on the opening kickoff, Ohio State went 57 yards in eight plays that was capped off on a 10-yard run by tailback Antonio Pittman.

The Buckeyes’ ran six rushing plays to just one pass play in that drive, a nine-yard pitch and catch to fullback Stan White Jr., as Pittman accounted for 37 yards in five attempts on the ground.

A successful PAT by Aaron Pettrey put OSU ahead 7-0 with 10:59 left in the first quarter.

Ohio State drove down to the Minnesota 25 yard line on their next possession, but had to settle on a 42-yard field goal by Petrrey to push OSU’s lead to 10-0 with 5:49 remaining in the opening stanza.

The Buckeyes’ added to the lead in the second quarter when sophomore wide receiver Brian Robiskie made a great catch in the back of the end zone.

Ohio State went 71 yards in 10 plays, as most of the damage inflicted on the Gophers came from Smith with his arm and his legs, who was 3-of-4 passing for 44 yards and had one running play that netted 11 in that scoring drive.

Following Jenkins’ interception which gave OSU possession at the Minnesota 35 yard line, Ohio State had the opportunity to put more points on the board right before halftime.

With 2:03 remaining until intermission, two running plays by Pittman gained seven yard before an incomplete pass by Smith resulted in OSU facing a fourth-and-3 at the Minnesota 28 yard line with 38 seconds left.

But Smith found the ever-reliable Anthony Gonzalez wide-open in the middle of the field for a gain of 11 and a first down with 31 ticks on the clock.

Then Smith threw a ball I am sure he would like to have back after he lofted a pass to the left flat that was caught my freshman receiver Ray Small, who was then absolutely leveled cornerback Dominic Jones.

That play resulted in a loss of three yards, and Small needed to be helped off the field.

With 17 seconds left, Smith scrambled for a gain of 18 yards down to the Minnesota 2, but the play was called back on a personal foul, illegal hands to the face by left guard Steve Rehring.

On the last play of the half, Smith tried to get the ball to Gonzalez in the end zone but the pass fell short.

The cornerback Smith intercepted Cupito’s pass just three plays into the second half, and OSU need just three more to take a 24-0 lead after the quarterback Smith juked by linebacker Deon Hightower then on to paydirt for a 21-yard TD run.

Pittman added a 13-yard touchdown run on OSU’s next possession, though Pettrey’s point after was blocked, and the Buckeyes’ led 30-0 after three quarters.

In the fourth period, Chris Wells added a three-yard touchdown run, and backup quarterback Justin Zwick scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak.

Smith finished the game going 14-of-21 passing for 183 and a score. He also rushed for 43 yards in six tries and another TD.

Pittman surpassed the 100-yard mark for the sixth time this season, gaining 116 yards in 21 attempts with two touchdowns.

Brian Hartline was OSU’s leading receiver with four catches for 69 yards.

Notes:

Ohio State extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games. The current streak, which began last year against Michigan State, ranks third all-time at Ohio State. The Buckeyes have scored at least 24 points in each contest during the streak.

The 44 points Saturday matched a season high. The Buckeyes also had 44 points last week in a 44-3 victory vs. Indiana.

Ohio State tallied 484 yards of total offense vs. Minnesota. The output is the sixth time this season Ohio State has topped 400 yards in offense. The Buckeyes had a season-high 540 yards of offense last week against Indiana.

The Ohio State defense has held eight of nine opponents to just one or less touchdowns this season.

Ohio State has allowed just two rushing touchdowns in 2006.

Tags: Buckeye Football by Matt Barker
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Date: Saturday, October 28
Time: 3:30 PM ET
Place: Ohio Stadium, capacity 102,329
TV: ABC Sports with Mark Jones, David Norrie, and Stacey Dales.
Radio: The Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network with 73 stations across Buckeyeland with “Big Daddy” Paul Keels, Jim Lachey, and Marty Bannister calling all of the action.

Saturday’s game between Minnesota and Ohio State will be the 46th time the two schools have faced each other on the football field, with the Buckeyes holding a 38-7 advantage.

Minnesota and Ohio State first met on Oct. 15, 1921 in Columbus, Ohio. The two schools only played each other 12 times between 1921 and 1966 before beginning annual battles in 1969.

Minnesota and Ohio State met every year from 1969 until 1992 when the Big Ten’s rotating schedule began in 1993 with the addition of Penn State.

Minnesota has a record of 3-5 overall, 0-4 in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers have notched wins over Kent State (44-0), Temple (62-0), and Division I-AA North Dakota State (10-9). Their losses include California (17-42), Purdue (21-27), Michigan (14-28), Penn State (27-28, OT), and Wisconsin (12-48).

The Golden Gophers’ Offense

Minnesota’s offense has always been ground-oriented, and that still holds true even though the Gophers lost two, 1,000-yard rushers from last season.

Junior running back Amir Pinnix has rushed for 747 yards in 145 carries and six touchdowns.

Through the first three contests, Pinnix averaged just nine rushing attempts and 71 yards per game. In the last five games, though, he has averaged nearly 24 carries and 107 yards per outing.

Pinnix’s backup, Alex Daniels, who played linebacker last season, has 309 yards on 67 carries and five touchdowns. But 45 of those rushing attempts along with 233 yards came in Minnesota’s first two games against Kent State and Cal. In the last four games, Daniels has just four carries for 10 yards.

Senior quarterback Bryan Cupito 126-of-212 passing for 1,548 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.

In Cupito’s last two contests against Wisconsin and North Dakota State, he is averaging just 122 yards passing per game with no touchdowns and one INT.

Cupito’s favorite targets are wide receiver Logan Payne, along with senior tight end Matt Spaeth, who both have 35 receptions.

In the last two games, Payne has just four catches for 25 yards without a touchdown after hauling in 31 passes for 442 yards and seven TDs through the first five contests.

Last year’s leading receiver, Ernie Wheelwright from Columbus Walnut Ridge High School, has been a non-factor in the Gophers’ offense this season. He has 17 receptions for 175 yards.

The Golden Gophers’ Defense

There is not much to say about Minnesota’s defense other than it’s not very good.

The Gophers have given up 40 or more points twice this year, and 400-plus yards on five different occasions.

Minnesota is slightly better defending the pass than the run, giving up 200 or more yards on the ground three times, and only once yielding 300-plus passing yards so far this season.

In last week’s game against North Dakota State, the Bison picked up 23 first downs to Minnesota’s 12 and outgained the Gophers, 380-249.

Minnesota needed a blocked field goal as time expired to escape with the win and snap a four-game losing streak.

Prediction

After an exciting September that saw Ohio State face three ranked teams in their five wins for the month, October has been a yawner to say the least.

So far this month in three games, Ohio State has averaged 39 while allowing just 5.7 points per game. I see that trend continuing as the Buckeyes extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games.

Ohio State 45, Minnesota 6

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Minnesota head coach Glen Mason, a former player for the legendary Woody Hayes and a 1972 graduate of The Ohio State University, spent eight years as an assistant at OSU under Hayes and former head coach Earle Bruce. He was Bruce’s offensive coordinator from 1980-86.

Now Mason is in his 10th season guiding the Golden Gophers, and has a career record of 61-55 at Minnesota.

Mason has also done a fine job recruiting in Ohio, with 17 of his players on the 2006 roster hailing from the Buckeye state, and seven of those calling the Columbus area home.

Last year, Minnesota became the first team in history to have two 1,000-yard rushers in three consecutive years as junior Lawrence Maroney gained 1,464 yards on 281 carries with 10 touchdowns, while sophomore Gary Russell racked up 1,130 yards during his 186 attempts and added 18 TDs during the 2005 season.

That streak will come to a halt after Maroney declared himself eligible for the NFL and was drafted in the First Round (21st overall) by the New England Patriots, last April.

Russell, who was expected to be one of the top running backs in the Big Ten this season, enrolled at Inver Hills Community College for the spring term in hopes of improving his grades so he could return to the Gophers, and step into the lineup for Maroney.

In June, Russell and several of his family members met with school officials in a last-ditch effort to resolve his academic situation. Dismissed from school last winter because of academic shortcomings, Russell tried to improve his grades at the junior college. But school officials told Russell and his family that he could not be readmitted to summer school, a prerequisite for his return.

Russell, a Columbus native and a graduate of Walnut Ridge High School, has two years of eligibility remaining. He was not able to transfer to a Division II or Division I-AA school and play football because he was not academically eligible when he left Minnesota. His only option was to enroll at an NAIA school, if he wanted to play this year.

Also, the University of Minnesota compliance office notified the NCAA, thanks to a recent Minneapolis Star Tribune story about Russell and possible NCAA rules violations, which the NCAA already knew about it.

Compliance officer J.T. Bruett said university officials are investigating those possible violations and will share their findings with the NCAA.

With Russell’s departure, that left last year’s third-string running back Amir Pinnix (6-0, 195), along with a converted linebacker Alex Daniels (6-3, 255).

Pinnix, a junior from Newark, N.J., has rushed for 747 yards in 145 attempts and six touchdowns.

Daniels, a sophomore from Columbus Brookhaven High School, has toted the rock 67 times for 309 yards with five scores.

In past years, the Gopher offense had been ground-oriented. Before the season, it was easy to assume that since Minnesota had senior quarterback Bryan Cupito (6-3, 205) returning, and given the fact that Minnesota had no one with any real experience at the tailback position, that the Gophers’ would air it out more. But that hasn’t been the case.

Cupito, a Cincinnati native and graduate of McNicolas High School, has thrown for 1,548 yards on 126-of-212 passing with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Cupito’s favorite targets are seniors Logan Payne (6-2, 205), and Matt Spaeth (6-7, 275), who both have hauled in 35 passes. Payne, a wide receiver, has 468 yards and seven touchdowns, while the tight end Spaeth has 439 yards and two TDs.

Columbus native and a former teammate of Russell at Walnut Ridge, junior wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright (6-5, 215), is third on the team in receiving with 17 receptions for 175 yards.

The Gophers had to deal with losing three starters on the offensive line, with junior tackle Steve Shidell (6-5, 290) and center Tony Brinkhaus (6-3, 295) as the only returnees from last year’s squad.

Defensively, the Gophers’ use a 4-3 scheme and brought back seven starters from the 2005 season.

Minnesota’s leading tackler is junior linebacker Mike Sherels (6-0, 240) with 64 stops.

Sophomore defensive end William Van DeSteeg (6-4, 255) leads the Gophers’ in both sacks (4) and tackles for loss (8.5).

In the secondary, cornerback Jamal Harris (6-0, 185) leads Minnesota with three interceptions.

In last year’s game, OSU tailback Antonio Pittman outdueled the Big Ten’s leading rusher by gaining a career-high 186 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Troy smith passed for 233 yards and three touchdowns to lead the 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to a 45-31 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers in front of 54,825 fans at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Minnesota’s Lawrence Maroney, the leading rusher in the Big Ten, was able to churn out 114 yards on 16 carries in the first half. But he did not have similar success in the second half as the nation’s best rushing defense held Maroney to just 13 yards on nine carries and a fumble.

The Buckeyes’ scored on the game’s opening possession by going 80 yards in seven plays as Smith connected with Santonio Holmes on a 41-yard touchdown pass to give Ohio State an early 7-0 lead just two minutes and 18 seconds into the game.

Following the kickoff, Minnesota drove down to the OSU 14 yard line on their first possession of the game, but on a third-and-8, Cupito was unable to get the ball to Jared Ellerson. Minnesota kicker Jason Giannini was wide right on a 32-yard field goal attempt and the Buckeyes held on to a 7-0 advantage.

Ohio State countered on the change of possession by moving down to the Minnesota 14-yard line in eight plays, a drive that was capped off on a 31-yard field goal by Josh Huston, putting the Buckeyes ahead 10-0 with 7:09 remaining in the first quarter.

Minnesota responded quickly by going 80 yard in six plays. Starting at their own 20 yard line, Cupito completed a 14-yard pass play to Wheelwright before Maroney darted down the right side for a gain of 53 yards. Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins dragged him down at the OSU 13 yard line, which saved a touchdown.

The Gophers scoreed four plays later when Maroney plunged in from the 1 yard line to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 10-7 with 5:16 left in the opening quarter.

That touchdown was quickly negated thanks to the speed of Ted Ginn, who ran 100 yards untouched through the Gophers’ kick coverage for a score that put the Bucks’ on top 17-7 just 13 seconds later.

Minnesota added points on their next two possessions to tie the game at 17-all as Giannini kicked a 30-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the first quarter, and Cupito found Ellerson for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 11:57 left in the second quarter.

The closest the Buckeyes got to the end zone to close out the first half came on the following possession as OSU advanced the ball down to the Minnesota 24-yard line. But on a fourth-and-1, Smith was stuffed for no gain on a quarterback sneak that ended the drive.

The Buckeyes put the peddle to the metal in the second half and raced out to an early two-touchdown advantage as the OSU defense toughened up in the third quarter by holding the Gophers to three-plays-and-out on the first possession of the frame.

Starting on their own 28-yard line, it took just two running plays by Pittman to put Ohio State back on top. After the first play netted five yards, Pittman busted through the middle of the Minnesota defense and raced 67 yards for his first touchdown of the season that gave OSU a 24-17 lead with 12:47 left in the third quarter.

In effort to tie the game once again, Minnesota went six plays and drove down to the OSU 32. Faced with a fourth-and-2, Buckeyes’ defensive end Mike Kudla chased down Maroney for no gain on the play, giving the ball to OSU on downs.

Ohio State capitalized on their defensive stand by going 68 yards in seven plays that was capped off on a 37-yard pitch and catch from Smith to flanker Anthony Gonzalez that put the Buckeyes’ ahead 31-17 with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

Cupito, who finished the game passing for 396 yards, got 68 of those on Minnesota’s next scoring drive as he hit Jakari Wallace for a gain of 32 which was followed with a 44-yard strike to Ellerson, putting the Gophers’ on the OSU one-yard line. Russell dove in from there on the next play as the Gophers’ came within a possession of the Buckeyes at 31-24 with 6:14 left in the third quarter.

The rest of the game was basically all Ohio State, as Pittman added a four-yard touchdown run with 13:28 remaining in the game.

Smith later threw his third touchdown pass of the contest with Holmes catching his second of the game on a 30-yard connection. The touchdown was a result of a fumble by Maroney that was forced by OSU safety Nate Salley, and was recovered by defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock.

Minnesota scoreed with 58 seconds left on a one-yard run by Russell that made the final score a little closer, but the game was already decided.

The Buckeye defense yielded 578 yards to the Gophers, which was the second-most in school history. OSU allowed 659 yards of total offense to Illinois in 1980, but the Buckeyes still won the game 49-42.

Ohio State’s 45 points were the most since they scored 50 points vs. San Jose State in a 50-7 win in 2002. The point total vs. Minnesota is the highest on the road by a Jim Tressel-coached team and the most by the Buckeyes since a 45-14 win at Iowa on Nov. 7, 1998.

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After going three plays and out on their first two possessions, and in the process spotting Indiana a 3-0 lead, the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes scored 44 unanswered points while the defense held the Hoosiers scoreless the remainder of the game to post a 44-3 win in front of 105,267 fans at Ohio Stadium, Saturday afternoon.

On a picture-perfect autumn day in Columbus, the Buckeyes were nearly flawless themselves. Other than a long punt return bu IU’s Tracy Porter that setup a 34-yard field goal by Austin Starr, a fumble by OSU quarterback Troy Smith, plus a missed PAT by placekicker Aaron Pettrey were the only blemishes on the afternoon.

While Smith had one of OSU’s miscues with a third quarter fumble, he also did a lot of good to further enhance his position as the front-runner in the Heisman Trophy race.

Smith was 15-of-23 passing for 220 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

But Smith had to shake off some rust after throwing four straight incompletions to start the game, then he didn’t miss much after that.

Smith connected on the next seven out of eight total attempts, with three of those for touchdowns.

“I think the coaches figured out it would take something simple to get the ball rolling today,” Smith said following the game. Someone called the right plays, so the credit should go to the coaches. Some games start the way you want and some don’t. I wouldn’t say I was out of sync, I would say their defense played well.”

On OSU’s first scoring drive, the Buckeyes covered 87 yards in seven plays capped off on a 23-yard pass with the Buckeyes facing a third-and-1 as Smith found tight end Rory Nicol wide-open in the middle of the field for the touchdown.

After holding Indiana’s offense to just three plays before a short punt, the Buckeye offense went back to work, scoring in just four snaps and covering 54 yards with the final play a 31-yard aerial strike from Smith to Ted Ginn Jr. to put OSU ahead 14-3 just eight seconds into the second quarter.

The Ohio State defense held firm once again following the kickoff, allowing just two first downs.

IU’s Demetrius McCray was stopped for a loss of a yard by cornerback Antonio Smith, and defensive end Jay Richardson sacked Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis before an incomplete pass forced the Hoosiers to punt.

Back to work, the OSU offense needed nine plays to cover 78 yards for their next touchdown, a five-yard pass from Smith to Anthony Gonzalez that put the Buckeyes ahead 21-3 with 6:32 left in the second quarter.

Key play of that drive was on a third-and-4 at the IU 22 yard line when Smith hit Ginn on a crossing route for a gain of nine and a first down.

After both teams alternated punting three times, Ohio State had the ball on their own 49 yard line with just 44 seconds left until halftime, but it would take just 24 ticks to score.

On the first play, Smith found Brian Robiskie in the middle of the field for a gain of 21 yards with a 15-yard personal foul facemask tacked on to put the ball on the IU 14.

Another pass to Robiskie down the near-sideline put the Buckeyes at the IU one yard line before tight end Jake Ballard stretched out to haul in a Smith TD toss to put OSU up 28-3.

Ohio State’s next touchdown came from the arm of Ginn, not Smith, who tossed a 38-yard touchdown pass to Nicol on a flea-flicker play that gave the Buckeyes a 35-3 advantage with 9:04 left in the third quarter.

“We work on design, or trick plays, all the time in practice. After I carried out the fake, I turned around and saw a perfect spiral,” Smith said of his college and high school teammate. “Ted always says if he gets the chance he’d throw a touchdown. (Rory) Nicol made a great play on the ball, too.”

Aaron Pettrey drilled a 51-yard field goal late in the third quarter, and Chris Wells added a 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth to make the final score 44-3.

“Today we were out-coached and out-played by a team, that on this day, was No. 1,” Indians head coach Terry Hoeppner said. “The game is won up front and we did not do well on either side of the ball up front. Again, we gave up too many big plays and that has to be fixed.”

While Ohio State’s offense put points on the board, the defense played equally well.

The Buckeyes held the Hoosiers to just seven yards rushing and 165 yards of total offense on the afternoon.

Ohio State has intercepted at least one pass in all eight games this season.

Cornerbacks Malcolm Jenkins and Andre Amos each picked off passes from Indiana’s backup quarterback Blake Powers, giving OSU a total of 15 interceptions on the season.

“We really stepped up today as a unit. We were in a bit of a tough spot there to start the game, but we were able to hold them to a field goal,” sophomore linebacker Marcus Freeman said. “The defensive line did a great job of staying in their lanes and containing the quarterback.”

Cornerback Antonio Smith had 12 tackles to lead the Buckeyes, including a tackle for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble.

“I love watching him play. You love to see a guy like him succeed,” defensive tackle David Patterson, back from his injury, said of his teammate Antonio Smith.

Defensive ends Vernon Gohlston and Jay Richardson both recorded two sacks.

Offensively, Ohio State had 270 yards rushing and 270 yards passing. That’s a balanced attack.

Antonio Pittman had 16 carries for 105 yards, Chris Wells had 68 yards on 10 attempts, and Maurice Wells added 62 yards in nine tries.

Eight different Buckeyes caught passes on Saturday, with Ginn leading the way with five receptions for 72 yards. Anthony Gonzalez hauled in four for 69 yards.

Up next, Ohio State hosts Minnesota on Homecoming Weekend. Kickoff on Saturday is at 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ABC Sports.

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Date: Saturday, October 21
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Place: Ohio Stadium, capacity 102,329
TV: ESPN 8: The Ocho with Cotton McKnight and Pepper Brooks. Actually, it’s going to be on ESPNU, with the “U” meaning that “YOU” probably won’t be able to see it on TV.
Radio: The Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network with 73 stations across Buckeyeland with “Big Daddy” Paul Keels, Jim Lachey, and Marty Bannister calling all of the action.

Saturday’s game marks the 82nd time Ohio State and Indiana have met on the gridiron.

The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 64-12-5, including a streak of 13 consecutive wins against the Hoosiers.

Ohio State has only lost twice to Indiana since 1960, with IU’s two wins coming in 1987 and 1988.

Indiana has a record of 4-3 overall, and 2-1 in the Big Ten. They have recorded wins over Western Michigan (39-20), Ball State (24-23), Illinois (34-32), and Iowa (31-28). IU’s losses have come at the hands of Division I-AA member Southern Illinois (35-28), Connecticut (14-7), and they were hammered by Wisconsin (52-17).

The Hoosier Offense

Offensively, Indiana has done a decent job overall, but they have some serious concerns in the rushing department. Even against weak opponents, the Hoosiers have struggled toting the rock.

Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis might remind a few people of another former IU quarterback, Antwan Randle-El, with his athletic ability. He is very mobile, and is not afraid to tuck the ball and run when needed.

Four different players have 36 or more rushing attempts, and Lewis leads the team with 66 carries, though IU’s top ground-gainer is fullback Josiah Sears with 225 yards on 36 tries.

Others who will see action at tailback are sophomore Marcus Thigpen (58-202) and redshirt freshman Demetrius McCray (34-185).

Lewis, though, is far from a polished passer. He has five touchdowns to go along with three interceptions and is only completing 53.4 percent of his throws.

His favorite target is 6-foot-7 James Hardy, who has 21 receptions for 291 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Four other Hoosiers have 16 or more catches on the year, so Lewis will distribute the ball fairly well.

Lewis’ best game so far this season came last week in Indiana’s upset win over Iowa, as he threw for 255 yards on 19-of-25 passing and three touchdowns without an interception.

The Hoosier Defense

Yet another Big Ten team that struggles defensively.

Last week, Iowa posted 480 yards of total offense against Indiana and still lost. In the game prior to that, Illinois had 433 yards. In fact, both Iowa and Illinois outgained Indiana, yet the Hoosiers managed to come away with a victory.

Three weeks ago, Wisconsin obliterated the IU defense to a tune of 543 yards as John Stocco passed for 304 and P.J. Hill added another 129 on the ground.

Even Division I-AA Southern Illinois nearly reached 400 yards in their win over Indiana, coming up three feet shy.

Indiana’s best defensive effort came in their 14-7 loss to Connecticut, holding the Huskies to just eight first downs and 273 total yards. Of that total, 257 of that came on the ground, with UConn managing to get just 16 yards passing on 13 attempts.

Prediction

The question is, when will this game be decided by: the end of the first quarter, or by halftime? And how many quarterbacks will get to play of Ohio State?

Don’t forget to set your DVR’s and TiVo’s to ONN at 11 pm., Saturday night, to record this classic.

Ohio State 41, Indiana 7

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