Ohio State sophomore running back Master Teague III (33) rushes the football down the field during the Ohio State-Indiana game on Nov. 21. Ohio State won 42-35. Credit: Christian Harsa | Assistant Photo Editor
On a day when junior quarterback Justin Fields looked human through the air, the Ohio State rushing attack kept the offense on track.
The Buckeye rushing trio of Fields, redshirt sophomore running back Master Teague III and graduate running back Trey Sermon combined for 307 yards in what was their best performance this season. Following the game, Fields gave credit to the unit for picking up the slack while he struggled in the passing game.
“When I’m not picking up the offense, other players have to pick me up. So, I think Master, Trey and those other running backs did a great job out there,” Fields said. “They were running north-and-south and being physical with the other team so they helped me out a lot and they helped the team out a lot.
Leading the charge in the Buckeye backfield was Teague, who had a much-needed career day.
Teague finished the game with a career-high 169 yards on 26 carries while adding two touchdowns against the aggressive Indiana defense.
Teague’s largest contribution came mid-way through the second quarter as he broke free for a 41-yard touchdown run — his longest of the season. The run lifted the Buckeyes back into the lead after Indiana tied the game earlier in the quarter.
On what was his first touchdown run to start outside of the red zone, Teague said it felt great to finally be able to finish a long run with a score but shared the credit with his lead blockers.
“That’s one part of my game that I do have and I have that capability of being a home-run hitter but I just haven’t been able to do that yet so I was glad I was able to do that today,” Teague said. “Shoutout to the O-Line, they did a great job blocking on that play.”
In a minimized role, Sermon added 60 yards on just nine carries.
In the first three games, Teague and Sermon largely split the workload with Teague getting just 11 more carries than Sermon.
On Saturday, Teague received 15 more carries than the Oklahoma transfer, which he said helped him get into a better rhythm as the game wore on.
“Overall, I felt I got into a good groove and was able to make plays and help the team win and come to a victory so I feel pretty good about that,” Teague said.
With Teague’s expanded role against Indiana, he said his focus still remains on helping the team win, no matter how many carries he has.
“For the most part, I believe in the coaches and I’m just gonna be coachable,” Teague said. “Whatever they want us to do, I wanna do great at it.”
Although Fields struggled through the air, he made up for it on the ground finishing the game with 78 yards on 15 carries and a rushing touchdown.
In the first three games, the Buckeye running game struggled to find consistency, however they were able to find it Saturday as Fields, Sermon and Teague all finished with an average of more than five yards per carry.
With the big performance, Teague said he feels good about the progress the unit has made since the start of the season.
“I think it’s improving every week,” Teague said. “Overall, I feel good, great about it. It’s a blessing.”
