Sophomore safety Caleb Downs (2) throws up the peace sign on the way to a 79-yard punt return touchdown. No. 2 Ohio State went on to defeat No. 5 Indiana 38-15 Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
Safety Caleb Downs stood on his own 21-yard line and waited for the punt.
His next stop was the end zone.
Ten years and one day after Jalin Marshall broke open Ohio State’s 2014 game against Indiana on its way to a national championship, the Buckeyes did it again.
Downs’ third-quarter, 79-yard touchdown return put Ohio State up 21-7 against a previously undefeated Hoosiers team on their way to 31 unanswered points and a 38-15 victory over Indiana (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
Head coach Ryan Day said he and his team understood there was a lot on the line against Indiana, and the Buckeyes had to perform accordingly.
“We know that we want to be playing our best football,” Day said. “We also know what was at stake. You don’t win this game, you have no chance to go to the Big Ten Championship.”
A top-five matchup and a possible trip to the Big Ten Championship game fueled emotion on both sides of the ball.
On Indiana’s opening drive, third-down conversions of 13 and 19 yards by quarterback Kurtis Rourke helped the Hoosiers charge down the field. Its 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive was capped off by a 2-yard score by Ty Son Lawton, which effectively silenced the home crowd.
On its following possession, Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) moved the ball down the field with multiple short gains, getting to the Hoosiers’ 35-yard line before two penalties pushed the Buckeyes back to their own 40.
On third-and-35, Quarterback Will Howard tossed a 25-yard pass to the sideline to wide receiver Carnell Tate, cutting Ohio State’s remaining yards to 10.
The distance to a first down may have prompted other teams to punt. Not Ohio State.
On fourth-and-10, Howard connected with Tate again, this time for 24 yards to secure the first down and get into the red zone.
Although the Buckeye drive was fruitless, it proved Ohio State was not going to give an inch in a must-win game. When a false-start penalty on Indiana’s next drive made a third-and-1 become a third-and-6, a shockwave of energy rushed through the ‘Shoe.
A sack by Buckeye linebacker Cody Simon then forced a punt, and Ohio State took off.
Simon finished the day with a team-leading 10 tackles, two and a half sacks and a forced fumble.
Day said Simon and his fellow linebackers were vital in rushing the quarterback to create pressure on Rourke and the Indiana offense.
“I thought the linebackers, at least it looked on film, were timing up the blitzes really well,” Day said.
Five plays later wideout Emeka Egbuka had the Buckeyes in the endzone off an 11-yard touchdown pass from Howard.
The momentum from that moment was all Ohio State. After the teams traded turnovers,
Indiana opened its next drive with two first downs, before disaster struck.
A muffed snap on a punt forced Indiana punter James Evans to scramble before he was ultimately brought down by defensive end Caden Curry on Indiana’s 7-yard line.
Three plays later, running back TreVeyon Henderson gave Ohio State its first lead, scampering into the end zone on a four-yard rush to solidify the halftime score at 14-7.
The second half was all Ohio State.
Indiana punted on their first possession to Downs who took the ball from the Ohio State 21-yard line, spun off a Hoosier defender and burst into open space for a 79-yard touchdown.
Howard said he viewed this score as the game’s turning point.
“I don’t think I’ve ever gone crazier on the sideline than I did after [Downs’] return,” Howard said. “I think that was really what sealed the game for us right there; that just put them out of it.”
Ohio State forced a three-and-out on Indiana’s next possession, then marched 75-yards down the field in 10- plays before a 1-yard touchdown pass from Howard to Thurman.
The Buckeye defense continued to brutalize Indiana. Rourke was sacked by defensive end Jack Sawyer twice in three plays to end the third quarter, with defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau contributing to the first tackle.
Ohio State then chewed up nearly five minutes of fourth-quarter clock before a 45-yard field goal by kicker Jayden Fielding put the Buckeyes up 31-7.
The Hoosiers cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 16 with a rushing touchdown from Lawton, capped by a two-point conversion, but Ohio State delivered the final blow with a 39-yard rush by Henderson.
The receiver slid down at the 1 to wind even more clock before Howard snuck into the endzone to end the scoring at 38-15.
