Ohio State Defeats Indiana, 38-10

First off, I want to give a great big award of failure to the  Ohio Edison Electric Company for their decision to swap out transformers at 12 p.m. on a Saturday, right as Ohio State is about to receive the kick off from the Indiana Hoosiers. Because of this massive amount of idiocy, I was unable to view the first three quarters of the game, being forced instead to listen to the radio broadcast while I contemplated ways to inflict pain on those in charge of this decision.

And while the dulcet tones of Paul Keels did enough to relay the action to me, I still missed an entire 3/4 of visual Buckeye football, one of only twelve 3/4s of a game in a season. So thank you, Ohio Edison, for being incompetent and officially cementing the position of this blog as anti-you. May your company dissolve, and may you lose power while at your next yacht race, or whatever you corporate energy bigwigs do on a Saturday afternoon.

The game itself was a picture of domination for Ohio State. Jumping out to a 31-0 halftime lead, the offense dominated through the air in the first half. Terrelle Pryor tossed three touchdown passes, with his final line going 24/30 (80%), 334 yards, and 0 interceptions. He only rushed the ball three times on the entire day, and even caught a pass from himself on a ball tipped by an Indiana defensive lineman. Pryor’s performance was exactly what was needed after suffering a quad strain in the Illinois game last weekend.  Other than three sacks, he avoided any physical contact from the Indiana defense, instead tearing through their secondary on a regular basis until he was removed from the game in the middle of the third quarter.

  Ohio State ran 64 plays on offense, of which 32 each were passes and runs. Many of the runs, however, came in the second half as the Buckeyes shortened the game with the second team offense.  The Bucks averaged an excellent 9.9 yards per pass, while involving eight different targets in the passing game. DeVier Posey led the team with eight catches for 103 yards and one touchdown, with Brandon Saine and Dane Sanzenbacher both receiving four catches and a touchdown apiece.

Hit the jump for more, including a chart comparing Ohio State and Michigan's defensive performance against Indiana.

The rushing attack averaged 4.0 yards per run, and Boom Herron was the leading rusher with 12 carries, 68 yards, and two touchdowns. Brandon Saine did not receive a carry, but was on the field often.  He is still very valuable as a multipurpose threat, but his role as a true running back has changed. Sophomore Jordan Hall received five carries, and youngsters Carlos Hyde and Jaamal Berry both received ample playing time in the second half.

The defense was, as always, excellent. They were so collectively good that it is hard for me to single out anyone, so I will post the following comparison of the defensive efforts between Michigan and Ohio State against Indiana this season.

2010 Defensive Effort Against Indiana

The table speaks for itself, but also remember that much of Indiana's offensive success against Ohio State came late in the game, when the combination first/second team defense was on the field and when the game was out of reach. Michigan's game against Indiana was a constantly competitive setting.

Game Balls

• Terrelle Pryor. Bounced back from an iffy game against Illinois last weekend by putting on a passing clinic against the Hooser secondary.
• Devon Torrence. The entire defense was excellent, but  Torrence was especially great today. He intercepted Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell and then returned it 25 yards to set up an Ohio State touchdown score.
  
• Ben Buchanan. The first year punter had an excellent day, averaging 50 yards on three punts, with his longest a 53 yard beauty.
• Jim Tressel. Coach Tressel earned his 100th victory at Ohio State, becoming the fastest Ohio State coach every to reach the milestone. Congratulations, Coach Tress!