Same ol' Hoosiers

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It was Ohio State's first drive of the game, and the Hoosier defense forced a fumble from freshman running back Antonio Pittman on the Buckeye 41-yard line. However, the play was called back after a replay, only to have OSU sophomore quarterback Troy Smith complete a 59-yard touchdown pass on the very next play. \nThat's how the game went for the Hoosiers as they were defeated 30-7 at Ohio State in front of 104,538 fans Saturday. The Buckeyes snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 4-3 (1-3 Big Ten) while the Hoosiers fell to 2-5 (0-4 Big Ten).\nThe only real bright spot in IU's game was the play of senior wide receiver Courtney Roby. With 49 seconds left in the first half, Roby became the Hoosiers' all-time leading receiver. Roby, who became the career leader in catches two weeks ago against Northwestern, now has 2,832 receiving yards in his career, breaking a school record that has stood since 1987. Roby's biggest play came in the first quarter when he caught a 42-yard pass from LoVecchio which led to IU's only score of the game. LoVecchio finished the game with 156 passing yards and completed 14 of 25 passes. \nRoby again downplayed his own production, but was optimistic with his team's ability to move the ball at times during the game. However, he was unhappy with IU's offensive consistency. \n"I thought we moved the ball well at times today and we did complete some good passes," Roby said. \nDespite OSU backups getting the start in both the quarterback and halfback positions, IU's defense was rendered useless against Ohio State's ground attack. Pittman had a career day against the Hoosiers, logging 144 yards and a touchdown on the ground while he only averaged 30 yards per game prior to the contest. Smith went 12 for 24 for 161 yards and two touchdowns in only his first career start with the Buckeyes. \n"I think Troy played with a lot of confidence," said OSU Coach Jim Tressel. "I think he knew most of the time what was going on around him, and what he needed to do. "\nIU has also made a career out of giving up big yards to mobile quarterbacks this season, and Smith's performance was no exception as the Buckeye added 58 yards on the ground, good for more yardage than any IU rusher. Ohio State completely owned the Hoosiers within the ground game as IU gave up 282 rushing yards while only producing 53 net yards on the ground. \nJunior defensive end Victor Adeyanju said he was especially disappointed with the Hoosier defense's inability to stop the run.\n"I thought we defended the pass well. However, we did not do a good job of stopping their running game," Adeyanju said. \nOhio State kicker Mike Nugent lived up to his billing as one of the premier kickers in the country. Nugent single-handedly outscored the Hoosiers with perfect 3-for-3 field goal accuracy. Nugent topped off the performance with a 52-yard field goal in the third quarter after IU's defense limited OSU's production to only 16 yards in the drive. \nSenior linebacker Cleo Harbison said OSU's first touchdown was especially hurtful because the Hoosiers have been working to contain big plays for some time. \n"It happens, but you've just got to eliminate some of the breakout plays and we've been trying to work on that in practice," Harbinson said. \n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.