Buckeye rushing attack too potent for Hoosiers

After the clock ran out on the IU football team’s hopes of an upset win against No. 8 Ohio State on Saturday evening at Memorial Stadium, IU Coach Kevin Wilson said he was disappointed with the final result.

“It was a real exciting game,” Wilson said. “It was a little tough. We just came up short there.”

The Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3) fell to the Buckeyes 52-49 after scoring 15 points in the final 100 seconds to fall just short of what would have been the biggest win of the Wilson era.

IU has now lost back-to-back games by four points or less after falling during last weekend’s Homecoming matchup against Michigan State 31-27.

Even with the loss, the Hoosiers reached a few milestones to relish.

The Hoosiers scored the most points they ever have against any Buckeye team or against any other top-10 opponent in their 126 years of football.

Even with the Hoosier offense firing on all cylinders, the defense couldn’t stop the Buckeyes.

Ohio State came into Bloomington and posted their third-highest point total of the season.

The Buckeyes recorded 578 total offensive yards with 353 of those yards on the ground, including 305 yards combined from quarterback Braxton Miller and running back Carlos Hyde.

The pair each added a touchdown on the ground for the Buckeye’s offense.

“All week, we talked about how we needed to treat (Miller) as a running back and not much of a quarterback,” junior cornerback Greg Heban said.

Miller and Hyde emphasized their rushing attack, gaining 198 of their 305 yards and both of their touchdowns in the second half.

On the Buckeyes’ first play of the second half, Miller took the ball 67 yards on the ground for the score.

Two drives later, OSU marched the ball down from their own 25-yard line to score another touchdown off a 14-yard pass to Hyde.

In the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes scored two more touchdowns. One came on a one-yard run from Hyde and the other from a 46-yard pass from Miller to wide receiver Devin Smith.

IU found itself down 18 points, 52-34, with 6:47 left in the game.
But the Hoosiers weren’t done just yet.

IU fired back with a 12-yard pass from freshman quarterback Nate Sudfeld to junior wide receiver Duwyce Wilson.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Hoosiers caught their own onside kick and scored again from a 25-yard touchdown pass from Sudfeld to junior running back Stephen Houston.

Sophomore wide receiver Cody Latimer completed the two-point conversion on a run to pull the Hoosiers within three points, 52-49.

The Hoosiers tried another onside kick, but the Buckeyes caught the ball and ran out the clock.

“I have a lot of respect for our kids,” Wilson said. “We keep fighting. It’s just disappointing to be short again.”

Sophomore wide receiver Shane Wynn said his team still has confidence.

“We just have to keep fighting until the finish, never give up and never lose faith,” he said.