Hoosiers on the road to take on No. 3 Ohio State

With eight home games this fall, the Hoosiers had hoped earning bowl eligibility would be in their rearview mirror at this point in the season.

Instead, in order to secure a spot in a bowl game, IU (4-6, 2-4) will have to win consecutive games against Big Ten opponents — a feat the program has accomplished only once since its last appearance in a bowl game in 2007.

The Hoosiers will face No. 3 Ohio State (10-0, 6-0) in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.

IU Coach Kevin Wilson said IU has to slightly modify its preparation due to the combination of fatigue, injuries and a sense of urgency.

“The urgency is we’ve got to keep getting better more than we’ve got to get this win to be a bowl team,” he said.

Coming off of the team’s worst defeat of the season, a 51-3 drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin, Wilson said IU worked to “flush the funk out of that performance” in preparation for the Buckeyes.

“Do you want to rehash that play and be negative, negative, negative?” he asked. “It’s not right. Some things need to be coached and corrected, and sometimes it needs to be flushed and moved on.”

Wilson said with a bowl opportunity on the line for the next two weeks, the Hoosiers’ goal is always constant improvement.

“I need their best two weeks,” he said. “We need to finish these two weeks the best we can, get better offense from a week ago. Got a great challenge this week, and we have to bring every phase of our defense along.”

IU’s defense will try to slow down the nation’s fourth highest scoring offense on Saturday.

Led by junior quarterback Braxton Miller, the Buckeyes average almost 50 points per game. Miller has thrown for 1,466 yards and 17 touchdowns this season while also rushing for 594 yards and three scores.

“I think Braxton is a tremendous runner for a quarterback,” Wilson said. “Now a lot of guys say the guy can’t throw. I mean, his passing percentage is 68 percent, which is a better passing percentage than us.”

When comparing IU and Ohio State’s offenses, Wilson said the Buckeyes have a physical presence and run a threat that the Hoosiers lack.

After being suspended for the first three games of the season, Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, has 120 carries for 947 yards and 11 touchdowns in seven games.

Ohio State’s depth at skill possessions sticks out to IU Defensive Coordinator Doug Mallory.

“I don’t think they necessarily feature one guy in the passing game or one guy in the running game,” he said. “They’ve got a stable four receivers, a talented group of receivers, a talented group of running backs.”

As the Hoosiers prepare for an Ohio State team that hasn’t lost since Jan. 2, 2012, Wilson said IU is going to continue building as a team and as a program, keeping this year’s seniors in mind.

“These guys have a lot of respect for how far some of these seniors and what they’ve gone through and where we’re at,” he said. “It’s the best week. Go play as hard as we can, as best we can, and see if we can be competitive this week and get us on the right side.”

Follow football reporter Andy Wittry on Twitter @AndyWittryIDS.