As I sit up here in the press box at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, there is one question that continues to come back to me.
Did we learn more about IU or Ohio State in the Hoosiers' 38-10 loss on Saturday?
My answer: Ohio State.
To me, this game showed just how much better the Buckeyes are than the rest of the teams in the Big Ten, with the exception of Iowa. The league is starting to look somewhat mediocre when you get past the top two teams. Yes, Michigan, Michigan State and Northwestern are still undefeated, but those teams are remarkably better than IU, Illinois, Penn State and Wisconsin.
The No. 2 Buckeyes are a lot like last year's team -- only better. Their defense is faster, stronger and smarter than it was a year ago and quarterback Terrelle Pryor looks a lot more confident in the pocket. I don't see this team losing a game until the BCS National Championship.
For IU, however, there is a silver lining. The Hoosiers return home for two games against Arkansas State and Northwestern, both of which are winnable. Plus, the Hoosiers had to make several offensive adjustments at the last minute when offensive lineman Marc Damisch lost his father and missed the game and running back Darius Willis was held out due to injury.
Quarterback Ben Chappell looked out of sorts at times, but a lot of that had to do with a good Ohio State defense that was playing the pass.
Notable quotes and game notes:
Ohio State defensive lineman Cameron Heyward on Chappell: "We knew coming into today he was a slinger. He has been killing teams going down the field. I feel like the backfield did really well today to stop him. We knew if got him rattled early we could get him to make mistakes and knock him off his game."s
Chappell: "Ohio State is a great team and we just didn't play well enough. We can't make excuses as a team. We weren't able to throw the ball well."
Notes:
- Ten IU players had at least one catch in the game, led by Damarlo Belcher's four grabs.
- IU finished the game with eight tackles for loss and three sacks, both bests on the season.
- Chappell moved into fifth place all-time on IU's career pasing list with 5,434 yards through the air in his career. He passed Trent Green and needs 36 more yards to move into fourth place.
- OSU outgained IU 478-210
- Chappell threw two interceptions, twice as many as he threw in his four previous games this season.
- Larry Black Jr. block a field goal attempt. "It's better than a sack, that's how I look at it," he said.
- Tandon Doss, who had 15 catches for 221 yards against Michigan last week, had only one grab for 12 yards on Saturday.
