ANALYSIS: 5 things to know about Ohio State’s top-five win over Indiana

By the time the victory bell started ringing in the southeast tower at Ohio Stadium, Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) and Indiana had both looked pretty much like the teams they were expected to be before the season began: The Buckeyes like a title contender and the Hoosiers like an improved squad with more work to do.

Here are five things to know about the game:

1. The game started perfectly for Indiana, but it didn’t last

The Hoosiers won the toss, forced Ohio State to punt after three plays then went on an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown march that featured a little bit of everything Indiana wanted to do to be successful on offense.

Justice Ellison ran for 15 yards on five carries, Kurtis Rourke completed passes of 13 and 19 yards to convert third downs, and they drew a pair of pass interference penalties on the Buckeyes to keep the chains moving.

Then on the ensuing possession they stopped Ohio State on a fourth-and-1 at the 3-yard line to preserve their 7-0 lead.

That was as good as it got for the visitors.

Indiana gained 70 yards on its first drive then lost 17 the rest of the first half.

The third quarter wasn’t much better as the Buckeyes outgained the Hoosiers 80-36 and outscored them 14-0.

When all was said and done, Ohio State outgained Indiana 316-151 in a game that looked more like it could have taken place in the Jim Tressel era than under current Ohio State coach Ryan Day.

2. Special teams were a huge factor...

Ohio State took the lead with a 7-yard touchdown drive set up by a major miscue by the Indiana punt team. James Evans let the snap go through his hands then was tackled by Caden Curry before he could get a kick away. Three plays later, TreVeyon Henderson ran it in from four yards out to make it 14-7 with 21 seconds left in the second quarter.

That play was a perfect example of why Tressel was fond of saying the punt is the most important play in football (a mantra he himself copied from former Ohio State head coach Francis Schmidt): No other play has the potential to flip field position so quickly.

Caleb Downs provided another reminder early in the third quarter when he returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown, Ohio State’s first one of those in 10 years.

“Maybe it was the ability of the opponent,” Cignetti said when asked about his team’s errors. “(Ohio State) is a good football game that went to Oregon and lost on the last drive of the game at Oregon with a controversial offensive (pass interference) call. This team’s loaded — loaded.”

3. … and so was the crowd

The crowd of 105,751 came out roaring for the defense at the onset and kept up a solid vibe throughout the afternoon. It was loud enough to cause Indiana to abandon its usual cadence and go to a silent count.

“I thought the crowd was awesome,” Day said. “I thought our guys played with great passion. I thought the two of them just played off each other the entire game. I think the fact they had to go to a silent count made a difference in this game. And they certainly tried to clap early, but they couldn’t. They went to the silent cadence and that made a huge difference. I give the credit to the fans. They brought great energy.”

4. Will Howard was sharp again, but the running game was not

With Indiana’s nationally top-ranked run defense attacking the line of scrimmage, the Henderson and Quinshon Judkins did not find much sustained success running the ball. They combined for 134 yards on 23 carries, but 39 of those came on a late run by Henderson.

The Hoosiers’ defensive style does lend itself to allowing some soft spots for intermediate passes, and Howard took advantage by completing 22 of 26 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

That also helped Ohio State play around the loss of center Seth McLaughlin, who was replaced by Carson Hinzman after suffering a torn Achilles during practice Tuesday. Austin Siereveld, a redshirt freshman from Lakota East, slid into Hinzman’s spot at left guard and was mostly not noticed — which is a good thing for an offensive lineman most of the time.

5. Jim Knowles appeared to call a great game.

Ohio State’s defensive coordinator was a under fire for the way his unit performed in a 32-31 loss at Oregon in early October, but he has dialed up the pressure since then with mostly great results.

The Buckeyes held Indiana more than 350 yards and about four touchdowns below their season average by mixing coverages and blitzing frequently.

Cody Simon was the biggest beneficiary. The senior linebacker had a game-high 10 tackles and was frequently in the backfield, finishing with 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

“I just focus on just doing my job,” Simon said. “We practice a lot during the week and I just try to do what they tell me to do and just rely on my instincts. I’m just thankful to be in that position.”

J.T. Tuimoloau also had a sack while Jack Sawyer had 1.5 for the Buckeyes, who made throwing the ball downfield nearly impossible for Rourke, who completed only 8 of 18 passes for 68 yards and was sacked five times.

SATURDAY’S GAME

Michigan at Ohio State, Noon, FOX, 1410