5 things to know about Ohio State’s blowout of Indiana

»PHOTOS: Ohio State routs Indiana

“We came out to a quick start again,” said Day, whose team was ahead 28-0 in the first half of each of its first two games. “I thought we ran the ball well, controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”

Here are five things to know about the sixth-ranked Buckeyes’ win:

1. J.K. Dobbins outgained Indiana 185-160 in the first half.

That included 175 yards on the ground, the sixth-best rushing performance in a half in school history.

The junior running back finished with 193 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown rushing and another receiving.

To say Dobbins enjoys Bloomington would be an understatement. The Texas native is not only two-for-two when it comes to hitting the century mark on the ground at Memorial Stadium, he has logged two of his best career games.

Dobbins ran for 181 yards on 29 carries the last time Ohio State played at Indiana, the season-opener in 2017. That was also Dobbins’ college debut.

“He’s been in our program now for three years, and veterans have to play veteran,” Day said. “He’s proven that he can be a bell cow. Coming off last year splitting carries with Mike (Weber), he wanted to be that bell cow. He’s showing good leadership and this is a great start for him.”

2. Ohio State extended its winning streak in the series to 25 games.

After a string of blowouts, Indiana has done a better job of keeping it close against Ohio State at times over the past 10 years. This was not one of those times.

“We talked about how Indiana kind of stayed with us in recent years and played until the fourth quarter, so our goal was to come in here and play our game,” Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields said. “It was a business trip. I think we got our business done and the whole team played great. The defense did a great job and we just have to prepare for next week.”

The 41-point margin of victory was Ohio State’s highest against Indiana since a 44-3 win at Ohio Stadium in 2006. The last time they beat the Hoosiers by more than 41 was a 50-7 shellacking in 1984.

The Buckeyes lead the series 76-12-5 (including a 38-10 win in 2010 that was vacated due to NCAA infractions), and they are 28-2-1 in Bloomington.

3. Peyton Ramsey got his second shot at his home-state school.

Replacing the injured Michael Penix Jr., the Cincinnati Elder graduate made his 15th start at quarterback for the Hoosiers but first this season.

Ramsey was not able to replicate the career game he had against Ohio State last season when he threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns at Ohio Stadium last season.

This time he completed only 19 of 33 passes for 162 yards with an interception. He also ran 14 times for 14 yards, including four sacks.

4. The Buckeyes defensive front continued its strong start to the season.

Ohio State’s deep pool of defensive ends led the way with five sacks. They were only officially credited with one quarterback hurry, but the Buckeyes were in the Indiana backfield and Ramsey’s face most of the afternoon.

Chase Young led the way with a pair of sacks while Tyler Friday, Zach Harrison and Jovantae Jean-Baptiste each had one. That was one of two tackles for loss for Friday, and tackle Davon Hamilton added one as well.

“We have to continue to build as we go,” Day said. “We’re gonna start to see teams down the road that have really good offensive and defensive lines that we’ll have to keep building on, but that doesn’t just happen. You have to get yourself emotionally, mentally and physically ready from when you leave that practice field on Sunday all the way to game time the next week. I think we’ve done that for three weeks, but we can’t skip anything, can’t cut any corners as we move forward. That takes discipline.”

5. Fields had a so-so day.

Ohio State’s sophomore quarterback completed 14 of 24 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns.

He did not throw an interception, but he did misfire on a handful of throws throughout the day.

It was the type of performance most quarterbacks would take, but the former five-star prospect has high expectations for himself (not to mention from the outside).

“I definitely did not play up to my potential,” he said. “I missed way too many throws out there. I’ve got to work on that and I’ve just got to keep getting better. I think there is a lot of room to grow.”

SATURDAY’S GAME

Miami at Ohio State, 3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network, 980, 1410, 1450