Indiana at Ohio State

Written by Steve Janus

The Ohio State Buckeyes will look to remain unbeaten when they host the Indiana Hoosiers this Saturday in Big Ten action. The Buckeyes struggled in a 24-13 win over Illinois last week, while the Hoosiers lost a shootout at Michigan 42-35. The Buckeyes have just four home losses in the last five years in conference play, so it comes as no surprise that the current college football odds have Ohio State listed as 22-point favorites over Indiana at home.

Indiana(3-1, 0-1 Big Ten): The Hoosiers offense has really came on strong to start the 2010 season, as they are averaging 455 yards a game this season. The majority of the damage has came from the passing game, as quarterback Ben Chappell is averaging nearly 343 yards a game passing, and already has 12 touchdowns on the season. In last weeks loss to Michigan, Chappell threw for 480 yards and three touchdowns, as the Hoosiers racked up 568 yards of total offense. With so much emphasis put on the passing game, Indiana doesn’t really put up very big numbers on the ground. That should actually play to their advantage this week, as the Buckeyes are allowing just under 80 yards a game rushing.

The big concern for the Hoosiers this week will be on defense, as they are giving up 207 yards a game on the ground this season, and go up against a Buckeyes offense that is averaging 234 yards. After allowing Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson to throw for 277 yards and run for another 217 yards, the Hoosiers defense will once again have its hands full with Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who is also just as good running the ball as he is throwing it.

Ohio State (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten): I really expected Ohio State to go into Champaign last week and walk all over the Fighting Illini, but that was definitely not the case, as they really had to battle to pull off the win on the road. Pryor had another big day for the Buckeyes running the football, as he finished with 104 yards on the ground. Pryor attempted just 19 passes against Illinois, completing nine for just 77 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Pryor did injure his left leg in the win over Illinois, and I would be surprised if he does a lot of running out of the pocket this week against Indiana, as the Buckeyes really need this guy the rest of the way.

With Pryor most likely limited in the running game, look for running backs Brandon Saine and Dan Herron to get the majority of the work load this Saturday. Against the Fighting Illini Herron pounded the rock for 95 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, while Saine had just 14 yards on eight carries, but did find a way to contribute with an eight yard touchdown catch. With the way the defense is playing the Buckeyes won’t need much help from the offense in this one.

Looking at the Odds: Even with Pryor not at full strength, I think the right play is on the Buckeyes -22 in this game, as they are just two talented on both sides of the football for Indiana to stick around and make a game out of it. As good as Indiana has looked this season on offense, they are not going to put any where near those kind of numbers against the Ohio State defense, and I don’t think they have a chance at stopping the rushing attack of Herron and Saine in this one. My final score prediction is Ohio State 38, Indiana 13.

Comments

Got something to say?