BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Ohio State picked an opportune time to get back to its bread and butter.
Ezekiel Elliott carried the ball 23 times for 274 yards — 159 of those coming in the third quarter — and scored three touchdowns as he helped the Buckeyes turn a halftime deficit into a 34-27 win Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Elliott had touchdown runs of 55 and 65 yards in the third quarter to spark Ohio State and galloped 75 yards in the fourth quarter to find pay dirt and the Buckeyes were able to survive a last-ditch drive by the Hoosiers that ended with an incomplete pass in the end zone.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 0 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 34 |
| INDIANA | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
Ohio State outgained the Hoosiers, 517-402, but turned the ball over three times — including two fumbles by Jalin Marshall — that helped Indiana stick around.
It was another sluggish start for the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes, as Ohio State fell in an early 10-0 hole before two field goals from Jack Willoughby made the score 10-6 Indiana at halftime.
Quarterback Cardale Jones completed 13 of his 17 first-half pass attempts for 200 yards, but Ohio State failed to get into the end zone despite a pair of trips to the red zone. Elliott gained just 31 yards on 10 carries in the first half and had a touchdown reception called back after a penalty on Braxton Miller.
Ohio State returns home next Saturday to host Maryland.
| Ohio State | Stat | INDIANA |
|---|---|---|
| 517 | NET TOTAL YARDS | 402 |
| 272 | RUSHING YARDS | 176 |
| 34 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 55 |
| 8.0 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 3.2 |
| 3 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 3 |
| 245 | PASSING YARDS | 226 |
| 18-27 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 17-36 |
| 13.6 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 13.3 |
| 1 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 13 | 1st DOWNS | 21 |
| 5 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 5 |
| 8 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 11 |
| 0 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 5 |
| 61 | TOTAL PLAYS | 91 |
| 8.5 | YARDS PER PLAY | 4.4 |
| 2-3 | RED ZONE | 4-5 |
| 2-14 | 3rd DOWNS | 7-22 |
| 1-1 | 4th DOWNS | 1-3 |
| 8-109 | PENALTIES | 7-50 |
| 25:46 | POSSESSION | 34:14 |
Game Notes
- Ohio State has now won 15 consecutive true road games and 18 in a row overall. Both are the longest active streaks in the nation.
- Ohio State has now won 25 Big Ten regular season games in a row, extending its own Big Ten record.
- Ohio State is 71-12-1 all-time as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team and 54-4 as a No. 1 team vs. unranked opponents.
- The Buckeyes have now won 20 consecutive games vs. Indiana and improve to 71-12-5 all-time vs. the Hoosiers.
- Running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed for a career-high 274 yards, which is tied for second on Ohio State’s all-time single-game rushing list with Keith Byars vs. Illinois in 1984 (Record is 314 by Eddie George in 1995). Elliott rushed for three TDs on runs of 55, 65 and 75 yards.
- Elliott averaged 11.9 yards per carry on the day, an Ohio State record.
- Elliott has now rushed for at least 100 yards in 10 consecutive games. His 274 yards marks his fourth career game with at least 200 yards, a school record.
- The duo of Elliott (2,869/28 TDs) and Braxton Miller (3,204 yards/33 TDs) have combined for more than 6,000 yards rushing and 60 rushing TDs in their careers.
- Quarterback Cardale Jones improved to 8-0 as a starter in his career. He finished with 245 yards passing with a 23-yard TD pass to Michael Thomas.
- Wide receiver Michael Thomas has now caught a pass in 21 consecutive games. He finished with four catches for 54 yards and a score.
- H-B Jalin Marshall caught six passes for career high 110 yards. It was the first 100-yard game of his career. He also had six punt returns for 76 yards, including a long of 38.
- Ohio State’s defense held Jordan Howard, the nation’s leading rusher coming into the game (total rush yards), to 34 yards on 14 carries. They also held IU to more than 100 yards below their season average.
- Ohio State tallied 11.0 TFL on the day, led by a career-high 3.5 by DE Tyquan Lewis.
- DE Joey Bosa recorded a season-high 2.5 TFL.
- DE Adolphus Washington recorded a career-high 10 tackles.
- Linebacker Raekwon McMillan led the team in tackles for the second consecutive game with 14. He has 30 in his past two games.
- Urban Meyer improves to 147-26 in his career, and maintains the highest winning percentage (.849) among active coaches. He improves to 43-3 at Ohio State.
- Meyer is a perfect 15-0 in true road games in his Ohio State coaching career.
