Ohio State is officially 1-0 to start the 2023 season.
The Buckeyes’ offense never quite got going in Bloomington, scoring only 10 points in the first half and 23 overall, but the defense dominated all day, allowing Ohio State to control the game from start to finish and secure a 23-3 win over Indiana in its season opener.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3 Ohio State | 7 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
| INDIANA | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| SEPT. 2, 2023 • Memorial STADIUM • Bloomington, IN | |||||
Ohio State’s offense scored a touchdown on its opening possession, leaning heavily on the run game as TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle McCord, Chip Trayanum and Miyan Williams combined to run the ball seven times for 52 yards. In a three-play sequence to conclude the drive, McCord completed a pass to Gee Scott Jr. to convert 4th-and-2, Trayanum ran for 17 yards on his first play in the game and Williams – with Trayanum in front of him as a fullback – ran for a 7-yard touchdown on his first play in the game.
The Buckeyes would not return to the end zone for the rest of the first half.
Ohio State went for it again on 4th-and-2 from the 29-yard line on its third possession of the game, but McCord was intercepted by Phillip Dunnam. On a play that was designed to go to Trayanum, McCord forced a throw over the middle after Trayanum got knocked down by a defender.
Ohio State’s defense held Indiana scoreless on its first three possessions, limiting the Hoosiers to just 22 total yards on their first three drives. The Hoosiers took advantage of the interception to score their first points of the game on their fourth possession, settling for a 42-yard Chris Freeman field goal to make it 7-3. But that would be the only time Indiana would score in the entire game.
Devin Brown saw his only playing time of the first half on Ohio State’s fourth possession, but the Buckeyes went 3-and-out as Brown was stuffed for a 3-yard loss by Indiana defensive end Andre Carter on a third-down rushing attempt.
| OHIO STATE | METRIC | INDIANA |
|---|---|---|
| 380 | TOTAL YARDS | 153 |
| 143 | RUSHING YARDS | 71 |
| 31 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 33 |
| 4.6 | AVERAGE per RUSH | 2.2 |
| 2 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 237 | PASSING YARDS | 82 |
| 21-36 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 9-21 |
| 11.3 | AVERAGE per COMPLETION | 9.1 |
| 0 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 23 | 1st DOWNS | 10 |
| 67 | TOTAL PLAYS | 54 |
| 5.7 | YARDS PER PLAY | 2.8 |
| 4-4 | RED ZONE | 0-0 |
| 4-12 | third down conv | 2-10 |
| 4-24 | PENALTIES | 4-45 |
| 32:36 | POSSESSION | 27:24 |
The Buckeyes got the ball back with 38 seconds left to play before halftime after a fourth-down pass breakup by Josh Proctor, and McCord returned to the game for the final drive of the first half. The Buckeyes got to Indiana’s 22-yard line with a 24-yard connection between McCord and Cade Stover, but had to settle for a 40-yard field goal attempt from there, which Jayden Fielding made on the first field goal attempt of his Ohio State career.
Ohio State’s slow offensive start continued on the opening possession of the third quarter as the Buckeyes went 3-and-out. The Buckeyes drove to Indiana’s 4-yard line on their next drive but ended up settling for a 22-yard Fielding field goal after McCord was stuffed for no gain on a 3rd-and-goal rushing attempt from the 4-yard line.
The Buckeyes finally made it back to the end zone on their second possession of the third quarter with Williams entering the game for one play to run the ball in just as he did on the Buckeyes’ opening drive. Williams’ 3-yard touchdown run capped off a six-play, 88-yard drive that was highlighted by a 49-yard Stover catch.
Ohio State got back to the 4-yard line on its next drive after a 4th-and-9 conversion on a McCord wheel-route completion to Williams, but the Buckeyes settled for another 22-yard Fielding field goal after a pair of incomplete passes by McCord on 2nd-and-goal and 3rd-and-goal.
Brown returned to the game for Ohio State’s final possession. He attempted the first three passes of his Ohio State career but completed only one of them on a checkdown to Dallan Hayden, which went for a 2-yard loss.
McCord finished the game with 20 completions on 33 passing attempts for 239 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception. Stover was Ohio State’s leading receiver with five catches for a career-high 98 yards, while Trayanum was the Buckeyes’ leading rusher with 57 yards on eight carries.
Defensively, Ohio State held Indiana to only 153 total yards, forcing six punts and two turnovers on downs.
With its first win of the season now secured, Ohio State will look to improve 2-0 next Saturday at noon, when the Buckeyes will play their first home game of the season at Ohio Stadium vs. Youngstown State.
Game Notes
- Offseason transfers Josh Simmons and Davison Igbinosun and redshirt freshman center Carson Hinzman all started in their first Ohio State game appearance while sophomore safety Sonny Styles also made his first career start.
- True freshmen who made their Ohio State debuts against Indiana included wide receivers Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss and Noah Rogers, offensive lineman Luke Montgomery, linebacker Arvell Reese, cornerback Jermaine Mathews and safety Malik Hartford.
- Ohio State has now won 29 straight games against Indiana, the longest active winning streak by any FBS team in a single opponent.
- With the 23-3 victory, Ohio State has scored at least 20 points in 75 straight games, an NCAA record.
- Saturday’s game was the first of six road games Ohio State will play during the regular season.
