It’s time for another top-five showdown.
#5 Indiana
Hoosiers
For the third time this season, Ohio State faces a top-five-ranked opponent as it battles Indiana on Saturday. Unlike the first two top-five matchups against Oregon and Penn State, Ohio State will have a home crowd on its side this time as the Buckeyes put their Big Ten championship hopes on the line against the 10-0 Hoosiers.
There’s plenty of questions surrounding the Buckeyes entering this game as they face a team that’s been one of the most dominant in the country without two of their best offensive linemen following Seth McLaughlin’s season-ending injury. Ohio State will need key players on both sides of the ball to be at their best to secure its 30th straight win against Indiana, which will be playing to win on Saturday as it looks to keep its historic season going.
With all of that in mind, we highlight the biggest questions and top players to watch in Saturday’s game and make some predictions for what we’ll see in the Shoe.
Questions
Can Ohio State patch up its offensive line... again?
It's the most obvious question of the day, but it still needs to be asked. Following Josh Simmons' season-ending injury, Ohio State was tasked with rebuilding the left side of its offensive line and eventually found a formula that worked with Donovan Jackson at left tackle and Carson Hinzman at left guard. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes suffered another injury with McLaughlin going down and now will need to put Hinzman at center and Austin Siereveld at left guard.
Besides the obvious human element, the worst part about this injury is the Buckeyes are going to be thrown into the fire against a capable opponent and won't have time to sort out the kinks against a foe it has no chance of losing to. Ohio State seemed confident about its ability to move forward throughout the week, and we'll see just how equipped they are to survive this latest setback going forward.
– Garrick Hodge
Do Ohio State's cornerbacks hold up in coverage?
Indiana's passing attack is the best Ohio State has seen since the Oregon game when the Buckeyes allowed 341 passing yards in a 32-31 loss. The Hoosiers are No. 3 nationally in passing yards per attempt and have four wide receivers with at least 340 receiving yards. Elijah Sarratt is the most dangerous among them with 38 receptions for 685 yards and six touchdowns.
Cornerback Denzel Burke has an opportunity to rewrite the narrative of a disappointing senior season, especially after a career-bad game against the Ducks. If he and Davison Igbinosun hold up on the edges, it will go a long way toward Ohio State's success on Saturday.
– Andy Anders
Is Indiana as good as its numbers suggest?
For all the more Ohio State-specific questions that can be asked here, this is really what this game boils down to.
By the numbers, Indiana has been as good as any team in college football this season. The Hoosiers have scored more than 30 points more than they’ve allowed per game. They’ve held their opponents to only 72.2 rushing yards per game, the fewest in the FBS, while leading the Big Ten with 31 sacks. They’ve averaged 9.9 yards per passing attempt, the third-best mark in the country, while also rushing for more than 120 yards in nine of their 10 games.
If all of that translates to playing against Ohio State, the Hoosiers have a very real chance to beat the Buckeyes. But Indiana has racked up those numbers against a weak schedule and hasn’t faced any opponent comparable to Ohio State this season. Will the Hoosiers get exposed when they finally play a team with a sizable talent advantage, or will Indiana prove it’s for real by beating the Buckeyes or at least keeping the game very close? That’s what the nation will be watching for on Saturday.
– Dan Hope
How will Ohio State's offense attack Indiana's defense?
Like Dan, I have wondered if Indiana is as good as its numbers indicate. The Hoosiers are solid against the run and get after the quarterback, which must have caused quite the conundrum for Ryan Day and Chip Kelly.
It's well-documented that Kelly wants to establish the run, so it wouldn't surprise me if he chooses to pound the rock with TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. However, it also wouldn't surprise me if Kelly elects to have Will Howard pass the ball around to Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate, a wide receiver trio that should be able to create separation against Indiana's defensive backs. To be clear, neither option will be a cakewalk, but whatever Ohio State learns works, it should lean on to have success on Saturday.
– Chase Brown
Players to Watch
Carson Hinzman
Again, well, duh. Hinzman stepped in at left guard the past few games and really was a bright spot on the offensive line. Now, he moves back to his natural position at center. Can Hinzman step up in both run and pass blocking but also fill the leadership void on the line that was created with McLaughlin's absence? We'll soon find out.
– Garrick Hodge
Will Howard
As Garrick mentioned (and both Dan and I mentioned above), a matchup to watch on Saturday will be Ohio State's offensive line versus Indiana's defensive line. The Hoosiers have had tremendous success pressuring and sacking the quarterback. However, they haven't faced an offensive line as talented as Ohio State's – yes, even with Simmons and McLaughlin sidelined – or a quarterback as talented as Howard.
If the 6-foot-4, 235-pound signal-caller can keep off the controversial turf, he could be the difference between a win and a loss for the Buckeyes. In the team's two previous top-five matchups against Oregon and Penn State, Howard completed 74.6 percent of his passes for 508 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
– Chase Brown
Jack Sawyer
Sawyer is building a reputation for playing his best football in November with his performance down the stretch of last season and in Ohio State’s last two games. Against the best passing offense it’s faced since Oregon, Ohio State needs to do a much better job of rushing the passer than it did in its sackless effort against the Ducks; Sawyer building off his recent play and continuing to make difference-making plays off the edge would be a good place to start.
– Dan Hope
Jordan Hancock
Hancock's been having an elite season for Ohio State, and every week things seem to get better and better. He's been a blanket at nickel, allowing just 4.2 yards per target on the season per Pro Football Focus. That's less than the 4.5 yards per attempt of the nation's worst passing offense, New Mexico State.
Proving versatile in the back end, Hancock has played 60 snaps in the box and 68 snaps at deep safety in addition to 264 snaps in his usual slot corner role this year. He has a team-high six pass breakups, and Indiana will try to throw the ball plenty on Saturday.
– Andy Anders
Predictions
Emeka Egbuka collects 100 receiving yards
Egbuka has seven career 100-yard games but only one thus far this year against Marshall. It feels like Ohio State's been saving reps on a player cost some production by an injury last year, as he only has three receptions for 35 yards the last two weeks. But I expect Chip Kelly to scheme him up in some wild ways against Indiana, with Jeremiah Smith helping to deflect some attention.
– Andy Anders
Will Howard throws for 300 yards
Indiana has yet to allow an opponent to throw for 300 yards this season, but it came close against Maryland (289), the best passing offense it’s faced all year. While Ohio State would certainly like to have a balanced attack against the Hoosiers, I don’t know how consistently it will be able to lean on its running game against what’s been a dominant run defense, especially without McLaughlin. The Buckeyes might need a big game from Howard to win this one, and I think he delivers with a performance on the national spotlight that gets people talking about a Heisman ceremony invitation for the Ohio State quarterback.
– Dan Hope
Davison Igbinosun gets called for at least one pass interference penalty
Maybe not the most fun prediction I could have made, but Indiana is in love with back shoulder fades, and Igbinosun is clearly the most physical cornerback Ohio State deploys. Igbinosun has had some problems with penalties the past few weeks, but he's still been pretty effective nonetheless. The Buckeyes can probably live with one mistake, they just can't let it become more than that.
– Garrick Hodge
Denzel Burke bounces back from his poor performance against Oregon
Garrick focused on Igbinosun; I'll focus on Burke. The senior cornerback had the worst performance of his career in the Oregon game, allowing eight catches on eight targets for 179 yards and two touchdowns. This afternoon, against a Hoosiers wide receiver corps that Day said has similar talent to the Ducks, I think Burke will bounce back with a solid performance. I won't predict a certain number of pass breakups or interceptions, but I can guarantee he won't allow the same gaudy numbers he did in Eugene over a month ago.
- Chase Brown
