Snap Counts: Ohio State Leans Heavily on Starters in 38-15 Win Over Indiana

While the Buckeyes could have considered giving their backups more playing time in the fourth quarter after pulling out to a 31-7 lead, they kept at least some of their starters in for every play of the game, adding one more touchdown on a 1-yard Will Howard run with less than a minute to play to put an exclamation point on a 23-point victory over the previously unbeaten Hoosiers.

As a result, 19 of Ohio State’s 22 starters played at least 40 snaps against the Hoosiers. The only Buckeyes who didn’t start the game that played more than 20 snaps on offense or defense were TreVeyon Henderson (who would be more accurately described as a co-starter than a backup), Carnell Tate (who only didn’t start because the Buckeyes opened the game in a two-tight end set) and Jermaine Mathews Jr., Ohio State’s top backup cornerback.

In total, 56 Buckeyes saw playing time in Ohio State’s second-to-last game of the regular season with 17 Buckeyes playing on offense, 24 appearing on defense and another 15 on special teams only.

Ohio State’s snap counts vs. Indiana at every position, using data from Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics, are broken down below.

Quarterbacks

Will Howard: 56

Howard led all nine of Ohio State’s drives at quarterback and continued making his case that he belongs in the Heisman Trophy conversation as he completed 22 of 26 passing attempts – an 85% completion rate – for 201 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, which resulted from a pass going off the hands of tight end Jelani Thurman.

Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson: 31
Quinshon Judkins: 26

Judkins made his fourth straight start against Indiana after Henderson started Ohio State’s first seven games of the season. For the second week in a row, Henderson played more snaps but Judkins received more carries.

Henderson, who often subbed in on third downs to take advantage of his ability as a receiver and pass blocker, ran the ball nine times for 68 yards and one touchdown, which would have been 69 yards and two touchdowns if he hadn’t unselfishly slid down at the 1-yard line on his breakaway 39-yard run on Ohio State’s final possession. He added three catches for five net yards. Judkins had 14 carries for 36 yards and two catches for seven yards.

TreVeyon Henderson could have walked into the end zone.

The @OhioStateFB RB opted to slide to kill more clock #B1GFootball on @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/DGq8Ayek2p

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 23, 2024

Wide Receivers

Jeremiah Smith: 51
Emeka Egbuka: 45
Carnell Tate: 38
Brandon Inniss: 3
David Adolph: Special teams only

Ohio State used its starting wideouts almost exclusively against Indiana. Inniss was the only backup receiver to see playing time on offense; all three of his offensive snaps came on Ohio State’s second-to-last possession of the game, with two of them coming in four-receiver formations.

Egbuka was Ohio State’s leading receiver against Indiana with seven catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. Tate caught four passes for 68 yards, all on Ohio State’s second drive of the game. Despite playing the most snaps among receivers, Smith had his quietest game of the season statistically with only three catches for 34 yards, though he still made multiple impressive leaping grabs along the way.

Jeremiah Smith made this catch look way easier than it was pic.twitter.com/5vLCEpjqlu

— CleBuckeye (@CleBuckeye23) November 23, 2024

Tight Ends

Gee Scott Jr.: 34
Bennett Christian: 19
Will Kacmarek: 18
Jelani Thurman: 13
Patrick Gurd: 2

With Kacmarek’s return from an injury that sidelined him from Ohio State’s previous four games, what had been a three-tight end rotation became a four-tight end rotation as each of the Buckeyes’ top four TEs played more than a dozen snaps. The Buckeyes’ frequent use of multi-tight end packages against the Hoosiers left plenty of playing time to go around at the position, with Gurd also playing two snaps as a fullback on goal-line plays.

Scott caught two passes for six yards against the Hoosiers while Thurman made up for his drop with his first career touchdown, which came out of the T-formation with Kacmarek and Gurd also in the game.

ANOTHER BUCKEYES TD@OhioStateFB makes it a 28-7 game in the third quarter pic.twitter.com/Ja4Ch4FwLw

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 23, 2024

Offensive Linemen

Donovan Jackson: 56
Austin Siereveld: 56
Carson Hinzman: 56
Tegra Tshabola: 56
Josh Fryar: 56
George Fitzpatrick: Special teams only
Luke Montgomery: Special teams only
Joshua Padilla: Special teams only

Ohio State rolled out its fifth starting offensive line combination of the season against Indiana. After starting Ohio State‘s previous three games at left guard, Hinzman moved to center to replace Seth McLaughlin, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in practice last week. Siereveld, who previously started the Buckeyes’ first two games of the season when Jackson was sidelined by a hamstring injury, took over as Ohio State’s new starting left guard.

All five starters played every snap of the game against Indiana and collectively had a strong showing against what had been a highly effective Hoosier pass rush, allowing only one sack.

Defensive Ends

JT Tuimoloau: 43
Jack Sawyer: 40
Caden Curry: 18
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 16
Mitchell Melton: 9

Tuimoloau and Sawyer played their second-highest snap counts of November as they were each on the field for at least 40 plays against Indiana. Both of them made a big impact in those plays as they led Ohio State’s ferocious pass rush vs. the Hoosiers; Tuimoloau tallied five tackles with one sack while Sawyer recorded four tackles with 1.5 sacks.

Melton returned to action as Ohio State’s No. 5 defensive end after missing the Northwestern game with an undisclosed injury. He played all nine of his snaps in the second half.

Defensive Tackles

Tyleik Williams: 47
Ty Hamilton: 42
Kayden McDonald: 18
Eddrick Houston: 10
Hero Kanu: 5
Tywone Malone Jr.: 3
Will Smith Jr.: 1

Like at defensive end, both of Ohio State’s starting defensive tackles played more than 40 snaps against Indiana while no backup played more than 18 defensive snaps. Williams played his third-highest snap count of the season and recorded three tackles with one for loss while Hamilton notched four tackles with a fumble recovery.

McDonald and Houston were the only backup defensive tackles to see first-half playing time against Indiana. Kanu, Malone and Smith all saw action in the second half with Smith playing his only snap on the final play of the game.

Linebackers

Cody Simon: 63
Sonny Styles: 63
Arvell Reese: 6
C.J. Hicks: Special teams only
Payton Pierce: Special teams only
Gabe Powers: Special teams only
Garrett Stover: Special teams only
Joey Velazquez: Special teams only

Reese played his second-lowest snap count of the season as Simon and Styles were each on the field for every defensive snap while the Buckeyes only used their three-linebacker package sparingly against the Hoosiers. Simon had a career game against Indiana, recording 10 tackles with 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble, while Styles tallied eight tackles.

RELATED Three Stars of the Game: Caleb Downs, Will Howard and Cody Simon Earn Top Honors for Their Performances Against Indiana

Cornerbacks

Jordan Hancock: 55
Denzel Burke: 54
Davison Igbinosun: 47
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 25
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 9
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: Special teams only
Bryce West: Special teams only

Hancock led all cornerbacks in playing time for just the second time this season as the Buckeyes had three cornerbacks on the field for most plays against Indiana. Hancock also played some third-down snaps at free safety, with Styles taking his place at slot cornerback and Caleb Downs moving to strong safety in that package.

As it has throughout the second half of the season, Ohio State continued to deploy a three-man rotation at outside cornerback against Indiana with Mathews rotating in for each of Burke and Igbinosun. Burke had a strong showing against Indiana, allowing just one catch for six yards, but Igbinosun continued to struggle with penalties as he was flagged for pass interference three times.

Safeties

Caleb Downs: 62
Lathan Ransom: 55
Malik Hartford: 1
Jaylen McClain: 1
Leroy Roker III: Special teams only

Downs was on the field for every defensive play until Indiana’s final one-play series, when Hartford and McClain both entered the game for a rep at safety. Ransom was on the field for all but eight plays. Downs – who we’ll talk more about in the punt return section – had five tackles against the Hoosiers while Ransom had four with a forced fumble.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 6
Joe McGuire (punter): 6
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 6
George Fitzpatrick: 6
Josh Fryar: 6
Luke Montgomery: 6
Joshua Padilla: 6
Austin Siereveld: 6
Jelani Thurman: 6
Tegra Tshabola: 6
Bennett Christian: 4
Patrick Gurd: 1
Gee Scott Jr.: 1

Gurd and Scott each replaced Christian for one extra point in the second half after Christian briefly left the game with an injury, though he would return to action on both offense and special teams. Fielding made his lone field goal attempt of the day from 45 yards out and all five of his extra points vs. Indiana.

Kickoffs

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 7
Patrick Gurd: 7
C.J. Hicks: 7
Jaylen McClain: 7
Payton Pierce: 7
Gabe Powers: 7
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 6
Arvell Reese: 5
Bryce West: 5
Denzel Burke: 4
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 4
Davison Igbinosun: 3
Garrett Stover: 3
Leroy Roker III: 2
Joey Velazquez: 2
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: 1

Five true freshmen saw action on Ohio State’s kickoff coverage unit against Indiana as McClain, Pierce, West, Stover and Roker all helped cover kickoffs for at least part of the game. None of Fielding’s seven kickoffs were returned by the Hoosiers.

Kickoff Returns

TreVeyon Henderson (returner): 3
Brandon Inniss: 3
David Adolph: 2
Bennett Christian: 2
Caden Curry: 2
Patrick Gurd: 2
Jaylen McClain: 2
Payton Pierce: 2
Gabe Powers: 2
Arvell Reese: 2
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 2
Caleb Downs: 1
Emeka Egbuka: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1
Gee Scott Jr.: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Jeremiah Smith: 1
Sonny Styles: 1
Carnell Tate: 1
Joey Velazquez: 1

Henderson served as Ohio State’s kickoff returner for the third game in a row. He hasn’t yet gotten a return past the 25-yard line as he got to exactly the 25 on a 19-yard gain on his only return against Indiana.

Punts

Joe McGuire (punter): 2
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 2
Caden Curry: 2
Caleb Downs: 2
C.J. Hicks: 2
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 2
Lathan Ransom: 2
Gee Scott Jr.: 2
Cody Simon: 2
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 2
Sonny Styles: 2

McGuire averaged 47 yards per punt vs. Indiana. His first punt, a 49-yard boot, was returned for a 12-yard gain.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Caleb Downs (returner): 5
Denzel Burke: 5
Lathan Ransom: 5
David Adolph: 4
Caden Curry: 4
Malik Hartford: 4
Jaylen McClain: 4
Gabe Powers: 4
Arvell Reese: 4
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 4
C.J. Hicks: 3
Ty Hamilton: 1
Brandon Inniss: 1
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 1
Payton Pierce: 1
Jack Sawyer: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Sonny Styles: 1
JT Tuimoloau: 1
Tyleik Williams: 1

Ohio State’s 10-year punt return touchdown drought finally came to an end against Indiana as Downs – who’s taken over as Ohio State‘s primary punt returner in the second half of the season – scooped up a punt off a pair of bounces, made a defender miss with a spin move and went all the way to the house for a 79-yard score.

That first spin by Caleb Downs was just nasty @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/HyDEgYLFvP

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 23, 2024

That return was one of two big plays made by the punt block/return unit against Indiana as Curry also made a 23-yard tackle for loss on Indiana punter James Evans after he let a snap slip through his hands, giving the Buckeyes the ball back at the 7-yard line to set up another touchdown.

Extra Point Block

Denzel Burke: 1
Caleb Downs: 1
Ty Hamilton: 1
Davison Igbinosun: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1
Arvell Reese: 1
Jack Sawyer: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Sonny Styles: 1
JT Tuimoloau: 1
Tyleik Williams: 1

Indiana brought kicker Nicolas Radicic on just once against Ohio State, after its opening-drive touchdown, as the Hoosiers opted to go for two following their second touchdown in the fourth quarter.