Indiana football’s undefeated streak came to an end in heartbreaking fashion with a 19-15 loss to Ohio State on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers kept it close with the Buckeyes for the majority of the matchup and were in position for a late go-ahead touchdown before Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh were unable to connect on fourth down. Indiana moves to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten with a trip to Michigan looming.
Here’s three stats that stood out.
Jeremiah Smith: 4 rec, 68 yards
Bryant Haines did just about everything
it could to turn this one into a win, including limiting the best player in college football to a pretty pedestrian receiving statline.
Indiana was able to frustrate Julian Sayin into some less-than-ideal throws with relentless pressure and broke up a few plays that were heading Smith’s way. He, as great players do, eventually found his way into the endzone for a 38-yard touchdown pass that makes up over half of his receiving yards on the day.
If Indiana’s defense can do that, there’s not much of a limit to what it can do. Soft comfort in the wake of a loss, but notable nonetheless.
Indiana’s 2.5 yards per carry
Indiana’s rushing attack, led by Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr., took the Big Ten by storm early with strong performances against Northwestern and Rutgers before back-to-back lackluster outings against Nebraska and now Ohio State.
The Nebraska stats can be explained by the Cornhuskers’ focus on the run due to high winds in Lincoln and a relatively small amount of offensive plays on Indiana’s part. Ohio State was just able to keep either Richard or Beebe Jr. from breaking one, which made Indiana rely on the passing game for its explosives and, well, we all saw the game.
Indiana needs to figure out the run-pass balance here soon so it can flex its offense’s greatest strength again.
Charlie Becker: 9 rec, 165 yards
Becker really wanted this one. He proved to be the most effective receiver on the field today, hauling in nine catches for 165 yards despite not finding the endzone.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day even found Becker after the matchup to share some words.
This is all to say a few things. For one, Indiana still has one of the best receiving threats in the country on its roster. For another, it’s gonna be worth appreciating that while he’s here because he’ll be doing all this on Sundays sooner rather than later, I think.
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