COLUMBUS — After struggling the past two games, the Ohio State offense found it's rhythm again as the No. 2 Buckeyes blew out the Indiana Hoosiers 56-14 on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
The win may have been a bittersweet one, as Ohio State may have lost another star running back to an injury.
Miyan Williams, who took over as the team's main rusher with TreVeyon Henderson injured, left Saturday's game right before halftime with an apparent lower body injury and needed to be carted off the field. Williams already had tallied 147 yards and a touchdown before the injury occurred.
He did return to the sideline in the second half on crutches and wearing street clothes,
Freshman Dallan Hayden stepped in to carry the load for the Buckeye rushing attack for the second half. Hayden finished the game with 102 yards on 19 carries. Receiver Xavier Johnson also lined up at running back and ripped off a 71-yard touchdown on his only carry.
C.J. Stroud continued to add to his Heisman resumé, throwing for 297 yards and five touchdown passes to lead an Ohio State offense that finished with 662 total yards.
Stroud distributed his passing score to four different receivers on the day, with Cade Stover being on the receiving end of two of those touchdown passes and Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Kamryn Babb each tallying one score.
The Hoosiers (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten) started quarterback Connor Bazelak, who returned to his starting role after sitting out last week’s loss to Penn State with an injury. However his return didn’t last long, as he was benched after the Hoosiers went three-and-out on their first three possession of the game. Bazelak was benched in favor of Dexter Williams II, who threw for two touchdowns.
The biggest moment of the game came with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter as C.J. Stroud threw a touchdown pass to Kamryn Babb from 8-yards out.
The score didn't mean much in the way of the outcome–as Ohio State had the game well in hand–but it meant a lot to the Buckeye fifth-year receiver and his teammates, as it was Babb's first career score wearing the scarlet and grey.
Since arriving in Columbus in 2017, Babb has been kept off the field due to four knee surgeries.
Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 2 CFP) travels to Maryland next Saturday.
Indiana 7 0 0 7 = 14
Ohio St. 21 7 14 14 = 56
First Quarter
OSU–Emeka Egbuka 6 pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles kick), 9:42.
OSU–Dallan Hayden 14 run (Noah Ruggles kick), 4:31.
OSU–Marvin Harrison 58 pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles kick), 2:37.
IND–AJ Barner 7 pass from Dexter Williams (Charles Campbell kick), :04.
Second Quarter
OSU–Miyan Williams 48 run (Noah Ruggles kick), 10:41.
Third Quarter
OSU–Cade Stover 1 pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles kick), 9:33.
OSU–Cade Stover 12 pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles kick), 7:38.
Fourth Quarter
OSU–Xavier Johnson 71 run (Noah Ruggles kick), 14:07.
IND–Donaven McCulley 19 pass from Dexter Williams (Charles Campbell kick), 12:03.
OSU–Kamryn Babb 8 pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles kick), 8:49.
A–103,888.
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IND OSU
First downs 11 26
Total Net Yards 269 662
Rushes-yards 40-150 43-340
Passing 119 322
Punt Returns 1–2 5-25
Kickoff Returns 4-82 2-51
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 9-24-0 19-30-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 4-29 0-0
Punts 12-41.667 5-40.4
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards 2-20 3-15
Time of Possession 26:41 33:19
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Indiana, D.Williams 16-46, E.Simmons 1-44, Henderson 7-25, Shivers 8-20, J.Lucas 6-17, Bazelak 2-(minus 2). Ohio St., M.Williams 15-147, Hayden 19-102, X.Johnson 1-71, M.Harrison 1-18, Stroud 4-8, Rossi 1-(minus 1), (Team) 2-(minus 5).
PASSING–Indiana, D.Williams 6-19-0-107, Bazelak 3-5-0-12. Ohio St., Stroud 17-28-0-297, McCord 2-2-0-25.
RECEIVING–Indiana, Barner 4-8, Coby 1-49, Holt-Bennett 1-28, McCulley 1-19, E.Simmons 1-9, J.Lucas 1-6. Ohio St., M.Harrison 7-135, Stover 3-45, X.Johnson 2-47, Egbuka 2-38, Fleming 2-24, Ballard 1-24, Babb 1-8, Royer 1-1.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.
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