‘Ready to Fight’ – Full-Throttle Hoosiers Prepare for Ohio State
By Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Record October heat has pushed Indiana into the Mellencamp Pavilion and execution is crisp, focus intense, chatter minimal. These all-business No. 5/4 Hoosiers (6-0 overall, 3-0 in the Big Ten) are very much in tune -- with No. 4/5 Ohio State (5-1, 3-0) coming to Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium on Saturday -- with what needs to be done.
Later, when practice is over and linebacker Isaiah Jones and offensive lineman Carter Smith gather in the Don Croftcheck Team Room, perspective is clear, passion in check.
To a point.
“As much as I'd like to say we need to keep the preparation the same every week,” Smith says, “I think there is a little bit of special detail going into everybody's preparation this week.”
National buzz is everywhere for a matchup rich in intrigue, from IU’s nation’s-best 22-game winning streak and coach Curt Cignetti’s 19-0 record at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium, to Ohio State’s Heisman Trophy-favorite wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and the Buckeyes still steaming from losing a 20-point, fourth-quarter lead at Texas last month and in losing to the Hoosiers last season.
Buzz crashes against Cignetti’s “indomitable will” approach that every Hoosier follows. You win on Saturday based how you prepare in the days leading up to it, no exception, no deviation.
“This game means everything to us,” Smith says. “We pour our hearts and souls into this. We want to give the town something special to remember. But at the end of the day, we always have to treat every game like it's just the next one. We're just playing Ohio State this week, and that's all there is to it.”
That mindset carried IU to last year’s national championship. It enabled the Hoosiers to rally from 11 points down in the final 12 minutes last Saturday at previously unbeaten Nebraska. Stay resilient, don’t give in to frustration, treat every game with equal importance.
“It's the next game, the next week,” Jones says. “You have to have urgency in everything you do. That's the difference between us and some teams. We try to practice and prepare like every week's an Ohio State week or every week's a Big Ten championship week or national championship week."
“That's our standard that we try to prepare to whether we're opening up with North Texas or it's week seven and we're playing Ohio State. You can't be a good team and just turn it on when you want. You can't be like, ‘all right guys, we got to practice really good this week.’ You can't do that just for the good teams.
“It's an every week thing. That's where we hold ourselves to a standard, coaches and players. It doesn't matter who we're playing, it's going to be the same production. It's going to be the same level of intensity at practice.”
IU beat Ohio State 13-10 in last December’s Big Ten title game at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, snapping a losing streak to the Buckeyes that began in 1989. There is no carry over, Smith insists, because that game is in every Hoosiers’ rearview mirror.
“That's something Coach Cig has been preaching all year. He's trying to kill all the complacency from last year, and that carries over into today. That's something we as players also have to do. Last year is last year, and we're full throttle onto this week.”
Ohio State brings multiple challenges, none more so than dealing with Smith, who is rewriting Buckeye record books, a receiver so good Cignetti and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian have called him a “freak.”
Ohio State coach Ryan Day has said, partly in jest, that when you cover Smith one-on-one, he’s open; when you double cover him, he’s open; when you triple cover him, he’s still probably open.
In six games, Smith has 48 catches for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns. In less than three full seasons, he’s set program records for touchdown catches (38), catches (211) and receiving yards (3,474).
Smith is the catalyst for an offense that leads the Big Ten in scoring (42.7 points) and total offense (503.5 yards). Quarterback Julian Sayin leads the conference in passing yards (295.3 per game) and efficiency (194.4) while completing 71.2 percent of his passes for 17 touchdowns and two interceptions.
For comparison, IU quarterback Josh Hoover completes 68.2 percent of his passes for 227.3 yards a game, 17 TDs, and no interceptions.
Running back Bo Jackson has rushed for 460 yards and four touchdowns. Ja’Kobi Jackson has 354 and six.
What are the keys to stopping Ohio State’s offense?
“It always starts up front,” Jones says. “You’ve got to stop the run. They do a pretty good job running the ball, and then obviously they have really talented receivers on the outside.
“That's their game plan. They're going to run the ball. They're going to target their best receiver. That’s the legs of the offense.
“When you stop the run and take the legs out from underneath them, they’ve got to start playing left-handed. They’ve got to start doing things that are uncharacteristic for them. That's where we try to focus -- we're not going to let you beat us with your best people. We're not going to let you beat us with the guy that's been torching the rest of the country.
“It starts up front. You have to stop the run. If you can't stop the run, then you have to over-allocate resources to stuff the run, and then (Smith) gets a one-on-one quadruple move down the middle of the field. So, it starts there.”
Where will it end?
“Top five matchups are never going to be easy,” Smith says. “It's going to be a four-quarter game. That's something that we need to really lock into this week. That we're going to be ready for the fight, and we know our opponent.”