WIn Streak Cracked by Buckeyes
By Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Resilience? Of course there was. It’s all these Indiana Hoosiers know.
Drama? Determination? Drive? They all were in play on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium when No. 5/4 Indiana collided with No. 4/5 Ohio State.
For 22 straight games, it had resulted in IU victory, and it nearly did again. On the brink of a dramatic comeback victory, a potential game-winning decisive 27-yard touchdown catch missed by the width of Hoosier receiver Nick Marsh’s left foot.
The winning streak, and head coach Curt Cignetti’s 19-game unbeaten home record, ended by a 19-15 score.
“We had a lot of opportunities,” Cignetti said. “We just couldn’t do it.”
And then, when asked about Hall of Fame coach Nick Saban saying sometimes there can be more value in a loss than you realize, Cignetti paused before saying, “We learned our lessons before the game. We just weren’t good enough to seize it today.”
Seizing nearly came with four minutes to glory, then three, then two, then one.
Hoosier hearts race amid a sellout crowd of 54,532. Fourth and four arrived with IU (6-1 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten) on the Ohio State 27-yard line and the clock ticking. The Buckeyes (6-1, 4-0) unleashed an all-out blitz. Marsh raced open toward the end zone. Under pressure, quarterback Josh Hoover arched a spiral under a cloudless blue sky. The ball drifted to the edge of the end zone. Marsh caught the ball, but he couldn’t get his left foot in bounds.
Opportunity lost.
“We had plays and didn’t make them,” Hoover said. “A lot of that falls on me.”
It does not, he added, fall on Marsh, who totaled three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s not Nick’s fault at all. If I put the ball a little further inside, it’s an easy catch.”
Two third-quarter fumbles -- IU had gone 1,437 consecutive plays from scrimmage without losing a fumble -- and a pair of missed field goals from usually reliable kicker Nico Radicic set IU up for disappointment and perspective.
“Everything we want is still ahead of us,” Hoover said. “This is a journey. Our best is ahead of us. We made some plays and gave ourselves a chance at crunch time. We’ll be better.”
Better next week means a trip to Michigan.
“This sucks,” said receiver Charlie Becker, who had nine catches for 165 yards, “because I feel we kind of beat ourselves, but the sun’s going to rise tomorrow. We’ll get better. We’ll watch the film. We’re going to compete and get ready for Michigan.”
With 12:46 left in the game, the Hoosiers trailed 19-7. They had faced similar fourth-quarter peril the previous week at Nebraska, when they trailed 17-6 with 12 minutes left before rallying for a 20-17 victory.
Against Ohio State, they scored a touchdown on Hoover’s 19-yard pass to Marsh and his two-point conversion toss to running back Turbo Richard to close within five points. They had two possessions to get those winning points.
They couldn’t get it done.
“We were expecting a house blitz,” Cignetti said about the last play. “You never really know. We had it. We just didn’t make it happen. It’s a hard one to swallow. You learn from it and move on.”
Ohio State followed Nebraska’s game plan by crowding the box, shutting down the run and forcing IU to throw. The Hoosiers rushed for 73 yards on 29 attempts. Hoover was 20-for-40 for one touchdown and no interceptions.
That it wasn’t enough didn’t diminish the program’s national status (more than 600 media, plus more than 20 NFL scouts attended), fueled by a winning culture and resiliency that enabled the Hoosiers to have won those 22 straight games, including last season’s national championship.
“I told the kids after the game that this was a tough one,” Cignetti said, “but I was really proud of the effort. We gave ourselves a chance to win.”
More will come, starting next week at Michigan.
“It’s all still ahead of us,” Cignetti said. “We can accomplish anything we want, all of our goals, except going undefeated.”
Safety Amare Ferrell excelled with seven tackles, two interceptions, and two pass breakups. Specifically, he forced incompletions on consecutive first-quarter Ohio State pass plays that led to a punt. His second-quarter interception off a deflected pass resulted in Richard’s one-yard touchdown run and a 7-3 IU lead. His third-quarter interception ended another Buckeye threat.
“Two big interceptions and that first one that led to points was huge,” Cignetti said. “The second one was huge, too.”
Yet, Ferrell wanted more, specifically on the fourth-quarter 38-yard touchdown pass from Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin to receiver Jeremiah Smith, a Heisman Trophy favorite. IU had limited Smith to three catches for 30 yards before he adjusted to an underthrown pass with Ferrell and cornerback Jamari Sharpe around him for what became the game-winning score.
“I played decent,” Ferrell said, “but I feel with that touchdown, I could have made that play. When I was looking for the ball, I kind of tripped.”
IU held Ohio State to 23 points below its season average, and to just 313 total yards. It forced five Buckeye punts and intercepted two passes. It held them to 17 fourth-quarter yards.
“Our defense really played well,” Cignetti said. “They had their backs to the wall quite a few times.”
Added defensive lineman Tobi Osunsanmi, who had two sacks and a quarterback hit: “The defense got together and took it upon ourselves to make a stop and give the offense the ball as much as possible and as many opportunities as we could for them to make plays,”
Ohio State opened with four straight completions to drive 67 yards and get in the red zone before IU forced a field goal and a 3-0 score three minutes into the game.
The teams traded punts. Hoover found his rhythm by connecting with Becker for 17 yards and tight end Brock Schott for eight more to get into Ohio State territory before the drive ended with another punt.
Ferrell’s early second-quarter interception led to Richard’s seven-yard touchdown run and a 7-3 Hoosier lead.
IU threatened again with Hoover’s 13-yard pass to receiver Davion Chandler, 16 yards to Becker and 19 yards to Marsh to reach the red zone. The Hoosiers failed to score when Radicic missed from 32 yards.
Ohio State followed with a touchdown for a 10-7 halftime lead.
Two of the nation’s best offenses had struggled to find their rhythm. Hoover was 6-for-15 for 77 yards. Sayin was 10-for-21 for 147 yards. IU rushed for 61 yards. Ohio State had 29.
Chandler’s fumble to start the second half led to a Buckeye field goal and a 13-7 score.
A blitz forced a Hoover fumble that Ohio State recovered. IU countered with Ferrell’s second interception. Hoover shrugged off a banged-up shoulder after a run to hit receiver Tyler Morris with a 16-yard pass that led to Radicic’s 55-yard field goal attempt. It was short.
Still, it was a one-score game entering the fourth quarter. Smith’s 38-yard touchdown catch around Sharpe and Ferrell pushed Ohio State’s lead to 19-7. Its two-point conversion try failed.
Hoover connected on passes of 14 and 21 yards to Becker before hitting Marsh with a 19-yard touchdown pass and then Richard with the two-point conversion. Ohio State’s lead was down to 19-15 with 10:30 left.
IU forced consecutive Buckeyes punts, but the Hoosiers couldn’t take advantage.
“I’m proud of the guys for continuing to fight,” Hoover said. “I know we’ll bounce back. We’ll respond in the right way.”