COLUMBUS, Ohio – On Dec. 11, 2023, X user Drew Janda wrote in a now-famous post, “The haters said I couldn’t do it. And they were correct.”
For the past two weeks, commentators and fans nationwide pointed to Indiana’s weak schedule to diminish its 10-0 record. It hadn’t faced a ranked team, after all. Not to mention, Michigan’s defense helped hold the Hoosiers to just a five-point margin of victory despite subpar coaching and quarterback play.
Even though Indiana had an extra week to prepare, Ohio State made the Hoosiers look like pretenders and the haters look like prophets in a 38-15 win over the Hoosiers.
However critical people are about Ryan Day’s ability to win trophies, he’s a damn good coach. Will Howard is a damn good quarterback. Jim Knowles runs an airtight defense. Ohio State has one of the most complete rosters in college football — they’re the odds-on favorite to win the national championship for a reason.
“They’re loaded,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said postgame. “I give Ohio State a lot of credit. They dominated the game defensively.”
That they did, coach. After Indiana put together an 11-play, 70-yard opening touchdown drive, it gained a paltry 28 net yards on its next seven drives combined (excluding a kneel-down to end the first half). Defensively, Indiana forced a three-and-out to start the game and a turnover on downs after taking a 7-0 lead, but Day and Co. adjusted. The Buckeyes scored on five of their final seven drives.
Howard rose to the occasion, looking efficient, smart and poised under center. He went 22-for-26 for 201 yards, three touchdowns (one rushing) and the only blemish on his record was a tip-drill interception from which Indiana did not score any points. Caleb Downs broke off an electrifying 79-yard punt return touchdown to push the score to 21-7. From there, Ohio State suffocated Indiana’s offense to keep the visitors at arm’s length in front of 105,751 raucous fans.
“We didn’t handle the noise very well,” Cignetti said. “We just didn’t.”
Indiana’s defense got very little help from what was one of the nation’s best offenses entering Saturday. Led by Cody Simon’s 2.5 sacks and a timely forced fumble from Lathan Ransom, the Buckeyes held Indiana to 151 total yards — its worst offensive output of the season.
Kurtis Rourke completed eight passes for a mere 68 yards, stonewalled largely by the inability of Indiana’s offensive line to respond to blitzing Ohio State defenders. Knowles’ defense keyed in on Rourke’s silent snap count and found themselves in the Indiana backfield so often they nearly had to start paying rent.
When paired with two self-inflicted mistakes on special teams, Indiana’s offensive futility led to a lot of short fields for Howard and a Buckeye offense that is as stacked as they come. They did what great teams are supposed to do when handed extra chances: Leave no doubt.
I’ll put my hands up and be the first to admit that I thought Indiana would play Ohio State closer. I said on the Pack the Rock Podcast that Indiana would win, 21-17. Indiana had played clean football all season long and Day has notoriously lost the big games. I was very wrong.
Yes, Indiana cut Ohio State’s lead to 16 points late in the fourth quarter, but the defense followed by giving up a 39-yard rush to TreVeyon Henderson on what should’ve been a stock-standard inside rush for only a handful of yards.
Instead of walking into the end zone, Henderson slid down at the one-yard line, presumably to allow the Buckeyes to run the clock out. Cignetti didn’t use a timeout, effectively waving the white flag. Howard snuck into the end zone anyway, nullifying Henderson’s selfless act and drawing the ire of some Indiana fans.
Here’s the thing: Smack talk works both ways. If you walk into Assembly Hall on day one and say Ohio State sucks, then don’t be surprised when the Buckeyes run up the score and mock you after they beat you by double digits at home. I don’t care if it’s unsportsmanlike.
You don’t like it? Play better. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot repeatedly. Don’t give one of the nation’s most loaded rosters extra chances because of botched snaps, surrendering a first down in two plays after third and 35 and taking so many sacks that you’re forced to completely abandon the passing game.
I said a lot of things on X both in the week leading up to the game and throughout the season about how Indiana deserved to belong in the discussion as one of the Big Ten’s best rather than a pretender that fluked its way to a 10-0 record because of a soft schedule. In a particularly viral post, I said if Indiana was in the SEC that there’s no way we’d be talking about them being left out of the Playoff at 10-0, irrespective of strength of schedule.
It's tough to say whether Indiana is a pretender or not. You could argue that an offsides-turned-false start, an errant snap and a punt return touchdown decided the game. You’d be wrong, though. While one play can change the momentum of a game, very rarely is a 60-minute football game actually won or lost on one snap. Bury your head in the sand and ignore Cignetti’s words at your own peril.
“Every time we dropped back to pass, something bad happened,” Cignetti said.
It’s not like Indiana didn’t have its chances — the Hoosiers held a 1:20 advantage over the Buckeyes in terms of time of possession. They had their opportunities.
“Our guys just didn’t respond very well,” Cignetti said.
There were signs that a star-studded defense could pose problems against Indiana when Michigan came to Bloomington on Nov. 9. The difference between Michigan and Ohio State is that the Buckeyes are much better-coached and they have a capable quarterback with stars around him. So, too, do other CFP contenders.
Does Indiana still belong in the Playoff?
“The answer’s so obvious,” Cignetti said.
Maybe they do. One thing is certain, though — if Indiana goes into a hostile environment and plays like they did at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, they’ll get dog-walked up and down the field. I’m sure teams are licking their chops looking at how the Buckeyes stonewalled an offense that was averaging over 450 yards per game. Knowles’ defense took a mile for every inch Indiana gave them.
Indiana got some help with Florida handing No. 9 Ole Miss its third loss of the season. That should knock the Rebels out of CFP contention and give Indiana an avenue to make it in at 11-1, which was the most likely outcome entering Saturday. Additionally, the selection committee putting four Big Ten teams in the top five of its latest rankings shows that it values the conference.
The Hoosiers will be on the bubble, but they should be one of the 12 teams standing in December provided brand bias and hypotheticals don’t leave the committee in a chokehold. This season will go down as the greatest single-season turnaround in FBS history. Cignetti, his staff and the players should be commended for that.
That said, Saturday was a reality check: You can’t talk about how a well-established college football power sucks, tell people to shove narratives up their you-know-whats and then fail to adjust when that team starts kicking your ass every time you have the ball. Welcome to big-ticket college football.
