Indiana

It’s getting difficult to get fired up for these when for the 3^rd straight game we face a defense that is almost rock bottom in every meaningful statistic category.    So, rather than dissect the 2013 Hoosiers, let me take a different tact.

This is the final home game for a group of Buckeyes that had three head coaches and one losing season.  Yet, they have gone (so far) 40-8.   Again, with one losing season.  They also have 23 consecutive weeks being nationally ranked in the AP Top 10, a 22 game win streak and a 14 game Big Ten win streak.  Not too shabby.

Oh, and most importantly, they are 2-1 v. that team up North with one to play.

So, thank you to our DBs:   C.J. Barnett, Corey “Pitt” Brown, Christian Bryant, and Bradley Roby (as well as Adam Griffin and Jamie Wood);  WRs Corey “Philly” Brown and Chris Fields;  our OL of Marcus Hall, Corey Linsley, Jack Mewhort, and Andrew Norwell (as well as Ivon Blackmon);  the Special teams combo of LS George Makridis and K Drew Basil;  RB Jordan Hall, the “Gunslinger” QB Kenny Guiton, and of course "El Guapo" Carlos Hyde.    Let’s send these guys out with a win.

A win Saturday will break OSU’s record for longest consecutive wins, currently at 22.   We will also clinch the B1G Leaders division and guarantee a spot in the B1G Championship Game on December 7, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. in Indianapolis.

As for the Hoosiers, yes, they have a pretty good offense going in Bloomington.   But they are a different team on the road.  In 2013, Indiana is 0-3 S/U and ATS when away from Memorial Stadium.  In the last 10 years, Indiana is 11-42 on the road.   They have lost their last 20 v. ranked teams, no matter the venue, and haven’t beaten a ranked team on the road since September 11, 2004 (at Oregon – before Oregon was Oregon).

After last week’s uncomfortable win v. Illinois, there is no way the Buckeyes come out flat in this one.   I think Urban will send a message to the defense to do better than Wisconsin, which held Indiana to 3 points last week.   Carlos Hyde needs 50+ yards to get 1,000 and he should have that early in the 2^nd quarter.   I would expect the benches to empty in the 2^nd half to (a) get some lesser known seniors some playing time and (b) stay healthy for UM and MSU in the next 2 weeks. 

The line has moved up to 34.5 which is insane given Indiana’s offensive production this year.  And the O/U is an unbelievable 81.    If this was a warm day in late September or early October, I could see a shootout.   But I think the Buckeyes’ defense wants to atone for last week and I bet Meyer has given them plenty of incentive this week.   I see a lot of running and the time clock moving much faster than last week’s game.   I think OSU wins big, but not big enough to go with the over.

Schaef says:  Ohio State 54, Indiana 13.