October is here and that means autumn has definitively arrived.
For college football fans, perhaps it’s not the temperature dropping or the leaves losing their greenish hue that allows this truism to set in. It’s the fact that conference play involving their favorite team is on the verge of heating up.
That’s certainly the case this Saturday as Ohio State travels to Bloomington to face Indiana in both teams’ Big Ten opener. The Buckeyes had an up-and-down non-conference slate but remain undefeated and have, for the most part, maintained their top-ranked status in the eyes of most observers. The Hoosiers themselves are also undefeated, a feat they haven’t achieved after four games since 1990.
The last time these two programs played each other when both had yet to lose a game was way back on October 3rd, 1942. The Buckeyes would win that day 32-21 en route to their first-ever national title under the iconic Paul Brown. Is it some kind of freaky coincidence that Saturday’s contest occurs on the exact same date 73 years later, especially considering OSU just won their eighth title under another soon-to-be legendary coach in Urban Meyer?
Might fate favor the Hoosiers this time on the third of October? After all, when the Hoosiers got off to that 4-0 start back in 1990, it was the Buckeyes who, similar to this year, made their way into southern Indiana. IU would remain undefeated when the clock struck zero in the fourth quarter with the game ending in a 27-27 tie.
Two years earlier, Indiana was also an undefeated 3-0-1 after four games with OSU coming to town. When all was set and done in Memorial Stadium that year, the Hoosiers romped to a 41-7 win, their biggest ever over the Buckeyes and, it turns out, their last victory in the series. That 1988 season was also IU’s last appearance in the final AP poll of the year when they were ranked 20th.
It’s been feast for the Scarlet and Gray and downright famine for the Cream and Crimson on the gridiron in the nearly three decades since. The Buckeyes have made 24 bowl appearances compared to the Hoosiers’ five and have a 23-6 edge in winning seasons. They’ve also won ten shared or outright Big Ten crowns and two national titles in that time.
For IU, those bowl numbers are skewed due to the success the program enjoyed under Bill Mallory in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since their 1993 appearance in the Independence Bowl, the Hoosiers have had all of one season above .500. That came in 2007 when they finished 7-6 and played in the Insight Bowl.
Clearly, success on the football field has become expected in Columbus while proving elusive in Bloomington. Lending credence to this notion is the fact that since the turn of the century Indiana’s winning percentage is a paltry .328. Of the 64 schools that are currently members of Power Five conferences, only Duke’s .278 mark during that span is worse.
That’s one of many reasons the Hoosiers start to 2015 is such a breath of fresh air and hints at a sense of optimism for the future of the program. IU athletic director Fred Glass has shown a tremendous amount of patience with head coach Kevin Wilson considering his first four seasons in charge have yet to yield a bowl appearance. With non-conference play over and the team still unblemished so far, it appears such level-headedness with respect to the job status of the head coach might be on the cusp of yielding dividends.
Still, Ohio State is no Southern Illinois, whose failed two-point conversion attempt preserved a 48-47 win for IU in the season opener. They’ll also prove a much bigger challenge than Florida International, Western Kentucky and Wake Forest, whom the Hoosiers beat by just an average of eight points. That said, sometimes it’s not the margin of victory that’s important to a team’s confidence. It’s merely the fact you closed each game with a W, especially for a program as success-starved as Indiana’s.
Will the Buckeyes notch another win as they continue to move forward towards defending last year’s College Football Playoff title? Or can Indiana pull off a program-defining upset and get to 5-0 for the first time since 1967, which incidentally was the year they last won the Big Ten title and made their only Rose Bowl appearance?
Here are a few things I’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend.
Three Things to Watch For on Saturday
Can OSU’s vaunted defensive front slow down Jordan Howard?
Kevin Wilson was one of the top offensive coordinators in the country at Oklahoma before he took the Indiana job. It’s no surprise then that he’s been able to turn the IU offense into among the most prolific in the conference. The Hoosiers currently lead the Big Ten in total offense, averaging 522.3 yards per game.
Running back Jordan Howard has been a key cog in this well-oiled machine. He may in fact be the biggest prize amongst the many UAB players forced to transfer after the disbandment of their football program. LSU’s Leonard Fournette (you’ve heard of him, right?) is the only player in FBS averaging more rushing yards per game than Howard right now.
A key to Howard’s success has been the robust run blocking he’s received from his offensive line. That unit, which includes two possible future pros in right guard Dan Feeney and left tackle Jason Spriggs, will face the biggest challenge of the season. That’s what happens when you run into a defensive front that includes Joey Bosa and Adolphus Washington, who themselves could end up playing on Sunday.
The battle in the trenches will play perhaps the most crucial role into whether or not the Hoosiers can keep this one close.
Will the Hoosier secondary avoid getting carved up by Cardale Jones?
Speaking of a particular matchup that could go far in determining whether IU makes a game of it or OSU roles rather convincingly is a shaky secondary’s ability to limit big plays in the passing game. Buckeye signal caller Cardale Jones should be coming into this game brimming with confidence after throwing for a career high 288 yards and two touchdowns last week against Western Michigan.
He might also be salivating at the chance to throw against a Hoosier pass defense that’s second worst in FBS, giving up 360.5 yards per game. You have to bet that given Meyer’s emphasis on Jones improving his deep ball in talking with media this week that he’ll be much improved in that regard.
How will Darius Latham’s suspension affect OSU’s ability to run the ball?
It was announced earlier in the week that Hoosier defensive tackle Darius Latham was suspended indefinitely from the team. This after he had already missed the first game of the year for a violation of team rules.
His absence could have an adverse affect on IU’s ability to neutralize Ohio State’s multifaceted run game. In the three games he was a part of, he registered an average of 1.67 tackles for loss per game, good enough for sixth best in the conference.
Not only can the Buckeyes use Ezekiel Elliott in traditional ground and pound fashion, they can put Braxton Miller in the wildcat while also utilizing jet sweep packages with hybrid backs Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, and now Miller since he’s moved to that position this year.
Marshall himself had a breakout game running those very schemes against IU last year in a game the Hoosiers led in the second half. He’ll look to do the same Saturday after a relatively quiet start to the season so far.
But of particular concern to Indiana with Latham missing will be Elliot’s vision and physicality both outside and between the tackles. The St. Louis native is one game shy of his tenth consecutive game of 100 or more rushing yards dating back to last season. You can rest assured he’ll figure prominently in a game plan that will look to prey upon IU’s perceived weakness down the middle while also utilizing Elliott’s raw speed once he’s in the second level of the field.
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