Despite loss in B10 title game, Buckeyes in all-too-familiar territory

INDIANAPOLIS — Following the late November dismantling of the University of Connor Stalions, OSU head coach Ryan Day stressed the importance of winning with dignity.

Last Saturday, he also lost with dignity.

At the Big Ten Championship Game postgame press conference, a sullen Day lamented his team’s loss but praised the qualities of his opponent. There was no need to speculate about stolen signals or manipulated communication devices. Like last year, he simply focused on the road ahead.

“This season’s not over,” he said when asked about his team’s future. “I think this is gonna make us more hungry.”

All season, I’ve said the only team that can beat the Buckeyes is the Buckeyes.

I still believe I’m partially right, but that also means I’m wrong.

The Indiana Hoosiers, Big Ten Champions for the first time since 1967, are legit on both sides of the ball and deserve accolades. Their 13-10 win in Lucas Oil Stadium

cemented the Hoosiers’ #1 ranking in the College Football Playoff and likely assured quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the player of the game, a Heisman Trophy victory. It was the first time Indiana has beaten Ohio State since 1988.

Incidentally, does that 13-10 final score sound familiar to anyone? It’s beginning to be a theme recently in rare Ohio State losses.

OSU squandered some scoring opportunities in the red zone twice in the fourth quarter that could have altered the outcome of the game, once by failing to convert a 4th-and-1 from the Indiana 5-yard-line, then by missing a short field goal.

Two scoring chances, zero points.

But the big picture in this game involved the Hoosier’s defensive line, wide receivers Charlie Becker (6 receptions for 126 yards) and Elijah Sarratt (3 receptions, including the go-ahead touchdown), and running backs Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby (121 combined rushing yards).

Of Mendoza’s 222 total passing yards, Becker and Sarratt accounted for all but 59. The balanced attack bent the Buckeyes defense at times, despite an otherwise outstanding performance. Caden Curry played like Superman in the first half, recording two sacks and knocking Mendoza out of the game for one play on Indiana’s first snap of the game.

The Hoosier defense sacked Julian Sayin five times, forced an early interception, and rattled the young quarterback in his first real test under pressure. Sayin (21 of 29, 258 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int) threw for more yards and a higher completion percentage than Mendoza (15 of 23), but the Hoosier signal caller’s ability to drop dimes in crunch situations was crucial to the game’s outcome.

Jeremiah Smith (8 receptions for 144 yards) and Bo Jackson (17 carries for 89 yards) both surpassed 1,000 yards in their respective categories for the season. Despite the loss, which ended Ohio State’s 16-game winning streak, the Buckeyes still haven’t allowed more than 16 points in a game all season.

This game between #1 and #2 lived up to its billing, so much so that when playoff pairings were announced on Sunday, the two teams simply switched rankings.

The Buckeyes, who remain the betting favorite to repeat as national champions, received a first-round playoff bye and will play either Miami or Texas A&M on New Year’s Eve in Jerry’s World, a.k.a. The Cotton Bowl (which is much better than the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl).

From that day forward, it’s win or bust.

We’ll find out then how hungry they really are.

O – H!

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Billy Bruce covers Ohio State Buckeyes football for tristatesportspage.com.