Game Recap: #2 Ohio State vs. Indiana

If you didn't know the score of the Ohio State vs. Indiana game and took to Twitter following the game, you might have thought that the Buckeyes lost based solely on the reaction of fans. However, this was not the case. The #2 Buckeyes defeated Indiana by a score of 38-17, which doesn't seem like much to complain about. However, the process of getting that win wasn't as smooth or as pretty as Buckeye fans have gotten accustomed to this year.

On the very first drive of the game, QB J.T. Barrett fumbled the ball, and Indiana jumped on the football and scored a field goal on their very first drive. The Buckeyes "righted the ship" a little bit more on the next drive, kicking a field goal of their own. Those two field goals were all of the points in a very sluggish start for Ohio State.

After two punts on their next two respective drives, the "silver bullet" defense forced an Indiana fumble, and the offense punched it into the end zone two plays later. The Buckeyes were able to find "pay dirt" on the ground twice more before halftime. Indiana added a touchdown of their own, and at halftime the Buckeyes found themselves ahead 24-10.

On the opening possession of the second half, Indiana engineered a long scoring drive capped of by a Richard Lagow TD pass to cut the Buckeye lead to 24-17 and giving the 100,000 plus at attendance in Ohio State something to worry about. In the end, the Buckeyes would find a way to score two more touchdowns, but for a while the two teams simply traded punts.

Will still a very strong Heisman candidate, it was not J.T. Barrett's best day. While the Buckeye quarterback did run for a team-high 137 yards, he completed just 9 passes for an underwhelming 93 yards and turned the ball over twice.

The defense, however, still performed well. They forced two Hoosier turnovers including the fumble that set up the offense with their first touchdown. While Ohio State has given up 54 points, the defense has only given up 40 points and is currently ranked in the top 5 nationally in several defensive categories.

It wasn't always pretty, but the Buckeyes did improve to 5-0 on the season and will head to Camp Randall Stadium to face #8 Wisconsin on Saturday night in what will be their toughest challenge of the season so far.