BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — No. 4 Ohio State got the victory it craved. It just came at a hefty price – the loss of starting quarterback Julian Sayin for several weeks with an injured right arm.
Sayin threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter before leaving, and the Buckeyes held on Saturday for a 19-15 victory over No. 5 Indiana when wide receiver Nick Marsh‘s left foot came down out of bounds on what would have been the go-ahead score for the Hoosiers with 1:02 to go.
The defending national champions had won 22 straight overall and 19 in a row at home, the two longest active streaks in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Buckeyes (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) also got a measure of revenge for last December’s loss to the Hoosiers in the league’s title game.
“When the ball was in the air (to Marsh), I started thinking about getting a 2-minute drill ready to go,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said.
Instead, the Buckeyes simply ran out the clock.
But the Hoosiers (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) sure didn’t go down easily.
After Smith’s score gave the Buckeyes a 19-7 lead, Josh Hoover returned from a right arm injury, led the Hoosiers down the field and capped the 75-yard drive with a 19-yard TD pass to Marsh and a 2-point conversion pass to Turbo Richard to cut the deficit to 19-15 with 10:30 left.
Hoover got one last chance after Sayin’s departure and quickly got the Hoosiers into position for a second straight fourth-quarter comeback. But as the wide open Marsh sprinted toward the front corner of the end zone for the catch, his left foot came down on the white paint. Marsh knew it, putting his hands on his helmet as the crowd roared and the stadium fireworks went off.
Marsh did not speak to reporters following the game.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti suffered his first home loss in three seasons in the first top five game ever played at Memorial Stadium.
“That was our blitz check,” Cignetti said. “We had it, we just didn’t make it happen. This one is a tough one to swallow.”
While the game lived up to the hype, the quarterbacks did not.
Sayin was 15 of 29 for 235 yards with two interceptions for the second straight week before getting hurt. Hoover was 20 of 40 for 296 yards with one TD and one lost fumble, his first turnover of the year. Charlie Becker caught nine passes for 165 yards.
Smith also had an uncharacteristic day, catching only four passes for 68 yards.
“We remember what happened Dec. 6,” Smith said, referring to the Big Ten title game. “And we knew we had to come out here and win today.”
Source: www.espn.com
