The loss by No. 1 Alabama removed any slim chance that the Buckeyes could be left out of the national championship game with an undefeated record.
View full sizeIt seemed like all the Buckeyes were leaps and bounds better than the overmatched Hoosiers on Saturday -- especially fullback Zach Boren on this athletic move over a surprised Adrian Burks in the first quarter.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A quick look at Ohio State's report card after Saturday's victory.
A -- Ohio State's national title game hopes
The loss by No. 1 Alabama removed any slim chance that the Buckeyes could be left out of the national championship game with an undefeated record, which some had theorized could have been a possibility if Alabama and Boise State had also finished undefeated.
The Buckeyes were No. 2 in both polls entering the weekend, with a 22-point lead over No. 3 Oregon in the AP poll and a 77-point lead on the Ducks in the coaches poll, which counts in the BCS standings. Oregon beat 1-5 Washington State, 43-23, which wasn't the kind of win that should jump Oregon over the Buckeyes. Also, Illinois' sound beating of Penn State made the Buckeyes' tough win at Illinois last week look a little better.
While several Buckeyes actually wrote messages on Twitter after Alabama's loss that they did not want to be ranked No. 1, tight end Jake Stonebuner and receiver DeVier Posey seemed to embrace the likelihood.
"Well. We're ready for it!! This [is] what we came here for," wrote Stoneburner.
That No. 1 ranking will only be in the polls for now. The first BCS standings won't be released until next weekend, on Oct. 17.
B+ -- Ohio State's protection of Terrelle Pryor
The Ohio State coaches didn't want Indiana to know if Terrelle Pryor was hindered by his strained left quad, so they played up his recovery this week.
"Indiana didn't know I couldn't run, probably," Pryor said.
Though the OSU offensive line wasn't perfect -- Pryor did get bent backwards a bit on one of the three sacks he took -- the protection was enough to get Pryor through the game without making his injury worse.
"We always know when they get a shot on him, they're going to try to take him out," OSU center Mike Brewster said of opposing defenses. "He said he was sore, but 'forget it, I'm going to play.' We definitely know we need to protect him as well as we can."
B -- Ohio State backup right tackle Andrew Norwell
The true freshman replaced starter J.B. Shugarts in the second quarter and held his own after Shugarts came out after halftime limping and wearing warmup pants and no pads.
"I know what it's like to be a freshman out there with your head spinning a little bit, Brewster said. "He's got the ability and it comes down to knowing assignments. He stepped up today."
It seems like Norwell shouldn't have to be a long-term answer. OSU coach Jim Tressel said Shugarts has been battling a foot problem for three years that flared up this week in practice, so the coaches decided to take him out early.
"We didn't want it to get to the point where it was going to be something that he'd be out," Tressel said. "We have a lot of confidence in Andrew Norwell."
Remember, Norwell is a second-teamer because sophomore Marcus Hall, who was expected to be the No. 2 right tackle, is red-shirting this season because of academic issues.
D -- The Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana came in with the No. 4 passing offense in the country and seemed to some like a team that could give the Buckeyes some problems. It never happened. The Hoosiers, now 3-2, did themselves no favors by trying to run the ball too much, despite top running back Darius Willis sitting out the game with an injury. Willis had 278 of Indiana's 427 rushing yards in their first four games.
On 26 first-down plays, Indiana gained more than three yards on just six snaps. Indiana tried to run on 19 of those plays, gaining 49 total yards -- 28 on two plays. So the other 17 first-down runs by Indiana gained 21 yards, just over one yard per play. The Hoosiers dug themselves a hole on almost every series.
"We were just looking for a way to get a first down," Indiana coach Bill Lynch said. "We've been fortunate so far this year in that we've been able to go into a game and find our rhythm, so that shows just how good Ohio State is. We didn't come in thinking we would be able to move the ball all over the place.
"We played a great team out there today and we knew that coming in. Through all our study this season, we knew this team was special and they've got a bright future ahead of them."