Hoosiers rally, but fall to #1 Ohio State, 34-27

The Indiana Hoosiers gave it their best against the #1 team in the country, but ultimately couldn’t get the win and suffer their first loss of the season.

No Nate Sudfeld or Jordan Howard for the second half. Injuries left and right from the secondary to the linebacking core. Ezekiel Elliott being a monster.

These are the things the Hoosiers had to deal with in the 2nd half of their tightly contested game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. And guess what? They almost pulled it off.

Going into the game, Indiana knew that Nate Sudfeld would have to limit his mistakes and Jordan Howard would have to put on his best “ground-and-pound” effort of the year. What they didn’t know is that they would lose both of those players for nearly the entirety of the second half.

Even still, the Hoosiers took a hard earned 10-6 lead into the half after holding Ohio State to 1-of-8 on 3rd down conversions.

Devine Redding got most of the carries in the second half, and Zander Diamont stepped up to deliver Indiana oh-so-close to the greatest upset in Hoosier football history. Cinderella, meet Ezekiel Elliott.

Elliott had runs of 55, 65, and 75 yards, all for scores, to break Hoosier hearts and keep the Buckeyes up top.

Oct 3, 2015; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers running back Devine Redding (34) runs by Ohio State Buckeyes safety Tyvis Powell (23) in the first half of their game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kryger-USA TODAY Sports

The fourth quarter opened up with Ohio State clinging to a three-point lead, but six seconds in Cardale Jones hit Michael Thomas for a 23-yard score to make it a 10-point game. Griffen Oakes connected on a 34-yard field goal on Indiana’s next drive to make it a one-score game before Ezekiel Elliott responded with a 75-yard TD run to return it to a two-possession game.

Then, things got even more interesting.

Zander Diamont took it 79 yards to the house (yes, the backup quarterback) and Indiana was back in it all – the Hoosiers had life. Life that took them all the way to the Ohio State 9-yard line on 4th and goal.

On 4th and the game, Diamont couldn’t handle the snap, recovered, and tossed it to the back of the endzone. The pass was broken up, and the dream was over.

It was one of the best football games in Indiana history, and though they couldn’t pull out the victory, it’s more than a momentum boost for the Hoosiers – it’s proof that they aren’t pretenders. Indiana marches on.

Next: Indiana Football: Three keys to the win over Wake Forest

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