Rival Rewind Likes Near Upsets, but Prefers Real Upsets
When Brady Hoke was named head coach in January, he immediately set the tone by referring to Ohio State as simply Ohio and made it very clear that beating Ohio was one of the supreme goals each season. And so we at Maize and Go Blue are taking it upon ourselves to dedicate a little time each week to our rival as well. In this weekly segment, we’ll give a brief recap of the previous week’s game and what it means for Michigan. For a full rundown of our rivals’ games, see Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8.
Now that Michigan has already played Notre Dame and Michigan State, we don’t care about those teams. The weekly Rival Rewind segment is going to transition into a sole focus on the lone rival remaining: Ohio State. It will provide a more in-depth look at each Ohio game and preview its upcoming game.
Previously on Rival Rewind, we saw Ohio State follow up its win over then-No.16 Illinois with an upset of 15th-ranked Wisconsin. While Illinois appears to have been an early season mirage, the win over Wisconsin showed the Buckeyes are for real and steadily improving as the season progresses. This past weekend, Indiana limped into Columbus without a single FBS or Big Ten win on the season. Easy, right? Well, as Lee Corso likes to say, not so fast my friend.
 Ohio State: Beat Indiana 34-20Record: 6-3 (3-2) Ohio State entered the Indiana game perhaps too overconfident after upsetting Illinois and Wisconsin in back-to-back weeks and it almost paid the price. Instead, the Buckeyes walked away with a narrow victory over the Big Ten’s bottom-feeder. Indiana was driving to tie the game with just just over four minutes to play, but Ohio State defensive back Travis Howard picked it off at the OSU 28-yard line and a few plays later Carlos Hyde scored to put the game away. It was a back-and-forth game throughout, as Indiana jumped ahead 10-0 on its first two possessions of the game. Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller brought the Bucks within three with an 81-yard scamper to end the first quarter 10-7 Indiana. The true freshman completed just 5-of-11 passes for 55 yards and an interception, but the passing game wasn’t really needed as he was one of three Buckeyes to rush for over 100 yards, compiling 105 yards on 14 carries. In the second quarter, a pair of OSU field goals and one by Indiana sent the two teams into the locker rooms tied at 13. Ohio State took the lead early in the third on a 15-yard Dan Herron touchdown run, but Indiana would not go away. Freshman quarterback Tre Roberson connected with Kofi Hughes on a 34-yard scoring strike to tie the game at 20. At the end of the third, facing a 3rd-and-20, Miller took off up the middle, untouched into the end zone for what was ultimately the winning touchdown. Indiana’s comeback attempt fell short when it missed a 40-yard field goal and then threw the interception at the OSU 28.  Ohio State's defense gave up 333 yards and 20 points to the 1-8 Hoosiers (photo by Jamie Sabau, Getty Images) It was an impressive rushing performance by Ohio State as three Buckeyes topped 100 yards, including Herron’s 141 on 14 carries, Hyde’s 105 on 15 carries, and Miller’s 105 on 14. It was the first time that has happened since a 1989 game against Northwestern. Altogether, Ohio State tallied 346 yards rushing on 46 attempts. What wasn’t impressive, however, was Ohio State’s defense which has been its strength all season. Indiana, which has just one win this season – over FCS South Carolina State – moved the ball fairly well, gaining 333 total yards, converted 10-of-17 third downs, and turned the ball over just once. With just three games remaining, it’s clear what interim head coach Luke Fickell wants to do – run the football. Since Herron returned against Illinois, Ohio State has thrown the ball just 27 times in three games, an average of nine per game, and rushed 155 times for 825 yards, averaging 275 per game. Fortunately for Ohio State, Purdue is up next, in West Lafayette. The Boilers limp in at 4-5 (2-3 in the Big Ten), fresh off back-to-back losses to Michigan and Wisconsin. Their only conference wins are over Illinois and Minnesota, and out of conference, the Boilers beat Middle Tennessee and FCS Southeast Missouri State. With Michigan’s loss to Iowa on Saturday, the Wolverines remain a long shot to win the Legends Division, but Ohio State is still very much in the thick of the Leaders Division race. The Bucks need to win out – beating Purdue, Penn State, and Michigan – and need Penn State to lose one of its remaining games – very likely against Wisconsin and Nebraska, and especially considering the sex abuse scandal and Joe Paterno’s announced end-of-season retirement swirling around Happy Valley this week. We could very well be looking at Michigan’s chance to play spoiler on Nov. 26. Next: Saturday at Purdue (4-5, 2-3) – 12pm on Big Ten Network Prediction: Ohio 35 – Purdue 17
 Braxton Miller has Buckeye fans eyeing the Big Ten title game (photo by Jamie Sabau, Getty Images)
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