It’s not quite Christmas, but for any Buckeye football fan it may as well be! Ohio State is back and ready to roll for 2023! The Buckeyes come in as overwhelming 30-point favorites over the Indiana Hoosiers. This is the 96th meeting between the two teams, and the series hasn’t even been remotely close, with the boys in the Scarlet and Gray holding a 78-12-5 advantage all-time.
Indiana hasn’t beaten Ohio State in 35 years. 1988 was John Cooper’s first year in Columbus, and featured the worst Buckeye football season in decades before or since, as that team went a miserable 4-6-1.
But unfortunately for Indiana today, they’ll be facing a team that’s light-years ahead of that one. And if Ohio State does what they need to do today, this one isn’t going to be pretty. How do the Buckeyes handle business and hopefully cruise to 1-0? Let’s take a look at today’s Keys to Victory!
Get McCord (or Brown) going
Even though the Buckeyes are facing Indiana, this one could be an interesting storyline going into today’s game. From all indications, the quarterback battle between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown was incredibly close. So close in fact, that the decision to go with McCord wasn’t made until late last week or early this week. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Brown played today as well.
I highly doubt we’ll see the team consistently use two quarterbacks for the entire season. Someone’s eventually going to settle into the starting quarterback role. But if McCord and Brown both split time today, it’ll be the first time in a LONG time that Ohio State has even remotely flirted with the two-quarterback system.
The last time the Buckeyes consistently used two quarterbacks for a significant amount of time was the 1996 season, when Joe Germaine and Stanley Jackson split time under center. Germaine eventually won the starting job, and led Ohio State to an 11-1 record and a memorable upset victory over Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl.
But if McCord, Brown, or both of them can get into a consistent rhythm today, that will help ease fan concerns about the stability of the team at the quarterback position going forward. It would be nice to see Ohio State take shots downfield and I believe they eventually will if they get going offensively. But for right now, I want to see who’s better between McCord or Brown when it comes to managing the game, directing the offense, and taking care of the football if they both play today.
Shut down Jaylin Lucas
Jaylin Lucas is probably the Hoosiers’ biggest weapon. He’s an all-purpose player who has played as a running back, wideout and return man. Lucas led the Hoosiers with 944 all-purpose yards last season, and was the only player in the country with multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Lucas gashed Ohio State for over 100 yards last season and he’ll have to have another big game for Indiana to keep this one even remotely close today. The sooner Ohio State’s defense can solve how Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen wants to use Lucas, the sooner the Buckeyes will be able to key in on him and shut him down. If you shut this guy down, you effectively shut down the motor of the Indiana offense.
Bring the juice on defense
Yes, I know the Buckeyes are facing Indiana. Yes, I know they are supposed to win by several scores. But games like this are still an opportunity to set the tone for an entire season in several different ways. And perhaps the biggest way the Buckeyes can set the tone, is to play disciplined, sound defense. This means getting after it from the opening whistle in terms of energy, diagnosing plays, and swarming to the ball.
The offense never worries me. They’re too powerful and talented to stay in a funk for very long. The defense is what will win Big Ten Championships and National Championships. For as much as football has evolved into a spread passing game, you still need a strong defense to win it all. The Silver Bullets will get their first chance at proving themselves today.
Defensive end JT Tuimoloau and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg are the two big studs on defense I’m expecting a lot out of today. If Tuimoloau can lead the defensive line in getting great pressure up front, and Eichenberg can diagnose plays and be an enforcer and leader in the second level, that will go a long way toward getting the entire defense into the game. The best Ohio State defenses are sound fundamentally, don’t make many mistakes, physical, high energy, and just downright nasty for any opponent to have to face. I’m expecting those qualities from them today. They have to set the tone!
Ohio State has played football for the last 133 years. The first team was fielded in 1890 and only played five games. But over that time, they have become one of the winningest programs in college football history! The newest crop of Buckeyes will now have an opportunity to write their chapter, and a chance to begin their legacy as gridiron heroes in Columbus. And it all starts today at 3:30.
GO BUCKS!!!
Sources: ESPN, College Football HQ on FanNation
Picture Credit: clutchpoints.com
