Jon Spencer's OSU report card
OFFENSIVE LINE
The front five gave Ezekiel Elliott a crease on a fourth-and-inches gamble from the OSU 35 late in the third quarter, and that's all he needed, tacking on a 65-yard TD run to the 55-yarder and 75-yarder he had in the second half. The Buckeyes were 1 for 7 on third down conversions in a first half where they only had 14 yards on 16 rushing attempts. Some of that is on the indecision of quarterback Cardale Jones, but the front five was still having trouble firing off the ball and opening holes. Were they out-numbered by the Hoosiers, who stacked the line? Yes. But you can count every season on IU having one of the worst defenses in the Big Ten. No excuse for needing an entire half to figure it out in the trenches.
GRADE: B-
RUNNING GAME
Ezekiel Elliott's ridiculous second half saved OSU's perfect season. After giving him the ball only 16 times last week, the Buckeyes tried to feature Zeke early, which was the right move even if he was running up against a brick wall. The line failed the hard-luck back, who also had a TD reception wiped out by an illegal block from H-back Braxton Miller. We saw again that Cardale Jones cannot run the option, at least not well, and he just is not playing with confidence, which is paralyzing him as a runner as well as a passer. There were chances to open the running game with the passing attack, but there were too many misfires until Zeke took over in the second half and finished with his 10th straight 100-yard game (274 on 23 carries).
GRADE: B
PASSING GAME
A 23-yard TD pass from Cardale Jones to Michael Thomas was something Jones desperately needed, but it's impossible to feel good about the way he played. You'll never see more misleading quarterback stats than the numbers put up by Jones and IU's Nate Sudfeld in the first half. Sudfeld clearly out-played Jones, but was only 9 of 17 for 113 yards because his receivers dropped four balls. Jones, while 13 of 17 for 200 yards missed Thomas and Jalin Marshall on what should have been touchdowns, both on the same series. He also tried to force a TD pass to tight end Nick Vannett against double coverage on another red zone failure. And Jalin Marshall, who had four touchdowns against IU last year, had the ball poked away inside the 10 after a catch-and-run. He had another fumble in the fourth quarter. He had a history of muffed punts, but had been sure-handed as a receiver. Instead of 28 points at the half, the Buckeyes had six. In the third quarter, after OSU had gained momentum, Jones threw a pick that IU converted into a go-ahead TD. Maybe the TD pass will turn around his season. It better.
GRADE: D
DEFENSIVE LINE
Tyquan Lewis had some success applying pressure against an offensive line that had been solid, allowing only two sacks going into the game while containing Joey Bosa on Saturday.The entire defense got help from national rushing leader Jordan Howard hurting his ankle early and being hobbled the rest of the afternoon. Quarterback Nate Sudfeld also aggravated an ankle injury and had to come out, but the Hoosiers capitalized on a Cardale Jones interception to drive 55 yards for a go-ahead score with backups at QB and TB. Not a shining moment, nor the 75-yard TD run by backup QB Zander Diamont where he turned the corner on end Sam Hubbard to keep IU in it.
GRADE: C
LINEBACKERS
For the second straight week, middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan had double-figure tackles before halftime. If sidekicks Darron Lee and Josh Perry were just as active, it wasn't as apparent. A facemask penalty on Lee aided an 80-yard, 15-play, 5-minute touchdown drive in the first half and another one kept IU's comeback bid alive in final minutes. The sustained TD drive was the fourth series of double-digit plays the Buckeyes had allowed in a span of six quarters. A busted coverage in the middle of the field resulted in a 38-yard reception by tight end Anthony Corsano that set up an early field goal.
GRADE: C
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Vonn Bell has a lot of pass breakups this season, none bigger than the one in corner of end zone with 16 seconds left. It's a good thing IU receivers had such a hard time hanging on to the ball because it helped keep the Hoosiers from capitalizing on the loss early of cornerback Gareon Conley, who returned in the second half after hurting his shoulder. Replacement Marcus Lattimore was picked on early and got off to a rough start, but seemed to settle down. A pass interference call on Eli Apple didn't prove costly as the Hoosiers stalled at the OSU 39. He was also called for holding late on IU's comeback bid, but atoned by batting away desperation heave on last play. On a day when the offense struggled again, a takeway would have given the Buckeyes a much needed spark. But the secondary came up zip in that department. Safety Tyvis Powell dropped an interception at the goal line, which might have sealed IU's fate, and also missed a tackle on a 79-yard TD run by backup QB Zander Diamont that kept IU hopes alives.
GRADE: C
SPECIAL TEAMS
When Jack Willoughby's 43-yard field goal at the end of the first half clanked off the right upright, it broke a streak of six conversions and epitomized the utter futility of the OSU offense to that point. Jalin Marshall fielded a punt at the 4, which is almost never a good decision. He later had a 37-yard return that helped OSU pad its fourth quarter lead. On punt coverage, Vonn Bell let Cameron Johnston's kick squirt through his hands at the 1 and into the end zone for a touchback. Chris Worley was flagged for a block to the back on a Marshall return. The coverage unit, which has been excellent this season, saw one of its leaders, Corey Smith, suffer a right arm injury and later get carted off with a right leg injury. The best play on special teams was the open-field tackle by Joe Burger on a fake punt at the IU 13, but the best the offense could do with that gift was a field goal.
GRADE: C
COACHING
I've said for two weeks I don't know what Urban Meyer was seeing to stick with Cardale Jones at quarterback and that song isn't going to change after another shaky performance Saturday. I'm going to be nice and blame some of his woes on extremely conservative play-calling at the start of the game, which fed into the emotion IU came out with on defense. There were no worries about Jones underthrowing passes for a second straight week since a vertical attack was mostly non-existent. Instead we got wide-left, wide-right and too hard from Jones, who completely came apart in the second half. But by committing to Jones, Meyer seems to have painted himself into a corner. Sorry, but we all know this game against injury-wracked foe should have never come down to the last play.
GRADE: C-
— Jon Spencer