Hoosiers Now

LIVE BLOG: Follow No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 3 Ohio State in Real Time From the Press Box

The battle for supremacy takes place at Ohio Stadium on Saturday when unbeatens Indiana and Ohio State get together for the first time as to-10 teams. Follow our LIVE BLOG throughout the game for the latest news and opinions.

Tom Brew

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It's finally here, game time between No. 9 Indiana and No. 3 Ohio in a battle of unbeatens here at the Horseshoe. 

Indiana is 4-0 and off to its best start in decades. Ohio State, the defending Big Ten champions, is 3-0 and a three-touchdown favorite heading into the game.

Follow this LIVE BLOG throughout the game to get all your latest news and opinions live from the press box. Keep refreshing to get the latest updates.

LIVE UPDATES

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3:54 p.m. ET: The game ends with the Hoosiers falling a little short. Ohio State wins 42-35 as Indiana ran out of time on the last drive. Full game story here CLICK HERE

3:33 p.m. ET: A three-and-out for Indiana as Ohio State's two-man blitz up the A gap leads to a sack. Forced to punt it away, still trailing 42-35. Need to get the ball back. 

3:29 p.m. ET: Ohio State decided to go for it on fourth-and 1 from the 6, but didn't make it when a Fields pass was too high for Farrell. Indiana takes over with 4:32 to go. OMG.

3:26 p.m. ET: Indiana needs a stop here. Ohio State has the ball on the Indiana 10-yard line, and it's third-and-4 with 5:40 left. Media timeout.

3:15 p.m. ET: And just like that, Indiana scores again on a bomb down the right sideline, scoring in two plays and just 14 seconds. Now it's 42-35 and there's a ton of time left after that 14-second scoring drive. Penix-to-Fryfogle for 56 yards. Penix now has 477 yards passing!

OHIO STATE 42, INDIANA 35. 

3:13 p.m. ET: Hmmmm. Indiana's defense holds and gets the ball back. Interesting. There's still 10:40 to go in the fourth quarter, and it's a 14-point game. 

3:02 pm. ET: Indiana scores again, this time on a 16-yard pass  from Penix to David Ellis. Great drive, 10 plays covering 75 yards. With 12:26 to go, it's still interesting. OHIO STATE 42, INDIANA 28. 

2:52 p.m. ET: The third quarter ends on an offensive pass interference penalty on Indiana tight end Peyton Hendershot. There's 15 minutes to go, and it's still a 21-point game. END OF THREE; OHIO STATE 42, INDIANA 21.

2:47 p.m. ET: First really bad pass of the day by Penix leads to an Ohio State score. He tried to throw an out route, but Shawn Wade was sitting on the route and picked it off easily. He returned it 36 yards for a touchdown. OHIO STATE 42, INDIANA 21. 

2:34 p.m. ET: Well, looky here. Indiana scores again, this time on a Penix pass to Fryfogle from 33 yards out. Still plenty of time left, with 5:14 to go in the third. Indiana defense needs to step up now. OHIO STATE 35, INDIANA 21.

2:26 p.m. ET: Indiana just blew another opportunity to get back in the game. They forced a horrible throw from Fields on third down and Jamar Johnson intercepted the ball. He was heading for the end zone when he fumbled, and Ohio State recovered and retained possessions. That's the second Indiana fumble inside the 10-yard line today. At least the Hoosiers force a three-and-out and get good field position after the punt. Take over on their own 40-yard line.

2:19 p.m. ET:  Indiana answers right back with its third 50-yard-plus play of the game. Penix finds Fryfogle over the middle and he breaks a tackle and takes it to the house for a 63-yard score. Penix now has 271 yards passing.  OHIO STATE 35, INDIANA 14. 

2:16 p.m.  ET: Here's an interest stat. Counting players, staff, security and media, the TOTAL number of people at the game today is 635. That's it.

2:08 p.m. ET: And we're back. The third quarter starts with an Ohio State possession. And they go right down the field and score again. Indiana's defense has looked awful on these last four scoring drives. Fields was 4-for-4 passing on the drive and also r an once for 11 yards. Garrett Wilson had two catchers on the drive to go over 100 yards for the game. He's had four straight. OHIO STATE 35, INDIANA 7. 

MY TWO CENTS: Indiana's defense really played well early in this half, but it had no answer for Ohio State in those last three scoring drives. Justin Fields was spectacular, leading drives of 75, 76 and 93 yards, all ending in touchdowns. He rushed for 49 yards during those three drives and passed for another 107. There's a good reason why he's a serious Heisman Trophy candidate.

1:46 p.m. ET: And that's the end of the first half. A very good game got away from the Hoosiers very quickly there. HALFTIME: OHIO STATE 28, INDIANA 7.

1:44 p.m. ET: Once again, Ohio State's offense goes flying right down the field again. Fields ends the drive with a 9-yard run around the left side after getting flushed out of the pocket again, scoring with 17 seconds to go. Kick is good. That 3-minute swing after the Indiana turnover really hurt. Instead of going into the half down seven points, now they're suddenly down a bunch.  OHIO STATE 28, INDIANA 7.  

1:32 p.m.. ET: Huge break for the Hoosiers there. A busted coverage left David Ellis wide open down the right sideline and Penix found him for a 51-yard gain. It's the second play of 50-plus yards in the half for the Hoosiers. First-and-10 at the 13. But on the next play, Penix completed a pass over the middle to Ellis, but he was stripped of the ball inside the 5-yard-line and Ohio State recovered. That's a brutal turnover there. Hoosiers needed points after that big play. 

1:28 p.m. ET: Another impressive drive by Ohio State, and this time Fields beats the Hoosiers with his feet, breaking off a 30-yard run after getting flushed out of the pocket. Master Teague scores again, this time from the 2-yard line. There's 4:32 to go in the second quarter. Critical possession now for Indiana. The Hoosiers need to do something here. OHIO STATE 21, INDIANA 7.

1:21 p.m. ET: Ohio State is doing a nice job of taking away Indiana's quick out routes. Getting a linebacker in that underneath area and forcing Penix to throw around him. It hasn't worked much. Indiana forced to punt again. Haydon Whitehead has been a busy man for the Hoosiers today. He's punted five times already. There's 7:34 to go in the second quarter, 

1:17 p.m. ET: Ohio State gets its first big chunk in the run game, collapsing the left side of the line well and getting Master Teague free on the outside. He scores from 41 yards out and the Buckeyes move back out front. With 8:57 to go in the second quarter, it's OHIO STATE 14, INDIANA 7.

1:10 p.m. ET: Ohio State is putting together a nice drive, with a pair of back-to-back third-down conversions. Indiana's defense had been sharp prior to that, allowing only 61 yards on 14 plays in the previous four drives. Ohio State to Indiana's 41-yard line. Timeout for an Indiana injury. Cornerback Reece Taylor needed attention. Something to watch going forward, because he's important in the return game, too.

1:03 p.m. ET: The Hoosiers' defense forces another punt. Indiana takes over at its own 16-yard line. They get a first down on third-and-7 with a nice catch-and-run from Whop Philyor. On the next play, Penix goes deep and hits Miles Marshall down the middle of the field on a 68-yard play. Marshall was tackled from behind at the 3-yard line. The Hoosiers score on a 4-yard pass to Philyor on second down. Great  response by Indiana. Kick is good. Drive is six plays for 84 yards.  INDIANA 7, OHIO STATE 7.

12:53 p.m. ET: The first quarter has come to an end, and the Hoosiers have to feel good about getting out of there down just 7-0. Offense hasn't really clicked yet, but they're still just a score away. END OF 1Q, OHIO STATE 7, INDIANA 0. 

MY TWO CENTS: Indiana has been very good at converting turnovers into points all season. They've scored 51 points that way this year. So they might really regret forcing two interceptions there and then not being able to do anything with it. Indiana's passing game just seems to be a click off right now. 

12:45 p.m. ET: The Hoosiers get their second interception of the quarter on a batted ball that wound up in the hands of defensive tackle Jerome Johnson after getting his by at least four people. That's huge. Creating turnovers is the key to this game for the Hoosiers, now the offense needs to convert. ... Doesn't happen. A three-and-out for the Hoosiers, and forced to punt.

12:41 p.m. ET: Hoosiers get one first down on a 15-yard Penix-to-Fryfogle pass play, but then go nowhere and have to punt. Ohio State  takes over on their own 18.

12:33 p.m. ET: Nice response from Indiana's defense in a critical spot. Got some help from a holding penalty, but they held OSU to a three-and-out. After the punt, Indiana gets the ball back at its own 20-yard line. Still 7-0 Buckeyes.

12:27 p.m. ET: Indiana went for it on fourth down, needing just 2 yards from the Ohio State 36-yard line. Penix found Fryfogle wide open on a crossing route, but he dropped the ball and Ohio State takes over on downs. First memorable drop of the season for Fryfogle, who's been playing lights out the past couple of weeks. 

12:24 p.m. ET: On Ohio State's first play, Fields throws a bad interception downfield and it was picked off by safety Jamar Johnson, who was sitting on the route over the middle. That's Fields' first interception all year. That's 11 picks now for the Indiana defense, which is No. 1 in the Big Ten. 

12:19 p.m. ET:  On third-and-2, Indiana center Harry Crider snapped the ball over Penix's head. He chased it down and fell on it for a 16-yard loss, but the Hoosiers are buried deep, and forced to punt from the 10.

12:12 p.m. ET: Ohio State strikes quickly, with Justin Fields finding Garrett Wilson over the middle for a 65-yard gain. Then, on the next play, he finds Wilson for a score from 10 yards out. That was too fast, and too easy. The kick is good and Ohio State grabs the early lead with two plays in just 33 seconds. Here's an amazing stat on Fields. So far this season, he is a perfect 21-for-21 on first-quarter pass attempts. OHIO STATE 7, INDIANA 0. 

12:05 p.m. ET: Touchback on the kickoff. Indiana will start on the 25-yard line. On second down, Indiana QB Michael Penix connects with Ty Fryfogle for 19 yards. First down, Indiana. Penix is sacked on third-and-10 though, on a corner blitz, and Indiana is forced to punt. Ohio State will take over at the 25-yard line. Just one positive play there for the Indiana offense. 

Noon ET: The coin toss honored the U.S. military. Indiana's Harry Crider made the call, but Indiana lost the toss. Ohio State has deferred, so Indiana will get the ball first and Ohio State will defend the south goal. That means Indiana will be going left-to-right on your Twitter feed or Facebook timeline. 

11:45 a.m. ET: It's an honor to actually be here today considering the recent COVID-19 outbreaks.  There is a stay-at-home order in Columbus now, and that started on Wednesday. So that means there are literally ZERO people in the stands here at Ohio Stadium. Parents have been allowed to come earlier in the season, but not now. Just a lot of cardboard cutouts. I feel bad for all the Indiana football parents who can't be here.

My view from the press box at Ohio Stadium for Indiana-Ohio State.
My view from the press box at Ohio Stadium for Indiana-Ohio State

Inactives for Indiana

11:30 a.m. ET:  It looks like guard Mike Katic is active and ready to go for Indiana. He missed two games with an injury suffered in practice prior to the Michigan game on Nov. 7.

Starting left tackle Caleb Jones is still out. He's missing his second straight game and Luke Haggard will start for him.

Here are Indiana’s inactive list for this afternoon’s game at Ohio State:

  • LB Thomas Allen
  • DB Marcelino Ball
  • OL Kahlil Benson
  • WR Da’Shaun Brown
  • DL Alfred Bryant
  • TE Sam Daugstrup
  • TE Turon Ivy Jr.
  • OL Caleb Jones
  • DB Raheem Layne
  • DB Samuel Slusher
  • WR Rashawn Williams
  • WR Cam Wilson
  • LB Ty Wise

Series History

All-time: Ohio State leads, 75-12-5
First Meeting: Nov. 23, 1901 ... Indiana won, 18-6
Last Meeting: Sept. 14, 2019 ... Ohio State won, 51-10
Consecutive Wins: Ohio State, 24 games

Recent results

2019: Ohio State - 51, Indiana - 10
2018: Ohio State - 49, Indiana - 26
2017: Ohio State - 49, Indiana - 21
2016: Ohio State - 38, Indiana - 17
2015: Ohio State - 34, Indiana - 27

The Buckeyes have won 24 consecutive games in the series (1991-2019) and haven't lost to Indiana since 1988. The teams have played to a tie on five occasions, including most recently in 1990, a 27-27 final score.

Indiana has only been ranked for three previous games against Ohio State, and never higher than 15th. This is the first time Indiana has ever faced Ohio State as a top-10-ranked team, and the first time the Hoosiers have ever been a part of a regular-season game between two top-10-ranked teams.

How to watch the game

The Noon ET start is on Fox today. Here's how to find your channel: CLICK HERE

Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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