Ohio State Defensive Coordinator Says Buckeyes Barely Prepared for Indiana Triple Option

Indiana football and coach Tom Allen caught a lot of fans and media by surprise on Saturday when the team lined up in a triple option look on its first play of the 2023 season, and continued to run the triple throughout the entire game against Ohio State. However, the plan was ineffective, as IU only scored 3 points, even though the Buckeyes hardly prepared to defend the Hoosiers' offensive game plan.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Unless you're playing against a service academy or the formerly Paul Johnson-led Georgia Tech, no one expects a college football team to come out running the triple option in the 21st century. 

But that's exactly what Indiana, coach Tom Allen and offensive play caller Walt Bell did on Saturday against Ohio State. 

For those who didn't catch the Week 1 game, here's the synopsis — it didn't work.

Indiana finished the game with 33 carries for just 71 yards on the ground, averaging out to a dismal 2.2 yards per carry. And before anyone cries "but they count sacks as negative rushing yards in college football" — between IU quarterbacks Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson, Ohio State only recorded one sack in the game, which lost the Hoosiers just five yards. So yeah, 32 carries for 76 yards isn't all that much better. 

There are a lot of potential things to take away from Indiana's unorthodox offensive plan that it trotted out on Saturday. 

Maybe Allen and Bell just had that little of faith in their two redshirt freshmen quarterbacks and thought they needed to run the ball to win?

Maybe Indiana had already accepted defeat and was just playing to shorten the game and lose by as little as possible? (That, rightfully, should infuriate Indiana football fans if it was the case. You play to win, not to lose with "respect"). 

The most optimistic outlook would be this — Indiana, obviously aware of its talent disadvantage when facing the Buckeyes, hoped to surprise coach Ryan Day and Ohio State with the triple option. Maybe, just maybe, it could have caught the eleven wildly talented defenders on the other side of the ball off-guard just enough to spark a productive offensive day from the Hoosiers.

As one can tell by looking at those above stats, that did not happen. Having no fear of a pass from either Sorsby or Jackson, Ohio State's defense sat on Indiana's offense like an older sibling bullying his younger brother to the tune of a mere 3 points.

Given how vehemently Indiana's triple option offense failed, the Buckeyes must have known it was coming, right? Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles must have predicted that IU would turn to the triple with its talent disadvantage, and had his unit locked in on all the schematics of the play. 

Well, about that. 

Yes, that's right. Knowles openly admitted that Ohio State spent just five plays during all of its offseason and fall camp practices preparing for the triple option, if that. 

The Buckeyes were caught off-guard by Indiana turning to Army and Navy-style football. But the surprising nature of the tactic just didn't matter at all. It's like IU caught Ohio State with a sucker punch they weren't expecting, only the punch didn't do any damage to the Buckeyes, but instead broke the punching hand of the Hoosiers. 

This might not mean anything about the success of this Indiana football season long term. The transfer-heavy defense of IU also caught Day and the Buckeyes off-guard, and actually did some damage in winning the turnover battle, forcing multiple short-range field goals and holding the visitors' offense to just 23 points. 

Indiana might not feel the need to run as much triple option against less talented opponents down the line. And even if they do, it will likely perform better against defenses with less menacing talent than that of Ohio State's.

But still, the quote from Knowles is pretty discouraging. Indiana spent all offseason to come up with its mysterious secret quarterback plan and whimsical triple option curveball. 

Ohio State hardly prepared for either in the slightest, and it didn't matter at all. The Buckeyes just smacked down every wrinkle Indiana threw at them without ever breaking a sweat. 

Not great. 

Related Stories on Indiana Football:

• IU PLAYED 'PITTER-PATTER' TOO LONG: The Indiana football offense let its defense down on Saturday against Ohio State, only scoring 3 points, and with a clear, lacking desire to ever push the ball down field in an attempt to threaten the Buckeyes. Talking to media on Monday, offensive play caller Walt Bell took blame for the conservative offensive approach. CLICK HERE
• BALLHAWK PHILLIP DUNNAM: Indiana safety Phillip Dunnam intercepted Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord Saturday for the game's only turnover. Coaches Tom Allen and Matt Guerrieri, and other IU defenders, said Dunnam often intercepts passes at practice, and his big play was no surprise. CLICK HERE
• TAKEAWAY BELT: WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon is the grandfather of Indiana football running back Declan McMahon, and for the 2023 season, the family gifted his grandson's team a WWE championship belt that the defense uses to celebrate each and every forced turnover. CLICK HERE