Indiana University
Ohio State
Hoosiers Fall to Ohio State
10/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 22, 2005
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana football team dropped to 4-3 (1-3 Big Ten) on the season with a tough 41-10 loss to No. 17 Ohio State (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) on Oct. 22 at the Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
Fans packed the Rock as 52,866 spectators took in the Big Ten contest. That tally stands as the sixth-largest total in Memorial Stadium history. The total is also the most at Memorial Stadium since 53,202 fans witnessed a 37-21 loss to No. 12 Purdue on November 17, 1979.
The Buckeyes opened the scoring early in the first quarter. After the Hoosiers' defense forced an Ohio State punt, junior Troy Grosfield fumbled the ball at the IU 28-yard line. Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith converted on the miscue by finding a streaking Santonio Holmes for a 23-yard score on third down to give the Buckeyes an early 7-0 advantage.
The Buckeyes looked as if they were going to march in for another score late in the opening quarter; however, sophomore Tracy Porter intercepted Smith's pass in the end zone, keeping it a seven-point OSU advantage. The Port Allen, La., native set the Hoosiers up with good field position at the Ohio State 29-yard line. The runback went for 63 yards, marking the longest Hoosier return since Porter took an INT back 96 yards in a victory over Central Michigan on Sept. 4, 2004.
The Hoosiers cut the Buckeye lead to 7-3, as freshman Joe Kleinsmith kicked a career-long 39-yard field, to open the scoring in the second quarter.
Unfortunately, Ohio State controlled the rest of the quarter by scoring 10 unanswered points to take a 17-3 lead into the locker room. The Buckeyes began the stretch on the ensuing drive with a six-play, 50-yard drive, capped by a Smith one-yard touchdown run. The Buckeyes then tacked on a field goal in the waning minutes to grab a 14-point advantage.
Indiana's defense put IU back in the game at the start of the third quarter. After making an initial stop on Ohio State's Ted Ginn, Jr., senior linebacker John Pannozzo stripped Ginn and ran 57 yards to pay dirt. The score cut OSU's lead to 17-10. It was the first defensive score of the 2005 season for IU, and the first since Will Lumpkin returned a fumble 74 yards for a touchdown against Purdue on Nov. 20, 2004.
Ohio State immediately countered. On their ensuing drive, the Buckeyes covered 79 yards on five plays in 56 seconds, capped by Smith's second touchdown run of the afternoon for 23 yards.
Junior Jahkeen Gilmore set the Hoosiers' up in Buckeye territory with his first career kickoff return. He took the ball at the goal line and rushed down the left side of the field, cutting back to the right for 68 yards. IU used some trickery on the ensuing play, running what appeared to be a reserve to the near sideline, but redshirt freshman wide out Marcus Thigpen stopped and heaved a 20-yard pass to fellow classmate James Hardy. The play set the Hoosiers up with first-and-10 at the OSU 12-yard line. It would be as close as the Hoosiers would get. Following a rush for no gain and an incomplete pass, sophomore quarterback Blake Powers was sacked and the 38-yard field goal from Kleinsmith was wide left.
The Buckeyes could do nothing on their next drive with a three-and-out. On third-and-nine from the IU 29-yard line, Powers threw deep to Hardy, but Ohio State's Brandon Mitchell picked off the pass and returned it 57 yards for a Buckeye score. The two quick touchdowns increased the OSU lead to 31-10 with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Buckeyes added 10 points before the final whistle. Ohio State pushed their lead to 34-10 when Josh Huston connected on a 29-yard field goal with 8:33 left to play in the ballgame. Ginn atoned for his earlier mistake, taking a punt back 62 yards for a touchdown with 6:51 remaining. The score provided the final margin at 41-10.
The Hoosiers will next travel to East Lansing, Mich., where they will take on the Spartans of Michigan State on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 11:10 a.m. CST.
