Indiana University
Ohio State
Hoosiers Fall to No. 1/1 Buckeyes
10/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 21, 2006
Box Score | Notes
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Indiana football team dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten after suffering a loss to No. 1/1 Ohio State (8-0,4-0) on Oct. 21 at Ohio Stadium. Despite putting the game's first points on the board in the form of an Austin Starr 34-yard field goal, the Hoosiers were unable to hold off the Buckeyes, falling 44-3.
After the Hoosiers stopped the Buckeye offense on a three-and-out, junior cornerback Tracy Porter received A.J. Trapasso's punt at the 49 and returned it 34 yards to give IU first-and-10 at the Ohio State 15. The Buckeye defense came through to stop the Hoosiers, but Starr drilled his 34-yard field goal to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
The Buckeyes found paydirt on their third possession of the contest, driving 87 yards on seven plays, culminating with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Rory Nicol from Smith on third-and-short to go up 7-3. Ohio State picked up 38 yards on the ground on the drive, including a 29-yard dash by Smith to move the home squad into IU territory.
OSU extended the lead to 11 on the first play of the second quarter, as Smith evaded strong IU pressure to unleash a 31-yard pass to Ted Ginn, Jr., in the corner of the end zone. The Buckeyes picked up 51 yards on four plays on the drive to make the score 14-3.
Smith added two more passing touchdowns before the end of the half to go into the locker room with a 28-3 lead. He found Anthony Gonzalez on the left side with 6:32 to play in the half and added a one-yard score to Jake Ballard with 20 seconds remaining before the break. Smith finished the half with 170 yards and four TDs.
Ohio State tacked on 16 more points in the second half to push the score to 44-3. Included in the scoring was a 38-yard TD pass from Ginn to Nicol, a 51-yard field goal by Aaron Pettrey and a 12-yard touchdown run by Chris Wells.
Indiana will host Michigan State for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Memorial Stadium at noon EDT. Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner has issued the Hoosier Nation Challenge, as IU seeks a crowd of 50,000 as the Hoosiers take on the Spartans. Tickets are available by calling 1-866-IUSPORTS.
