Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes reveal players of the game from win over Indiana
COLUMBUS — Ohio State handed Indiana its first loss of the season on Saturday in an emphatic 38-15 win inside the Horseshoe.
The Buckeyes were ready to move onto Michigan Week as soon as the win over the Hoosiers was wrapped up. But before they officially moved onto the Wolverines and everything that comes with the rivalry this weekend, they doled out their ‘Player of the Game’ honors from the Indiana win.
On offense, quarterback Will Howard (22 of 26 passing, 201 yards, two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown) split the award with running back TreVeyon Henderson (nine carries for 68 yards and a touchdown). Those two were major pieces of the Buckeyes offensive puzzle.
Defensively, the program named linebacker Cody Simon as the Player of the Game. He had 10 total tackles and 2.5 sacks, one of which was a strip sack that gave Ohio State great field position in the first half.
And of course, the special teams honor went to safety Caleb Downs. The superstar defensive back snapped a decade-long punt-return touchdown drought with his third quarter punt return he took 79 yards for a touchdown to give Ohio State a two-score lead.
Buckeyes open as double-digit favorite in The Game against Michigan
Ohio State is coming off a dominant 23-point win over a top-five team in the Horseshoe. And none of the Buckeyes wanted to talk about it.
What they wanted to shift their focus to is the upcoming game, The Game, against Michigan. Because after three straight losses, the Buckeyes are already locked in on the rivalry game rather than celebrating the win over No. 5 Indiana.
Ohio State opened the week as a 20.5-point favorite over the Wolverines for their Saturday showdown (Noon, FOX), according to the folks at Fanduel Sportsbook. The total has been set at 44.5.
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And the Buckeyes can’t wait to take the field against Michigan on Saturday.
AP Poll: Buckeyes stay put after dominating Indiana
That win over Indiana allowed the Buckeyes to stay in control of their own destiny for a spot in the Big Ten title game with just one week left. And it kept them in the No. 2 spot, just behind undefeated Oregon, in the latest AP Top 25 rankings release.
The Ducks have already clinched a spot in the Big Ten title game, regardless of what happens this weekend when they face Washington. Oregon retained the top spot in the AP Poll and is followed by Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame. Previous No. 5 Indiana, of course, fell to the Buckeyes.
Eight different ranked teams from last week’s poll lost this week, including three SEC teams that had two losses coming into this week, all being handed their third loss by lesser-than opponents. Ole Miss lost to Florida, Alabama was badly beaten by Oklahoma and Texas A&M was downed by a bad Auburn team in quadruple overtime.
The full AP Top 5 can be found below.
AP Top 5 (Nov. 24)
1. Oregon (61)
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Penn State
5. Notre Dame
Counting down
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 5 days
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