5 reasons Ohio State football keeps perfect season in tact over Indiana

Ohio State football returns to Columbus as the Buckeyes seek to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive with a win against the Indiana Hoosiers.

Another week brings another chance for the Ohio State football program to stay perfect after staving off Penn State on the road in what was one of the most exciting games of the year, the Buckeyes pulled off a comeback win.

The No. 3 ranked Buckeyes (5-0) were down by six at the half in a game that felt like they should have been down three touchdowns. They came out to an extremely slow start offensively and defensively. It seemed as if they couldn’t get anything going on offense and the Nittany Lions were getting whatever they wanted on the Bucks’ defense.

This wasn’t the Buckeyes’ first rodeo with a slow start though, as they’d dealt with a very similar situation just two weeks prior. The Bucks trailed at the half on the road when they played the TCU Bullfrogs. The ability for this team to rally back and make big plays when they need to has been elemental in their success thus far.

This game was particularly rough on head coach Urban Meyer. It was just his second game back with the Buckeyes. Meyer has been involved in some tough battles with the Nittany Lions during his tenure in the Big Ten East. The games have only gotten more difficult since he began in 2012. Last time Urban Meyer led the Buckeyes into Happy Valley he was defeated.

This week brings a bit of a lesser challenge against a familiar opponent. The Buckeyes will face the Indiana Hoosiers who have only taken one loss this season. Their resume is much less impressive than the Buckeyes’ as they’ve faced weaker opponents but they’ve managed to come in relatively clean nonetheless.

The Hoosiers’ loss came to the Michigan State Spartans two weeks ago where they lost by two touchdowns in East Lansing. The Spartans aren’t a pushover by any means but they have not been impressive this year to any extent. Their win over the Hoosiers in week three was their largest victory of the season.

The Spartans’ largest margin of victory over every other opponent was just 11 points. Their opponents have consisted of hardly mid-major level teams such as Utah State, Central Michigan, and Arizona State who they lost to at home.

This week, the Buckeyes will look to extend their perfect record in the safe confines of Ohio Stadium.

It’s without question that the Buckeyes will keep their foot on the gas in this game as they know there’s still plenty to improve upon.

The Penn State game shined a light on imperfections that need polished up. and going against a lesser opponent offers the perfect opportunity for Ohio State to hone their strengths and eliminate their weaknesses.