Final Score: No. 5 Ohio State 54, Indiana 7

Brief Recap: Ohio State’s string of 50-point performances is still intact, and this was a particularly explosive outing for the Buckeyes. Traveling to Bloomington off a bye week, Ohio State started early and never let up against Indiana. And it was not just one facet of the offense that stole the show. TreVeyon Henderson produced a first-half hat trick that drew the attention of Maurice Clarett. QB C.J. Stroud was also impressive time and time again with one touchdown to Chris Olave helping Olave climb the all-time ranks of the Buckeyes.

For Indiana, it was another disappointing outing in a disappointing year for the Hoosiers, though the team felt outmatched from the start. Backup QB Jack Tuttle once again started for Michael Penix Jr., and even Tuttle was banged up against the Buckeyes. He missed a few series with Indiana playing 3 QBs total in the first half after an early injury to Tuttle. But make no mistake about it: Ohio State is once again the real deal heading toward the final month of the season.

Key Player: It really is difficult to find just one, especially with Ohio State’s defensive front also creating havoc against the Hoosiers. However, it felt like the juice in that first half was provided by TreVeyon Henderson. After not seeing much of Henderson on the opening drive, he responded with 95 total yards of offense on just 10 touches. Henderson also punched in 3 touchdowns as the Buckeyes ran up 44 first-half points against the Hoosiers.

Key Moment: It came early on, and that is not much of a surprise. Ohio State took a quick 7-0 lead before Indiana answered right back with a score of its own. Unfortunately, that touchdown is when Tuttle was hurt and forced to leave the action. Ohio State responded with 14 quick points and forced another IU punt. But this time, the snap was botched, leading to a safety and another quick touchdown for the Buckeyes.

Key Stat: With all the work done by the OSU offense, some of the key numbers came courtesy of the defense. For the game, Indiana had 114 total yards and 34 yards rushing. That was never going to cut it against the Buckeyes.

What it means for Ohio State moving forward: After the Buckeyes initially showed some signs of faltering early in the season, the B1G is once again in the hands of Ryan Day and Ohio State. Now at 6-1 (4-0 in the B1G), the Buckeyes are tied atop the East division and will have everything still ahead of them. Games against Penn State, Michigan State, and Michigan still await, but winning out will get Ohio State back to Indianapolis. From there, a win would nearly guarantee a return trip to the College Football Playoff. Next up is Penn State in Week 9.

What it means for Indiana moving forward: It’s tough not to feel bad for the Hoosiers who have just been through a grinder in 2021. A pile of injuries has limited Tom Allen’s squad, and it might be an uphill battle to bowl eligibility. Indiana is now 2-5 and needs 4 games wins out of games against Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers, Minnesota, and Purdue to get to 6 wins.