Tom Allen was the man of the hour, but Kevin Wilson’s offense got the last laugh in Bloomington

It was all set up for Kevin Wilson to have a walk of shame in Bloomington.

The student section chanted “over-rated” at the Buckeyes after Indiana took a third-quarter lead. There was all the hype surrounding Wilson’s controversial arrival in Columbus, yet up until that moment, it looked like the Buckeye offense just flew in from the Fiesta Bowl.

To that point, Wilson didn’t have an answer for his old team. Tom Allen, the guy with somewhat pedestrian credentials who Wilson originally brought to Indiana, was soaking in every possible second of his team’s time on the big stage. By the middle of the third quarter, Allen had already given a moving pregame interview, high-fived the front row of the student section and most importantly, he was winning.

All Wilson could do was sit up in the visiting coaches booth at Memorial Stadium, and watch an unthinkable scenario play out. Was he really about to be the reason that Ohio State lost to Indiana for the first time in 29 years? Was the program he led for six years really about to have its best moment in school history at his expense?

Instead, a different scenario played out. All Wilson did was sit up in that booth and do what he did best. Spread the field, attack, score points, rinse and repeat.

Ohio State’s 29-0 run to close out a 49-21 victory in Bloomington on Thursday night was not the way Wilson drew it up. If he could’ve, he would’ve liked to have delivered the knockout blow in the second quarter.

But he waited for his opportunity to strike. By night’s end, Ohio State fans probably breathed a sigh of relief and thought one thing.

Oh, that’s why Wilson was hired.

We don’t know how that game plays out if Wilson isn’t the one pulling the strings. But up until Parris Campbell’s 74-yard touchdown catch and run, it felt like the 2015-16 Buckeyes all over again.

They couldn’t stretch the field vertically. Whether it was dropped passes or overthrown balls, Ohio State didn’t look like the 2014 version of itself that many hoped it would. J.T. Barrett wasn’t in sync with his receivers, and his receivers couldn’t help him out.

But once Ohio State got rolling, the offense had Wilson’s fingerprints all over it. He found ways to stretch the field horizontally and Barrett recognized when he had guys open in space.

There was nothing diabolical about Campbell’s momentum-shifting touchdown. That was just a drag route two yards beyond the line of scrimmage that relied on a linebacker staying with him. It worked out even better because the IU linebacker got caught defending another wideout in zone coverage.

That was all Campbell needed:

Here’s Parris Campbell taking it 74 yards to the house. pic.twitter.com/YU75fJvmiv

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 1, 2017

Wilson’s offense is all about getting little pockets of space for his receivers. That’s what Johnnie Dixon for his first career touchdown catch.

Look at how the Buckeyes used four wide receivers and allowed Dixon to settle in the middle of the field because of all that was going on outside the hashes:

Credit Campbell and Dixon for making those plays, of course. That kind of speed can’t be taught.

But that’s why so many people are high on what Wilson will be able to do with Ohio State’s offense. As long as he can find those little pockets of space and Barrett can recognize them, the Buckeyes should be able to do some serious damage.

Do they need to be able to connect better on deep balls? Absolutely. Drops like the one Campbell had won’t fly against top-25 competition. Overthrows like the few Barrett had in the end zone won’t allow Wilson’s offense to take flight, either.

Still, it’s hard not to be impressed with what Ohio State accomplished in the second half given the circumstances. The Buckeyes had zero rhythm against a solid Indiana defense. J.K. Dobbins had some impressive runs, but when Ohio State was in predictable passing situations on third down, it lacked creativity. There was every reason for the Buckeyes to come out and play tight in the second half.

RELATED: Rapid Reaction: Ohio State silences Indiana after slow start

For the vast majority of conference play last year, Ohio State lacked the ability to put teams away. Middle-of-the-pack B1G teams like Indiana, Northwestern and even Michigan State never really went away against the Buckeyes last year.

This felt like another one of those games. It seemed like a game in which the defense would spark the offense and find a way to win by a possession or two.

Wilson didn’t tighten up his offense. If anything, he loosened it up.

When the Buckeyes were up three touchdowns on 4th and 1 from Indiana’s 5-yard line in the final four minutes, what did they do? They went for it. And they got it.

An hour earlier, he would’ve probably taken just getting out of Bloomington with a win. But he ended his night in the fashion he hoped he would. One garbage time touchdown against his former team.

While the circumstances of Wilson’s departure at Indiana were tumultuous at best, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s with Ohio State now.

And as the college football world saw all too quickly on Thursday night, that could be a scary sight.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.