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Ohio State vs. Indiana: The 10 biggest blowouts in rivalry history
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Ohio State has absolutely dominated its annual series with Indiana. Pretty much any era you pick, this series is all Buckeyes.
OSU leads the series 78-9-4. The first meeting was in 1904 and then they played again in 1913, beginning regular meetings.
When you’ve defeated a team 78 times, including 27 in a row, there are going to be more than a few lopsided outcomes. Unsurprisingly, the 10 biggest blowouts in the Ohio State vs. Indiana series all belong to the Buckeyes.
The games range from 1957 to 2021. The Buckeyes have a 56-point win and an assortment of others in the 40s, which means Indiana’s largest margin of victory (34) misses the cut for 10 biggest blowouts. In all but one of the wide-margin wins, the Ohio State defense held Indiana to 9 points or fewer.
Ohio State and Indiana’s next meeting is set for Nov. 12. The way both teams are playing, we may get a new entry on the blowout list.
Here are the 10 biggest blowouts in the series so far:
Oct. 19, 1957: Ohio State 56, Indiana 0
This is the only game on the list in which Ohio State was not ranked. The win, however, earned OSU a No. 12 ranking.
Woody Hayes’ squad would go on to finish 9-1 (the loss coming in the season-opener against TCU), voted national champion in the Coaches Poll and Big Ten title winners.
Oct. 23, 2021: Ohio State 54, Indiana 7
Last year’s game checks in as the second-largest blowout in the series.
Indiana tied it 7-7 in the first quarter. The No. 5-ranked Buckeyes scored the next 47 points, including a 30-point explosion in the second quarter.
OSU played 3 quarterbacks. CJ Stroud finished with 256 yards and 4 touchdowns. No Buckeye wideout hit triple digits, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 6 catches for 99 yards.
Nov. 3, 1984: Ohio State 50, Indiana 7
OSU was ranked as high as No. 2 in 1984 but stumbled a few times that season. The Buckeyes fell from No. 6 to No. 16 after a 16-14 loss to Wisconsin at Camp Randall.
Ohio State bounced back in a big way, winning 50-7 at home over Indiana. It was the start of a 3-game winning streak to end the season before dropping the Rose Bowl to USC.
Sept. 14, 2019: Ohio State 51, Indiana 10
The Buckeyes went undefeated in the regular season of Ryan Day’s first full year as head coach.
This was Game 3 of the season, away from home. OSU showed no signs of road jitters, never trailing.
It was just 7-3 Ohio State at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, it was 30-10. Justin Fields was responsible for 4 touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) while JK Dobbins recorded 193 rushing yards and a TD on 22 carries.
The 2019 Buckeyes were perfect in B1G play, not falling until meeting Clemson in the College Football Playoff.
This is Indiana’s only double-digit scoring output on the list.
Oct. 21, 2006: Ohio State 44, Indiana 3
October 2006 was a fun time to be a Buckeye. Ohio State was ranked No. 1 and Troy Smith was making his case for the Heisman Trophy.
Indiana scored first in this one, taking a 3-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, there were still about 3.5 quarters left to play.
Ohio State scored the next 44 points, including 21 in the 2nd quarter. Smith had a 4-touchdown game, boosting his Heisman hopes.
Jim Tressel’s squad would go undefeated in the regular season, winning the Big Ten and reaching the BCS national championship game.
Oct. 12, 1985: Ohio State 48, Indiana 7
This was a bounce-back game for Earle Bruce’s 1985 squad. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 5 before losing at Illinois, the first loss of the ’85 campaign.
OSU responded to falling to No. 15 with a 48-7 home win over the Hoosiers, the start of a 5-game winning streak.
After back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Michigan to close out the regular season, OSU ended the ’85 campaign on a high note with a Citrus Bowl win over a top-10 BYU team.
Oct. 13, 1979: Ohio State 47, Indiana 6
Bruce’s 1979 team did not start the year ranked, but went all the way to No. 1 during an 11-1 season with a perfect 8-0 Big Ten record.
OSU closed the ’79 regular season with 7 straight conference contests. The Indiana game was No. 2 of 7.
It wasn’t the Buckeyes’ first 40-burger of the season, but it was the first blowout. OSU defeated Washington State 45-29 earlier in the season. This was the ’79 Buckeyes’ first time scoring 40 points or more and holding the opponent under 10.
It turned out to be the first in a string of blowouts over Wisconsin (59-0), Michigan State (42-0), Illinois (44-7) and Iowa (34-7).
OSU won The Game 18-15 and went to the Rose Bowl as the No. 1 team, but fell short of a perfect season with a loss to No. 3 USC, 17-16.
Oct. 18, 1958: Ohio State 49, Indiana 8
Hayes’ 1958 team started the season ranked No. 1 and got off to a great start.
The 49-8 home win over Indiana improved the Buckeyes’ record to 4-0. Unfortunately for OSU, a rough patch was on the way.
Ohio State went 0-1-2 over the next 3 games. Hayes’ squad, though, recovered to end the regular season with back-to-back wins over Iowa and Michigan.
Oct. 30, 1976: Ohio State 47, Indiana 7
Hayes’ 1976 team had some early-season stumbles, but managed a co-Big Ten title with a 9-2-1 finish.
OSU’s highest score of the season was set in the first week against Michigan State, but the largest margin of victory was the 40-point win over Indiana in Bloomington.
The Buckeyes were No. 8 going into the game and did not move up in the AP poll.
Oct. 19, 1974: Ohio State 49, Indiana 9
For the 1974 Ohio State team, the win over Indiana was a bit routine, sandwiched between 45- and 48-point wins over Wisconsin (52-7) and Northwestern (55-7).
Archie Griffin, who won the Heisman Trophy in ’74, had a pair of 1st-quarter rushing touchdowns in the victory.
A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.