Sophomore quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 21 of 28 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns and running back TreVeyon Henderson scored three touchdowns, lifting No. 5 Ohio State to a 54-7 win over Indiana in Bloomington, Ind.
Tight end Jeremy Ruckert added a pair of touchdown catches for the Buckeyes (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten), who rolled up 539 yards of offense. Stroud has posted a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 14-0 over his last three games.
Indiana (2-5, 0-4) lost starting quarterback Jack Tuttle to an injury in the first quarter. With freshman quarterback Donaven McCulley and walk-on quarterback Grant Gremel playing the rest of the game, the Hoosiers managed just 128 yards of offense.
Ohio State took the opening drive of the game 75 yards on 12 plays, going up 7-0 on an 11-yard touchdown run by Miyan Williams. Indiana answered with its own 75-yard TD drive, tying the score at 7 on a 7-yard pass from Tuttle to tight end Peyton Hendershot.
Tuttle took a shot as he released the touchdown pass and stayed down on the turf. He left the field under his own power before heading to the locker room. He returned briefly for two plays in the second quarter before sitting out the rest of the game.
After Tuttle’s injury, Ohio State reeled off 37 unanswered points to take a 44-7 lead into halftime. Henderson scored on a 21-yard run to put the Buckeyes up 14-7, then extended the lead to 21-7 on a 14-yard catch and run.
Ohio State then got a safety on a bad snap that resulted in Indiana punter James Evans being tackled in the end zone.
The Buckeyes took advantage of getting the ball right back. Stroud connected with Chris Olave on a 16-yard touchdown pass to put the Buckeyes up 30-7. Henderson’s third score of the game, a 6-yard rush, gave Ohio State a 37-7 lead.
Then, with 31 seconds left in the first half, Stroud found Ruckert in the end zone for a 14-yard score.
Overall, Ohio State outgained Indiana 334-54 in the first half.
Ohio State tacked on 10 more points in the second half on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Ruckert and a 26-yard field goal by Noah Ruggles.
–Field Level Media
