The Ohio State Buckeyes entered Bloomington as the No. 2 team in college football, but the Indiana Hoosiers put them on upset alert in the first half.
With their 2017 season getting underway on Thursday night, the Ohio State Buckeyes were likely thinking it was the first step in a long road. Despite being trounced by Clemson in the College Football Playoff last year, Urban Meyer’s group entered Thursday’s opener as the No. 2 team in the country and with National Championship hopes.
Traveling on the road to face the Indiana Hoosiers — a program not particularly known for high-quality football — the Buckeyes appeared to be the heavy favorites to run all over them. Someone must have forgot to relay that message to the home team.
The Indiana offense came out making real noise, largely with the passing game running through wide receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr. The Big man who suffered a season-ending injury a year ago was just dominant against an Ohio State secondary that lost key components from the 2016 group. He notched two scores for the Hoosiers.
Perhaps more surprising, though, was the effort of the Indiana defense. A more accurate assessment might be that the Ohio State offense was appallingly bad in the first half. JT Barrett couldn’t buy a throw and there was no consistency with their drives in the slightest.
Subsequently, the Buckeyes couldn’t put much together on offense. They drove down the field a few times, but were only able to find two field goals. With Cobbs then finding the end zone twice, that put the home team up 14-6. A drive that fed running back JK Dobbins allowed Ohio State to come back and make it much closer, though, going into the half at 14-13.
Next: 25 Ugliest Alternate Uniforms In History
Regardless, it’s hard to not put Ohio State on upset alert. Not only are they trailing at the half, but against a team they should walk all over. Wouldn’t an upset of this magnitude be the perfect way to kick off opening weekend?