No.2 Buckeyes battle Hoosiers in Columbus

From: KVOS.com -

The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes put an 11-game win streak on the line this weekend in Columbus, as they welcome the Indiana Hoosiers to Ohio Stadium for Big Ten action.

Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes have made it look easy at times this season, winning their first five games by double figures. Last weekend, the team opened its conference slate on the road at Illinois and came out of Champaign with a 24-13 victory. With a win this week, Tressel will become the third-fastest coach to win 100 games at a Big Ten school (121 games coached) behind only Michigan’s Fielding Yost and Bo Schembechler.

Bill Lynch’s Hoosiers would like nothing more than to prevent that milestone on their watch. Indiana has played extremely well in 2010, opening the year with three straight victories before suffering its only defeat last week in a shootout with nationally-ranked Michigan (42-35) in the Big Ten opener.

The series is lopsided in OSU’s favor, with the Buckeyes holding a 66-12-5 all-time advantage. That mark includes the current 15-game win streak over the Hoosiers, who haven’t beaten Ohio State since 1988.

The Hoosiers bring a dynamic offensive attack into Columbus, averaging almost 40 points per game (39.8) and over 450 yards of total offense. A good portion of that has come from the passing attack (fourth nationally at 348.2 ypg) fueled by the arm of QB Ben Chappell. The veteran signal-caller is coming off a game in which he set a school record with 45 completions, going for 480 yards, despite losing to the Wolverines. It has been a lot of the same on the season for Chappell, who has completed over 71 percent of his passes, for 1,370 yards, with 12 TDs and just one INT. The top receivers that have benefited the most from Chappell’s strong play are Damarlo Belcher (31 catches, for 375 yards, three TDs), Terrance Turner (24 receptions, for 246 yards, one TD) and Tandon Doss (23 receptions, for 323 yards, one TD).

The ground game is an afterthought (106.8 ypg), but tailback Darius Willis (4.3 ypc, four TDs) keeps teams honest for the most part.

Last week, the Indiana defense was gashed by Heisman frontrunner Denard Robinson, but that is something every defense has fallen victim to this season. The team’s inability to stop the run this year (207.0 ypg) is reason for concern, however. Opponents have also scored in 8-of-9 red zone chances, with six TDs. With just four sacks and five takeaways in the first four games, big plays have been a rarity.

Senior LB Tyler Replogle has been the top performer on the defensive side of the ball, pacing the Hoosiers in tackles (26), with one INT and one fumble recovery. Junior LBs Jeff Thomas (20 tackles) and Leon Beckum (20 tackles, one sack) are next in line in terms of stops.

The Hoosiers will be facing their second straight superior athlete under center in Ohio State’s Terelle Pryor. Something that Bill Lynch is looking…..

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