After a J.T. Barrett pass attempt went through the hands of Marcus Baugh and into the hands of Indiana's A'Shon Riggins for an interception, the Hoosiers had the ball inside the red zone and were threatening to cut Ohio State's lead to seven.
Indiana faced a 4th-and-1 from the 4-yard line and then called timeout to call the most critical play of the game to that point. The Hoosiers opted to hand the ball off to running back Devine Redding.
Stuffed.
Nick Bosa and Michael Hill led the charge on the stop and essentially ended any shot at an Indiana upset. The Buckeyes added a touchdown shortly after to score their three-touchdown victory.
“I was just excited to get on the field on fourth down and have the chance to make a play for my team," Bosa said afterward. "They put the people in on goal line for a reason and just knocked him back, shed the block and made the tackle for loss.”
Added Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer: "Nick Bosa, from what I understand, had probably his best day. We probably just have to play him a bit more as he's getting healthy and more involved in the defense."
Samuel More Involved?
During Meyer's postgame press conference, the Ohio State head coach was asked more than one question relating to Curtis Samuel's role in the offense Saturday. When Meyer was asked if, going forward, there would be a more concerted effort to involve the Buckeyes' most dynamic player from the get-go, he quickly responded.
"Yes," he said bluntly. "Duly noted."
Samuel had just nine carries for 82 yards and a touchdown in the 38-17 victory. He did not catch a pass.
Meyer said the target number for Samuel is anywhere between 15 to 20 touches. The junior playmaker reached that during the first four games of the season, but he was well shy in the victory over the Hoosiers. Ohio State played the entire first quarter without its most dynamic player touching the ball.
"He only had nine carries," Meyer said. "That's not enough."
It'd be quite surprising not to see the Buckeyes involve Samuel early and often next week against Wisconsin.
Campbell Talks Big Return
Parris Campbell laughed to himself, then insisted he did not get caught.
“I kind of got stumbled up," Ohio State's speedy wide receiver and kick returner said. "He grabbed the back of my shirt and kind of used it as a slingshot."
"I’ll get another one.”
Campbell's 91-yard kickoff return was one of the biggest plays for the Buckeyes on Saturday. Indiana had just trimmed Ohio State's lead to seven points right before halftime, but Campbell had a dynamic return on the ensuing kickoff that took the ball all the way down inside the Hoosiers' 10-yard line.
J.T. Barrett plunged it in from 5 yards out just two plays later to give the Buckeyes a two-score lead at the half.
For Campbell, the return was a big play as the redshirt sophomore has started to emerge in recent weeks as yet another playmaker for Ohio State.
“It kind of gave me a confidence booster just to go out there and make that play for my guys," Campbell said. "Like I said earlier, those 10 guys on the KOR unit are blocking their ass off and it kind of felt good to pay them back for what they do each and every time I’m out on the field.
"The big return, it definitely helped me and it definitely helped our team.”
