5 Key Takeaways From Ohio State’s Win Over Indiana: Hoosiers’ CFP Case, Will Howard’s Big Day

Ohio State 38, Indiana 15: 5 Key Takeaways

5. The final score only matters for the dim - Indiana will get into the College Football Playoff

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Down 31-7 Indiana went on a nice march, got a late touchdown, and came up with the two point conversion. Ohio State was able to answer with a tack-on touchdown that didn’t need to happen, but none of it mattered.

It was a bad day on special teams for IU - a muffed punt snap and an allowed punt return for a score - and the final score wasn’t great, but Ohio State is just that good, Indiana wasn’t that awful, and it was a road loss against what might be the best team in college football.

This was just one loss. Assuming a win over Purdue, Indiana will be 11-1 and in, and …

4. The Ole Miss loss to Florida matters

Every SEC team that can be picked off is a good thing for Indiana.

SMU is now more in the mix - if it’s 11-1 Miami vs 11-1 SMU in the ACC Championship, the loser might be in - but it’ll be hard to sell the idea that any Power Four team that’s worse than 11-1 will get in over a Big Ten team whose only loss is at Ohio State.

Florida is playing well, but Ole Miss losing at the swamp for a third loss knocks it out of the mix.

So expect Indiana to get in, but the only question will be whether or not it gets a home game. Assume the Hoosiers are no worse than a 9 seed.

3. Cody Simon and the Ohio State pass rush had a DAY

The Ohio State pass rush was okay to start the season, but it cranked up large ever since the loss to Oregon. Over the last four games the Buckeyes came up with 13 sacks.

They got five in this with Cody Simon going off with 2.5 sacks and a game-high ten tackles.

The Buckeye coaching staff didn’t coach scared. They dominated the tempo on third downs by bringing the pressure to IU star QB Kurtis Rourke, drive after drive bogged down, and the D once again held another team to under 17 points.

2. Will Howard’s big day

The Kansas State transfer has been better than you think.

Will Howard hasn’t been as dynamic as CJ Stroud was, and the offense hasn’t been as explosive as it was under other Ohio State quarterback greats like Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields, but coming into this he completed 73% of his passes with 24 touchdowns and five picks, and he ran for six scores.

Against an aggressive Indiana defense that forces a ton of mistakes and dominated overall for most of the season, Howard completed 22-of-26 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns with a pick that should’ve been a catch.

He also ran for the game-finishing score. That was great, but none of that matters if he’s not great against …

1. And now it’s on to TTUN.

Ohio State is in the College Football Playoff.

Even if the unthinkable happens, at 10-2 OSU would slide on in with wins over Penn State and Indiana on the resumé, but …

As we know, Ohio State could rip through the College Football Playoff, win the national title in totally dominant fashion, and a too-large segment of the Buckeye fan base would half blow it off if the team doesn’t finally beat Michigan again.

There shouldn’t be a problem. The Buckeye defense is too good, the offense too talented, and everything is in place to not just win, but do it with malice.

Ohio State got here. It’s fine. Everything is on the table.

The 2024 college football season for the Buckeyes now begins