OFFENSIVE LINE
Guard Alex Stepanovich was replaced by Bryce Bishop near the end of the first half after getting flagged for his second holding call. Otherwise, it was the kind of day OSU has expected from its front five all season. There were massive holes on running plays and good protection for Craig Krenzel. But, remember, Indiana -- not Michigan -- was the opponent.
GRADE: A minus
RUNNING BACKS
If the Buckeyes played the Hoosiers every week, Lydell Ross would have already won the first of his two Heismans. He's now had three 100-yard games in his career, two against IU. He finished with career-highs of 167 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries and had a 38-yard gain called back by a holding penalty. The only blemish on his day was a fumble at the IU 10.
GRADE: A minus
PASSING GAME
The loss of Drew Carter in the second quarter spoiled OSU's celebration, but Santonio Holmes (six catches) and Bam Childress (four catches) had productive days in his absence. It was a mixed bag for Holmes. He had two TD catches, but fumbled another scoring strike at the goal-line, had a pass deflect off him at the goal line for an interception, and was nailed for holding. Krenzel did a nice job of spreading the ball around, throwing for 272 yards. Scott McMullen was 5-of-5 in mop-up duty for 111 yards and a TD.
GRADE: A minus
DEFENSIVE LINE
This was as ugly for IU as advertised. The Buckeyes teed off on an O-line that started two freshmen and two sophomores. Linemen had four of OSU's five sacks, Will Smith leading the way with two. IU backs Brian Lewis and BenJarvus Green-Ellis had four 100-yard games between them before Saturday, but finished with 36 yards collectively against the Buckeyes.
GRADE: A
LINEBACKERS
Robert Reynolds was back in the starting lineup after serving a one-game suspension for the choking incident at Wisconsin, making one tackle. IU only ran 58 plays, so tackles were in short supply. A.J. Hawk led the Buckeyes with five, including two for losses. Taking away 58 yards in losses for embattled QB Matt LoVecchio, the Hoosiers had minus-12 yards rushing.
GRADE: A
DEFENSIVE BACKS
It was the closest thing the starting OSU secondary has had to an "off" day. As in day off. LoVecchio put up decent numbers but rarely tested the Buckeyes downfield. One long pass did draw an interference flag on Dustin Fox. Donte Whitner's interception near midfield in the final two minutes of the first half was big because a 14-0 halftime lead became 21-0 instead.
GRADE: A minus
SPECIAL TEAMS
While his teammates stayed dry in the locker room, Mike Nugent practiced field goals during a pre-game shower. It didn't do him much good because he was wide on a 35-yarder in the second quarter. It was only his second miss of the year. Another strange sight was a Nugent kickoff that went out of bounds at about the 20. Michael Jenkins wasn't able to break free on any of his punt returns this week, but OSU did foil a fake punt by the Hoosiers from their own 35.
GRADE: C
COACHING
After Drew Carter got hurt in the second quarter, Jim Tressel could have grounded the passing attack and stuck with the running game thereafter. Instead he showed faith in the fumble-prone duo of Bam Childress and Santonio Holmes in Carter's absence, and they came through with some big catches. The bone-headed move was on the other sideline where Gerry DiNardo stopped the clock in the final minute of the first half, giving OSU a chance to expand its lead.
GRADE: A
Originally published Sunday, October 26, 2003
