Offensive Grade: A
The passing game was excellent, with Terrelle Pryor setting a career record in yards with 334, before leaving the game midway through the third quarter. Pryor also added three touchdown passes and an 80% completion percentage (24/30.) It was an excellent bounce-back day for the junior quarterback, after struggling last week against Illinois. He involved eight different receivers, with fellow junior DeVier Posey leading the group with eight catches for 103 yards.
An average day rushing the ball is the only thing keeping this grade from being an A+. With Pryor only rushing the ball three times, the tailbacks were the main feature of the running game. Dan "Boom" Herron was the leading rusher, with 68 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. Herron busted a 39 yard touchdown run on the Buck's first drive, while popping another one in off of a direct snap later in the game. To be fair, the Buckeyes' rushing attack did not disappoint, but also did not excel.
Defensive Grade: A+
Simply dominant. Against Michigan the previous week, the Indiana offense put up 35 points and averaged 6.6 yards per play. This week, Indiana scored 10 points while averaging 3.24 yards per play. My fear of Indiana's passing attack taking advantage of a depleted Buckeye secondary was obviously misplaced. The Silver Bullets forced Ben Chappell into poor situations consistently, and Chappell folded consistently. And without leading rusher Darius Willis to provide any semblance of a running threat, the entire Indiana offense folded with him.
True freshman Christian Bryant stepped in ably after Tyler Moeller's season ending injury last weekend, and senior corner Devon Torrence had the first of three Ohio State interceptions on the day.
Special Teams Grade: B
Ohio State contained Indiana's return units well, while having solid returns of their own. Jaamal Berry averaged 27 yards on his kickoff returns, with a long of 29. And, again, first year punter Ben Buchanan showed marked progress from his early season struggles, averaging 50 yards over three punts.
Senior placekicker Devin Barclay went 1/1 on field goal tries, with true freshman Drew Basil suffering an ugly block on his 53 yard attempt late in the second quarter. This is the second long field goal attempt of Basil's that has been blocked on the season, with the first coming against Marshall. Kicking from a long distance is different than short attempts, as the kicked must be more aware of distance, and a greater leg drive required to hit that distance. As such, you often get lower kicks that are easy targets to be blocked.
Player of the Game: Terrelle Pryor
A career day should always be enough to warrant player of the game status, and it certainly is today. Pryor was excellent passing the ball, and with Denard Robinson's stumble against Michigan State, he may have moved ahead of the Michigan quarterback in the Heisman derby.