Gilbert: By A Receiver’s Left Foot, Buckeyes Survive Hoosiers

When defeat looked imminent, Ohio State got its biggest break in a long time for a must-have victory. The downside was the loss of quarterback Julian Sayin for several weeks to an injury.

Bloomington, IN – A game of inches, they say.

How about a foot.

Whatever shoe size Indiana’s Nick Marsh wears, it’s several sizes too big.

As Josh Hoover’s fourth-down pass dropped from the bluest of October skies over at-long-last relevant Memorial Stadium, the absolute worst outcome (for multiple reasons) seemed destined to strike down Ohio State.

(Bad dream sequence)

The Buckeyes would lose the lead and a game as must-win as any. They would probably be, in time, eliminated from a berth in the Big Ten championship game. They would be in danger of missing the College Football Playoff for the first time because an eventual and quite possible third loss could be enough to eliminate them.

With no playoff room for error, they would be facing four quality Big Ten teams and their rival without quarterback Julian Sayin. He watched the end of the game from the sideline with his right arm in a sling. Head Buckeye Ryan Day said after the game that Sayin will be out several weeks.

They would feel the dejection of a fourth straight loss in a game of great magnitude against another highly ranked team.

They would – likely with unprepared freshman quarterback Luke Fahey trying to lead a last-minute drive – have a second blown fourth-quarter lead to make them question their resolve, resiliency and ability to close.

(Back to reality)

Hoover’s pass landed like a feather in Marsh’s hands as he crossed the goal line, having beaten cornerback Cam Calhoun by several steps down the left sideline. One of the largest crowds in stadium history roared for what they were sure was a go-ahead, 27-yard touchdown with 1:02 left.

But.

Marsh’s right foot came off the red end-zone turf a split-second before the ball hit his hands. His next step with his left foot – the one that counted – landed completely out of bounds on the white turf. Incomplete.

Marsh immediately put his hands up to his head. He knew he was out of bounds. He then raised his arms halfway into a touchdown signal, hoping to convince the officials of a touchdown. But he knew. The officials knew. Calhoun probably knew too. Then the entire Ohio State sideline knew.

Indiana had turned the ball over on downs. Two kneel-downs by Fahey and all the bad dreams faded to black. No. 5 Ohio State – scorers of two fourth-down touchdowns – had survived No. 4 Indiana for a 19-15 victory, ending the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak.

“The ball’s in the air … I was starting to think about getting a two-minute drill ready to roll,” Day said.

Day felt the relief of Marsh stepping out of bounds for a bigger reason than an-almost lost lead. His team has finished the first half of every game with a scoring drive, including this one, with Sayin in charge. Now he didn’t have him when he almost needed a drive to win.

Day, while professing confidence in Fahey, knew what it would mean to be without Sayin with a minute left, with what sounded like the whole state of Indiana roaring in Fahey’s ears. No matter that his only experienced quarterback had a subpar 15-of-29 passing day and two interceptions, Day knew how difficult it would be to drive to a tying field goal without his No. 1.

“We talked about going into that drive, and as the drive was going on, in the headset, we got to go win this game on defense,” Day said. “And you got to give our staff credit, you got to give players credit, give Matt [Patricia] credit. We were aggressive in that moment, and it worked out for us.”

To win by any way imaginable or unimaginable, proving to themselves they could beat Indiana away from home with the Big Ten title game loss haunting them and fans’ less-than-trusting opinion of them, this win clearly seemed to be as relieving as it was satisfying.

“We’re a very good football team,” wide receiver Jeremiah Smith said when asked what this win says about the Buckeyes. “We knew it was going to take great focus to come in here and win this game for 60 minutes straight, and win a game in the fourth quarter, and that’s what we did.”

Ohio State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) won because more crucial plays favored them, none more important than Marsh not landing inbounds.

But there was so much more that put them in the lead.

On offense, no play mattered more than Jeremiah Smith’s touchdown catch that didn’t defy reality but made you question it. His 39^th career touchdown catch – tying him for the Big Ten career lead with Michigan’s Braylon Edwards – provided enough cushion for a defense still trying to figure out how to shut down highly ranked teams in the fourth quarter like they do for the first three quarters.

Smith didn’t have a Heisman-moment heavy day. But when you’re the frontrunner he is, it only takes one play in a top-five matchup for everyone to agree, yeah, he’s still the best player in the universe.

The play call, had it not produced six points, would have been questioned the rest of the season. The Buckeyes faced fourth-and-one from the Indiana 38-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

A Sayin sneak seemed high on the list of possible calls. He took the snap from under center, faked a handoff to Isaiah West, and looked for Smith, who was doubled-covered as he was every play.

“I ran the wrong route,” Smith said. “And Julian just trusted me once again.”

A few yards deep in the end zone, Smith stopped and came back to the underthrown ball. Good thing for the Buckeyes Sayin underthrew it because Smith was the only player in the end zone who tracked the throw.

Indiana defensive backs Amare Ferrell and Jamari Sharpe – both of whom made several big plays – couldn’t spot the ball and stumbled to the turf like they were dodging a meteor.

And on fourth-and-one, when the Buckeyes needed but a yard, Smith caught the ball – would you expect anything less – for a 38-yard touchdown, and the Buckeyes led 19-7 with 12:46 to play. Sayin had all the time he needed to throw deep.

Before the game, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti was asked by the TV sideline reporter how his defense could frustrate Smith. His answer: “By hitting the quarterback before he throws the ball.”

On fourth-and-one and already leading, Smith’s game-changing touchdown isn’t quite “Holy, Buckeye 2.0,” the Craig Krenzel fourth-and-one, 37-yard winning touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins in 2002.

But it was holy something.

“Unbelievable catch,” Day said shaking his head with the same disbelief as the millions watching. “He’s in a unique situation. Even when he has guys around him down field, he’s so tall, that if you just give him a chance, he’s going to make some plays.”

Indiana (6-1, 3-1) doubled Smith, at the least, every time he was on the field. He was smothered and covered like a Waffle House serving of hash browns. He caught four passes for 68 yards while Indiana’s secondary outperformed its profile as not as good as last season’s version.

Strangely, Smith didn’t get a chance to make a play at the end of the Buckeyes’ long drive to close the first half. But they still scored on Bo Jackson’s touchdown catch on fourth-and-goal from the two with seven seconds left for a 10-7 lead.

“I was pretty upset about that,” Smith said. “But we ended up scoring, so it don’t really matter at that point.”

The drive reached a first down just inside the 2-yard line. If this team ever needed to convert a red-zone residence into a touchdown in a big game, this was it.

Arthur Smith lined his offense up with as much beef as possible (four tight ends) in what’s known as 14 personnel, determined to punch the ball into the end zone in the hands of Bo Jackson. Jeremiah Smith was on the sideline, allowing the Indiana defense to not double-team anyone.

First down: Jackson stopped at the 2.

Second down: Sayin rolled right and had tight end Max LeBlanc open in the end zone but threw the ball at his feet. Indiana end Tobi Osunsanmi chased Sayin on the play, but the play missed more because of Sayin than Osunsanmi.

Third down: Jackson stopped for no gain. Timeout Ohio State.

Fourth down: Smith comes back and lines up on the left side. He runs a slant route into the end zone drawing paparazzi-like attention. Jackson slips out of the backfield toward the pylon. Sayin throws without hesitation. Touchdown Ohio State for a 10-7 lead with seven seconds left in the half. Sayin’s throw wasn’t perfect. Jackson had to reach up for it and secure it with the deft hands of a wide receiver.

Credit Smith with an assist.

“We drew that up in practice,” Smith said. “We thought it was going to be open right there for me to catch the slant. But everybody gravitated towards me, and Bo was wide open for the touchdown.”

Day wanted his team to block the Hoosiers perfectly and score on the ground with a hammer approach, not wanting it to come down to fourth down. But, like has been the case other times in similar situations the past two seasons, the run calls didn’t work.

“They’re stout, they crowd you in the inside gaps and they get vertical, and I thought we had a crease a couple of times and we didn’t,” Day said. “What was not an option was kicking a field goal at that point. We just weren’t going to let that happen. And so at that point, this stuff clearly isn’t working.”

Indiana knew this type of end-of-half drive – 15 plays, 80 yards, 5:04 – was possible, if not probable. The Buckeyes are 7-for-7 on drives to close the first half, scoring touchdowns each time inside the final 24 seconds.

Otherwise, the game’s ups and downs kept it close.

Sayin threw two interceptions, the first setting up Indiana for a 7-3 lead early in the first quarter. Sayin tried to force a throw to Smith on a slant that was tipped to another Hoosier.

Indiana’s best drive of the first half ended when linebacker Payton Pierce broke up a third-down pass at the goal line. Then all-Big Ten kicker Nico Radicic smashed a 32-yard field goal attempt into the left upright. Trailing by four in the fourth, his 55-yard attempt fell short.

Ohio State’s defense stopped other Indiana drives with turnovers.

On the second play of the third quarter, defensive back Jay Timmons stripped the football from a receiver from behind and linebacker T.J. Alford recovered.

Later in the third, Alford blitzed through a gap and was picked up. But safety Jaylen McClain, to Alford’s right, blitzed off the edge, blindside sacked Hoover, forced a fumble and Alford recovered again.

The victory felt great. But the reality is a future – nobody knows how long yet – without Sayin. He was injured on a sack with 8:05 to play. Indiana had just driven, quite easily, to Hoover’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Marsh and converted a two-point pass to cut their deficit to 19-15.

Fortunately, the Buckeyes didn’t need Fahey to make any plays to win the game. A true freshman from California, he’s beaten out Bellefontaine’s Tavien St. Clair, for the backup job, at least for now.

Fahey threw two incompletions and handed off as the Buckeyes kept a wishful eye on the clock. Smith and guard Luke Montgomery expressed confidence in Fahey, who figures to get the start in two weeks when the Buckeyes play in his home state against USC.

“He’s a competitive kid,” Day said. “I don’t think the moment was too big for him. It was just moving fast for him.”

Fahey, fortunately, has the off week to prepare. As does St. Clair.

But for a day, in the college football spotlight the Buckeyes seek and savor on afternoons like this one, they found a way to win at Indiana.

Even if only by a left foot.