Jeremiah Smith was bottled up for three quarters but his 38-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter helped No. 4 Ohio State hold off No. 5 Indiana 19-15 in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday.
The Hoosiers (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) had their 22-game winning streak end when a fourth-and-4 pass at the Ohio State 27-yard line was incomplete when Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds in the end zone while making the catch with 1:02 left in the game.
Ohio State (6-1, 4-0) led 13-7 early in the fourth quarter when on fourth-and-1 from the Indiana 38, Smith went up between two defenders in the end zone to grab the ball for his 39th career receiving touchdown to tie Michigan’s Braylon Edwards for the Big Ten record.
The two-point conversion failed as the Buckeyes led 19-7 lead with 12:46 remaining but Indiana immediately responded with a 19-yard catch by Marsh from Josh Hoover and a two-point pass to Turbo Richard to make it 19-15.
Smith had four catches for 68 yards. Julian Sayin was 15 of 29 for 235 yards with a TD and two interceptions before being injured in the fourth quarter. He was sporting a sling late in the game and Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said Sayin would miss several weeks.
Leading by three at the start of the third quarter, the Buckeyes used a turnover to go ahead 13-7 on a 29-yard field goal by Conor Hawkins after Davion Chandler’s fumble after a catch was recovered at the Indiana 45 by Earl Little Jr.
It was Indiana’s first fumble lost on a play from scrimmage in 1,437 snaps and later Hoover was sacked and lost a fumble but the Buckeyes could not take advantage.
Ohio State led 10-7 at the half, scoring on its first and last drives. Indiana was dominant in between in shutting down Smith with double coverage which led to the Hoosiers lone score.
The Buckeyes opened the game by going 67 yards to the 8 before Indiana stiffened and Hawkins made a 26-yard field goal.
Indiana took a 7-3 lead after Amare Ferrell’s interception and return of 23 yards to the Ohio State 7 where Richard ran for the score with 13:54 left in the second quarter.
It remained that way because Nico Radicic’s 32-yard field-goal attempt for the Hoosiers hit the left upright with 5:11 left in the half.
From there, the Buckeyes went 80 yards and 15 plays, seven from the 11-yard line or closer, to go ahead 10-7 with seven seconds left on a 2-yard catch by Bo Jackson.