The Ohio State schedule delivered a top-5 showdown in Week 7, and No. 4 Ohio State took control just before halftime against No. 5 Indiana with a long, composed drive capped by a Bo Jackson touchdown. It was the kind of sequence that can shape a game between evenly matched teams.
Indiana had earlier gone in front 7-3 in the second quarter when Turbo Richard scored the first touchdown of the game. But Ohio State answered with 24 unanswered points, and the decisive moment before the break came after a 15-play, 80-yard march that ended with Jackson scoring on fourth and goal from the two.
Bo Jackson finishes the march
Ohio State did not rush the situation. The Buckeyes worked the ball down the field and kept the drive alive long enough to wear on Indiana before finally breaking through inside the two-yard line. Jackson's score on fourth and goal gave Ohio State the lead and shifted the feel of the game heading into halftime.
That kind of drive matters in a game with this much weight. Against a No. 5 opponent, Ohio State needed a response after falling behind, and the Buckeyes produced one with patience and physicality rather than a quick strike.
Indiana's turnovers changed the flow
The story did not stop with the score before halftime. At the start of the second half, Jay Timmons forced a fumble on Indiana's first possession, and on Indiana's next possession Ohio State strip-sacked Josh Hoover and recovered the ball.
Those two plays underlined how quickly momentum can swing in a game like this. Indiana had taken an early lead, but Ohio State's pressure and ball disruption helped turn the matchup in its favour.
For Indiana, it was a damaging stretch after a strong start. The Hoosiers had not lost a fumble since Week 1 against Old Dominion, but Ohio State forced them into mistakes when the game was at its most important point.
With the lead established before halftime and the defensive pressure arriving immediately after the break, Ohio State put itself in a strong position in a game that carried real schedule significance.
