By Sean Labar
The Ohio State Buckeyes entered Saturday’s Big Ten clash against an undefeated Indiana team with a point to make.
The Buckeyes did just that, cruising to a 38-15 victory, beating the Hoosiers in a dominant win that will bode well for them in the eyes of the College Football Playoff committee.
After trailing 7-0, Ohio State ripped off 31 straight points to erase any opportunity of the Hoosiers pulling off the biggest win in school history. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers came in No. 2 and 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings
On Ohio State’s final drive, running back Treyveon Henderson broke free and intentionally went down at the one-yard line, assuming the Buckeyes would eat up the rest of the clock and walk away with a 31-15 win.
Naturally, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti opted not to use his final timeouts — and the assumption was Ohio State would take a knee and end the game. But instead, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day called a QB sneak and Will Howard found the end zone, making the final score 38-15.
The FOX cameras panned to Cignetti who was clearly frustrated with Day’s decision to run up the score, knowing the committee will look at the margin of defeat when assessing the Hoosiers’ ranking for the College Football Playoff.
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“We said leave no doubt,” Day told Fox’s Jenny Taft postgame. “We wanted to finish it the right way and make sure that everybody knows that this is The Ohio State Buckeyes.”
Ohio State Video Board Trolls Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti After Blowout Win
There’s no denying Cignetti’s track record of finding success at every stop he’s had since becoming a head coach in 2011. He boasts an impressive 129-35 record and was responsible for drastic turnarounds at Elon and JMU before taking the Indiana job.
Now, in his first season leading the Hoosiers, he’s guided the team to its first 8–0 start since 1967 and finally to a 10–0 start, the best in Indiana football history.
Cignetti hasn’t shied away from giving his opponents bulletin board material all season and even during the offseason after landing the Indiana job. He famously said last year “Purdue sucks. But so does Michigan and Ohio State.”
Cignetti was asked earlier this season how he turned around the Indiana program so quickly. His response? “I win. Google me.”
But when the clock hit zero in Columbus on Saturday, Ohio State decided to talk a little trash aimed back at Cignetti.
Hot off the presses! pic.twitter.com/st0yiijYoi
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 23, 2024
On the video board following the blowout win, there was a fake newspaper with a headline that said “EXTRA, EXTRA, BUCKEYES WIN?? GOOGLE IT!
It’s clear everyone associated with the Ohio State program came to make a statement on Saturday and remind the Hoosiers they have a way to go before competing with the big boys in the conference.
