Ohio State 19, Indiana 15: Survival in Bloomington

Survived. That's the word. Ohio State walked out of Bloomington with a 19-15 win over No. 5 Indiana — and nobody in scarlet is apologizing for it.

What happened

FINAL: Ohio State 19, Indiana 15.

The Buckeyes led 3-0 early, fell behind 7-3 after Julian Sayin's first interception, and took a 10-7 lead into halftime. The defense took over from there: two fumble recoveries — E. Little and Tarvos Alford (forced by J. McClain) — set up the points that built a 19-7 lead, capped by Sayin's 38-yard strike to Jeremiah Smith on 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter. The two-point try failed, Indiana answered with a touchdown and converted its own two-pointer to make it 19-15, and that's where it ended.

Sayin's day: 15-of-29, 235 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions — and he left the game late (questionable), with Luke Fahey finishing. Not his sharpest outing, not even close. The defense didn't care. It held Indiana to 15 points and snapped the Hoosiers' 22-game winning streak.

The take

Ugly wins count the same as pretty ones. Ohio State went on the road against a top-five team missing half its depth chart — Roker, Turbo Rogers, Ja'Kobi Jackson, Siereveld all out, Boyd a game-time decision — lost its starting quarterback late, and still found a way. That's a championship trait, even when the quarterback play isn't.

My call was Ohio State 24, Indiana 23. Got the winner right, missed the score — and Indiana didn't cover the 3.5 either. Nobody's perfect.

Score: Ohio State 19, Indiana 15

Toss Boss call: Ohio State 24, Indiana 23 (winner right, score wrong)

Next: Bye week, then a Halloween trip to USC on October 31.