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3 takeaways from Ohio State Football’s thrashing of Indiana

By Riley Thomas

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) celebrates a 16-yard touchdown to wide receiver Chris Olave (2) during the second quarter of the NCAA football game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.Ohio State Buckeyes At Indiana Hoosiers
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) celebrates a 16-yard touchdown to wide receiver Chris Olave (2) during the second quarter of the NCAA football game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.Ohio State Buckeyes At Indiana Hoosiers /
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The scene was set for Indiana, a home game at night on primetime television with some turbulent weather. Sounds like a trap game in the Big Ten, right? Not for the Ohio State football team who dismantled the Hoosiers by a score of 54-7, led by the Buckeyes’ 539 yards of offense.

Ohio State’s offense is a machine right now, proven by their 44 points scored in just the first half. The Bucks made it look easy all night long when their starters were in. To make the win even sweeter, the defense continues to get better and better every single game as they allowed only 128 yards.

There is a ton to like about this Ohio State team that looks like a top-three team in the country right now, apparently, the AP Poll doesn’t agree. Three specific areas stood out in Ohio State’s imposing victory.

1. Is C.J. Stroud becoming the Heisman favorite?

Once again, how about C.J. Stroud? You cannot play at a much higher level than what Stroud is performing at right now. Nearly every throw has been placed perfectly, some of which have simply been ridiculous.

Stroud is threading the ball through some extremely tight windows, and that’s not all. His decision-making has made remarkable leaps in the last several weeks. He has become decisive with little hesitation, he has even done a great job of tucking and running when nothing is there.

The Buckeye QB’s 266 passing yards and four touchdowns with a completion percentage of 75% in the pouring rain was quite a sight. Truly, I cannot remember a team being able to air it out in some sloppy weather like OSU just did. Stroud is picking apart secondaries time and time again over the last month, regardless of the circumstances.

Pro Football Focus also had Stroud as the top quarterback during Week 8.

https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1452621925109444608

This is now three straight games where Stroud was among the top three highest-graded QBs of the week by PFF. With the California native blazing hot right now, he has become a Heisman contender. At his current pace, he has a fantastic chance of taking home Ohio State’s first Heisman trophy since Troy Smith.

Good luck to the rest of the Big Ten if Stroud keeps playing at this level because no one will be able to contain this offense.

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