<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>
Buckeyes Pull Away From Indiana 41-10
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff>
Antonio Pittman
</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By
Steve Helwagen
Managing Editor
Date: Oct 22, 2005
Antonio Pittman carried 26 times for 133 yards as the Buckeyes overcame a host of penalties and a couple of turnovers to notch a much-needed Big Ten road win.
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>
It was dominating in score – maybe not in style – but Ohio State found a way to win a Big Ten road game Saturday.
The 13th-ranked Buckeyes overcame a passel of turnovers and penalties to paste Indiana 41-10 in a messy Big Ten football game before an OSU-partisan crowd of 52,866 at Bloomington, Ind.
One week after committing four turnovers in a 35-24 win over Michigan State, the Buckeyes (5-2, 3-1) were flagged eight times for 95 yards.
Plus, quarterback Troy Smith threw an interception on the IU goal line and receiver Ted Ginn Jr. had a pass completion ripped away and returned for an IU touchdown.
And Ginn also had a 98-yard kick return negated by a personal foul during the play on a teammate. Two of OSU’s early possessions were curtailed by costly clipping penalties.
But OSU won on the road for just the second time in its last seven Big Ten road trips. The Buckeyes remained on the lead lap in the Big Ten race with just one conference loss.
Quarterback Troy Smith was 14 of 23 passing for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also carried the ball 12 times for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
His top target was split end Santonio Holmes, who finished with five catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. Ginn added four grabs for 59 yards and also had a late 61-yard punt return for a score.
Tailback Antonio Pittman added 133 yards on 26 carries.
The OSU defense again came up big, holding the Hoosiers (4-3, 1-3) to 137 yards total offense. Nickel back Brandon Mitchell added a 57-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Indiana quarterback Blake Powers was 13 of 29 passing for 72 yards with an interception.
The Buckeyes got a big break early as IU punt returner Troy Grosfield muffed a punt and OSU’s Antonio Smith recovered it at the IU 28-yard line. OSU needed three plays to cash in as, on third-and-5 at the IU 23, Smith hit Holmes on a slant. He caught the ball in front of IU’s Tracy Porter and then eluded Aaron Mitchell to complete the 23-yard touchdown and put OSU up 7-0 with 10:27 left in the first quarter.
OSU was driving late in the first quarter, but Smith was intercepted by IU’s Porter at the goal line. The Buckeyes appeared to hold IU on its ensuing possession, but OSU’s Mike Kudla was flagged for roughing the passer on a fourth-down pass. Given new life, IU’s Joe Kleinsmith booted a 39-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 13:17 left in the first half.
OSU extended the lead to 14-3 with a six-play, 50-yard march midway through the second quarter. Smith got it started by dumping the ball off to Holmes for a 28-yard gain. On second-and-goal at the 10, he dumped it off to fullback Stan White Jr., who rumbled down to the IU 1. On third down there, Smith faked an option pitch and kept it for the 1-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 7:25 left in the first half.
Josh Huston tacked on a 23-yard field goal with 2:48 left in the half for a 17-3 lead.
OSU then had the ball to start the second half. But on third-and-8 from the IU 43, Smith hit Ginn with a flanker screen. He cut to the middle of the field, where he was stood up and IU’s John Pannozzo stripped him of the ball. Pannozzo rolled 57 yards for a touchdown, trimming the gap to 17-10 with 10:48 left in the third quarter.
But that touchdown only steeled OSU’s resolve as the Buckeyes reeled off 24 unanswered points to close the game.
OSU answered the Pannozzo touchdown with a five-play, 79-yard drive that lasted just 56 seconds. Pittman had gains of 17 and 18 yards and Maurice Wells added a 25-yard gain. Finally, Smith kept it on a nifty 23-yard touchdown run, picking up blocks from guard T.J. Downing, tight end Ryan Hamby and receivers Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez. The play put OSU up 24-10 with 9:52 left in the third quarter.
Mitchell’s 57-yard interception return made it 31-10 with 4:44 left in the third.
Huston added a 39-yard field goal with 8:33 left and Ginn’s 61-yard punt return capped the scoring with 6:51 left.
Also Notable
* Pittman hit the 100-yard mark for the fourth time in seven games this year and fifth time in his career.
* OSU improved its lead in the all-time series to 64-12-5, including 23-2-1 in Bloomington. OSU won its 13th straight in the series and holds a 44-2-2 edge since 1952.
* Tressel is now 45-13 in his fifth year as the OSU coach. His road record improved to 12-8 and his Big Ten record is now 26-10, including 5-0 over IU.
* This was the first home loss for Indiana under Hoeppner.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
adding-right:5px;}/*basic table style library*/.ysptblhead {background-color:#999;color:#fff;}.ysptblhead th, .ysptblhead td {padding:2px 5px 3px 5px;font:bold 10px Verdana;text-align:left;}.ysptblhead2 {background-color:#ccc}.ysptblhead2 th, .ysptblhead2 td {padding:2px 5px 3px 5px;font:bold 10px Verdana;text-align:left;border-top:1px solid #000;}.ysptblhead3 {background-color:#eee}.ysptblhead3 th, .ysptblhead3 td {padding:2px 5px 3px 5px;font:bold 10px Verdana;text-align:center;}.ysptblcontent1 td {padding:2px 5px;}tr.ysptblspacer10 {height:10px;overflow:hidden;}</STYLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=center><TD class=yspTabPadded> </TD><TD class="yspTabActive yspsctbg">Box Score</TD><TD>
