Ohio State-Indiana matchups
Aug. 29—QUARTERBACKS
It appears Kyle McCord and Devin Brown will share the quarterback job for Ohio State in its opener at Indiana and maybe longer.
After going 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten last season, Indiana brought in 20 transfers, including quarterback Tayven Jackson, a former 4-star recruit who played in three games as a freshman last season at Tennessee.
Advantage: Ohio State
RUNNING BACKS
Ohio State has probably the second-best group of running backs in the Big Ten and some people say they are in the top 10 nationally. TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams will dominate the playing time if healthy. But Dallan Hayden, Chip Trayanum and Evan Pryor are not ordinary back-ups.
Josh Henderson (398 yards rushing, 24 catches), Jaylin Lucas (271 yards rushing, 5.5 yards per carry) and Christian Turner (516 yards rushing, 7 touchdowns at Wake Forest) give Indiana three solid running backs.
Advantage: Ohio State
RECEIVERS
Marvin Harrison Jr. (77 catches, 1,263 yards, 14 touchdowns) was arguably the best receiver in college football last season. Emeka Egbuka (74 catches, 1,151 yards, 10 touchdowns) was among the best, too. Julian Fleming and tight end Cade Stover both had more than 30 catches.
Wide receiver Cam Camper (46 catches, 469 yards, 2 touchdowns) led Indiana in receiving even though his season ended after seven games because of a knee injury. Fordham transfer Dequece Carter had 13 touchdown catches for the Rams last season.
Advantage: Ohio State
OFFENSIVE LINE
The offensive line is one of the two biggest questions for Ohio State heading into this season. Guards Donovan Jackson and Matt Jones are returning starters. It appears San Diego State transfer Josh Simmons will start at left tackle, Josh Fryar will be the starting right tackle and Carson Hinzman will be the center.
Indiana, which has four returning starters on its offensive line, was No. 13 in rushing yards per game in the Big Ten and only Maryland had more sacks allowed than the Hoosiers' 38 last season. For comparison, Ohio State allowed only 12 sacks.
Advantage: Ohio State
DEFENSIVE LINE
Defensive ends J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. lead a deep OSU defensive line. Kenyatta Jackson has looked good at defensive end in the preseason.
Indiana defensive end Andre Carter had 13.5 tackles for losses and 7 sacks for Western Michigan last season.
Advantage: Ohio State
LINEBACKERS
Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers both returned after big seasons individually last year for OSU. Cody Simon and C.J. Hicks are the top back-ups.
Aaron Casey, who had 86 tackles and 10.5 tackles for losses last season for the Hoosiers, will be one of the starting linebackers. The other probably will be Stanford transfer Jacob Mangum-Farrar.
Advantage: Ohio State
DEFENSIVE BACKS
OSU cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock are healthy after battling injuries last season. Sophomore safety Lorenzo Styles has earned a starting position. The big question for the Buckeyes' defense is if it can cut down on the big plays that were so costly against Michigan and Georgia last season.
Indiana's top five cornerbacks from last season are all gone, opening the door for younger players and transfer players. Redshirt freshman Jamari Sharpe might be the best of the returning cornerbacks.
Advantage: Ohio State
SPECIAL TEAMS
Ohio State will have a first-year kicker, either Jayden Fielding or Parker Lewis.
Jaylin Lucas returned two kicks for touchowns for the Hoosiers in 2022 and averaged 28.1 yards per kickoff return. Freshman kicker Nicolas Radicic was one of the top recruits at that position.
Advantage: Ohio State
