Ohio State’s 2-pronged rushing attack too much for Hoosiers to handle

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J.K. Dobbins did the majority of the damage, running for 193 yards on just 22 carries (an average of 8.8 per carry). His career high of 203 yards rushing last season at Maryland was in reach, but Dobbins got most of the second half off.

That did not hurt the Ohio State running game, though, as his understudy picked up right were he left off.

Master Teague added 106 yards on just 10 carries, an eye-popping 10.6 yards per carry inflated by a 40-yard touchdown burst in the third quarter that made it 44-10 Buckeyes.

“I thought they both ran hard,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “I think when we watch the film we’re gonna see some things with J.K. that are really good, like a stiff-arm. I think we’re gonna see Master — again, two weeks in a row, the first contact made he’s failing forward for four yards. That makes a huge difference.”

In many cases, they were the beneficiaries of huge holes opened up by the offensive line, something Day pointed out and the two backs readily confirmed.

“It’s amazing. They’re blocking great,”Dobbins said. “If those guys can keep going out there and doing that, this offense is going to keep going up.”

The 5-foot-10, 217-pound junior turned in multiple highlight-reel runs, none better than a 26-yard touchdown scamper in which he side-stepped a couple of tacklers, stiff-armed another then bowled into the end zone through an attempted tackle by two more Hoosiers.

“It’s just a play that shows what I can really do,” he said. “I just want to keep showing that.”

Dobbins entered the game with 2,688 career rushing yards, so the college football world already had an idea of what he could do.

Teague’s 100-yard day in Bloomington could be a coming out party Day has been expecting since the spring when he declared he wanted to see a reliable backup running back emerge.

“I know I had an opportunity, and I felt like a responsibility to come out and step up for the team,” the 5-11, 220-pounder from Tennessee said. “I was kind of down a little bit in fall camp when I wasn’t able to be out there for the team (because of an injury), and I just kept a good mindset, positive thinking and trusting in the Lord. I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m proud to be out here helping out.

“You know we have this thing at Ohio State called competitive excellence. The next guy up has got to be just as good as the first guy, so I appreciate and look up to J.K. He’s a great guy and when I get in there I just want to do the best for the team.”