BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A crisp night in Bloomington fueled a less-than-crisp effort from Ohio State, and the game still wasn't that close.
No. 9 OSU controlled Indiana from the early moments Saturday and won its 16th straight Big Ten road game, 33-14.
Ohio State has beaten Indiana 15 consecutive times.
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A less than capacity crowd at Memorial Stadium saw OSU dominate the opening moments.
After an opening drive for an Aaron Pettrey, the Bucks forced a 3-and -out by the Hoosiers.
The Bucks promptly drove 79 yards, ending in a 5 yard TD toss to Duron Carter, his first TD catch at 0SU.
With the Bucks ahead 10-0 Indiana committed a crucial penalty on a punt return, giving OSU a first down.
But Pettrey banged a field goal try off the uprights and OSU came away empty.
In the second quarter, the Hoosiers ended the Buckeye defense's scoreless streak at 9 quarters when Tanden Doss took a Ben Chappell pass and stretched across the goal line.
It pulled IU within 3 points of the Bucks.
OSU responded with a 23 yard TD pass from Pryor to Devier Posey. Pettrey later missed a second field goal.
But the Hoosiers' QB made a crucial error with 2:10 left to play in the half, when he threw over the middle and was intercepted by defensive tackle Todd Denlinger.
The Bucks made IU pay for the mistake as Pryor threw a 8 yard TD strike to freshman Zach Boren. Boren becomes the first OSU fullback to score a touchdown since 2004 when NBC4's Branden Joe scored. OSU took a 24-7 lead to the half.
In the third quarter, the Bucks tacked on an early safety when Robert Rose tackled IU punter Chris Hagerup in the endzone after a low snap.
The Bucks got back in the endzone in the 4th quarter on a 1 yard TD dive by Pryor. The Hoosiers threw a touchdown pass on the final play of the game to set the 33-14 final score.
"Our defense put us in great position all night..." Head Coach Jim Tressel said. "Our guys looked comfortable with what we're trying to do."
Tressel revealed after the game that several players, including starting center Mike Brewster, missed practice time with the flu. Offensive tackle Andy Miller missed the trip with flu-like symptoms.
Ohio State returns home next Saturday to host undefeated Wisconsin at 3:30pm.
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