>> announcer: espn home of the college football playoff. >> mike: ohio state on top of indiana, 34-20. and there's the man that has done the damage, ezekiel elliott, with a career-high r h rushing 234 yards just in the second half. this looks like one of the three games he finished the season last year. >> ed: his number kept going up every game against wisconsin, just over 200 against alabama, 220 and the championship game, 700 yards in the playoff run last year. >> mike: 266 for this game. this is hall on the return. and a scrum at the 21. >> ed: if first two runs was

both fourth and short. indiana committed to the run. elliott able -- he's just got incredible speed for how big he is. another fourth and short. this one on their side of the field. getting a will it bit of a spark. this is a call that urban meyer made. they needed some type of spark. on this last one, a little bit of a hold on the edge by michael thomas, not too bad. but elliott, once again, outrunning the field. >> mike: you talked about him being a track athlete, he just won three sprints in the second half. diamont trying to get to the outside, on his feet, diamont! touchdown! 79 yards. are you believing this?

and sthair 10:03 to go in this game. >> ed: unusual for ohio state. but vonn bell the safety got himself out of position and was not expecting diamont, that time bell got too close up to the line of scrimmage and diamont put on 30 pounds during the offseason, had to come in with nate sudfeld out, a much faster runner. >> mike: i hop you haven't missed the last 4 sebs. because we have had 154 yards in rushing and two touchdowns. >> ed: tyvis powell. let's see the read that powell has, slides to that side. but powell is just going to miss the tackle there.

just a bad angle by powell. tyvis powell, the safety, had a bad angle and diamont is much faster. sam hubbard misses the tackle. you don't expect powell to miss that angle as much as he did. this guy, solid thrower, not quite sudfeld, but that's what he gives you. >> mike: during the last commercial, they had sudfeld up and trying to throw on the sideline, he just can't move. he can throw. he would be a stationary target if you bring him in game. but with joey bosa out there, you don't want to be a stationary target. but we are back to a seven-point game. wilson. . can anybody stop anybody in the second half? >> ed: what you're seeing, a really, indiana's defense has

played so hard and this game feels like it has taken forever. they just haven't been able to slow down ezekiel elliott in the second half. but can they get one stop? can they find a place to get a stop? >> mike: this game has already lasted 3:30. >> ed: for the defensive players in this game it feels a lot longer than that. the amount of energy you have to expand as a defensive player than an offensive player is the pursuit to the ball. >> mike: this a huge series, indiana desperately need a stop and they desperately need it now. >> ed: and ohio state needs a drive to feel good about themselves as they go in for the rest of their season. >> mike: time-out, ohio state. they were going to lose five yards. as the play clock was winding down.

>> ed: we talked about -- we have seen ohio state twice, you know, it looks like to me they have a championship-caliber defense, the offense obviously has some work to do. but what about for kevin wilson and indiana? this is -- this is, when we saw them last year, they were down to their fifth string quarterback against michigan state, they didn't have a chance that day, but zander diamont came in, got better as the season went on, he wasn't ready to play against michigan state. you can see in the line of scrimmage. indiana has gotten so much better over the last three years. not being pushed around. solid offensive line. >> mike: three seniors, a junior and a sophomore out there. they can all play. not just veterans, they can play, and they can play at this level. elliott.

not this time. ezekiel elliott taken out of bounds at the 22. he'll lose about three yards. yeah, this is a feisty bunch. >> ed: remember, this is a defense in indiana that's missing their best defensive lineman, darius latham we mentioned is suspending pending an ethical review from the university. they still got a little pop in them. >> mike: elliott. they string it out again, he tries to cutback, lot of defenders there, led by mangieri. that brings up a huge third down. >> ed: two runs, two tosses out to the outside. another indiana player is down on the sideline. that looks like greg gooch.

that's two stretch runs for elliott when the money has been that power play, where -- one side of the line blocks down you bring around a big guard. this is all sideways running. you're trying to make basically a picket fence, but the power has been when you run right at them. able to run off the tackle, running manier at them. little confusing why they would go to the stretch play here when they have -- yeah. >> mike: gooch able to get up. he's a 62", 2r50-pound sophomor. an important third down. still 9:15 to go in the game. only a one-score contest. >> ed: it felt like in that third quarter, ohio state was going to run away with this by 21, 28 points.

amazing what a couple of turnovers can do to changes things even when your heisman trophy running back is playing out of his mind in the second half. >> mike: elliott has had that monster second half. marshall is the man in motion. elliott, up the middle. very conservative. just wanted to make sure they don't make a mistake and give the ball to indiana this close. >> ed: i know that cardale jones is their starting quarterback, but that call looks like they're not quite confident enough. they have enough missed throws from jones in the beginning of season, we're up seven, that call right there says everything you need to know that ohio state isn't confident in throwing the ball.

>> mike: johnson is on to punt. pressure on the kicker. get it out of there. paige lets it bounce and it will go out of bounds at the 31 yard line. 40-yard punt. does packup quarterback zander diamont have another one in him? better at this whole tv thing.s so, to beat them, we're gonna get bigger. we're gonna merge with cableworld. (exec 1) cableworld? i can't stand those guys. (exec 2) they're the worst. (exec 3) they're totally incompetent. (exec 4) that company stinks and i mean they smell. i used to work there. i had to breathe through my mouth the whole time. (cole) shh, shh, shh, they're here. (newhart) this is gonna be fun, firing everyone. (vo) get rid of cable and switch to directv. call 1-800-directv. (road noise)

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>> mike: yogii said it's not over until it's over. >> ed: a good read by diamont. joey bosa stayed home. he haendz it to running back redding who scores. diamont caught him coming down inside, a bad angle by powell. a missed tackle by hubbard the defensive end. all of a sudden, we have our ourselves a ball game. ton of game left. >> mike: redding got stuffed. as he tried to take it off the left side. clock running. 7:59 to go. the numbers on diamont, three out of nine for 41 yards and that big run for the touchdown. sudfeld still with the helmet on. when he tried to warm up a few

minutes ago, he could barely move on the sideline. diamont. they must reach the 41 to keep it going. and your fear right now if you're indiana, if you give this ball up you may not see it again. >> ed: you either won't see it again or ezekiel elliott will go 70 yards and score on a short-yardage drive. but they got the ball back from that last one. third and 12 is not what you want to be at here. now you can run a screen and do a few things that you don't have to force the ball down the field with the inexperienced quarterback. >> mike: burning a lot of time here. diamont. took to the 36. fourth and five. we're already down to 6:45. >> ed: well, you have to punt

here if you're indiana with three time-outs. but i'm with you, mike, you have your three time-outs. 6:35 left. so, i get the punt here, i just wonder if indiana is going to get this ball back. >> mike: they might have been your last shot. >> ed: by the way, that was joshua perry, the outside linebacker, that was trying to throw the swing pass, perry did an awesome job. >> mike: toth to kick to marshall. marshall gripping that ball. turns to go the other way and taken down at the 15 yard line. a loss of one after a pretty punt of 48 yards. so, the buckeyes take over with 6:01 to go in the game. couple of first downs and then they can salt it away, can they get it?

elliott, that's the third best in this history of ohio state. that's pretty good backs in that program, haven't they? >> ed: run by keith byers on this drive, i guess. >> mike: elliott hurdles somebody and pays the price for it. they got him at the 15 yard line. >> ed: well, if i'm inden ind, if i have a third, fourth, fifth guy i could put up around the line of scrimmage, it's clear that ohio state does not throw the ball. already an interception from cardale jones, he has at least one in every game this year and so if you're byrne knorr, the defensive coordinator for indiana, look at how close those safeties are, everybody is within striking distance of that line of scrimmage. >> mike: the clock just melting away. elliott.

after a little hole, needs to get to the 26. to move the chains. >> ed: let's see how much clock they're going to take away. you've got 30 seconds here on the play clock. let's see, there's brian knorr, the defensive coordinator, this is a big third down for his big group. i would be shocked if this isn't another ezekiel elliott run. >> mike: if you're the hoosiers, you have to sell out on this one. little touch pass to marshall and marshall couldn't turn the corner. the hoosiers' defense stands tall again. >> ed: i like the play call here by ohio state, because it looked

like they were trying to stet up elliott, get the edge, but this was an excellent job at the point of attack. marshall came up to attack. nick vannett, the tight end knocked him back in the backfield. >> mike: that action across the face keeps those linebackers where they are, they can't go outside, you're trying to use marshall's speed -- >> ed: but that was awesome job by marcus oliver, the tight end, knocked him into the play. >> mike: very high, very short. that's pretty good field position after a 35-yard punt. they'll start near their own 43 yard line. >> ed: and there's kevin wilson telling, get with your guys, don't talk with me. but, this is four downs. you're going four downs every time if you're indiana.

you got to make sure your quarterback knows that, don't take a sack, if it's third and six, you can't take a big sack. there's kevin johns, the offensive coordinator, has called a nice game. with quarterback diamont. >> mike: 15 tries and indiana has never beaten a number one ranked team. five of those were ohio state. they're one possession away from tying this game. diamont to the 48 yard line. the clock will run. marked back at 47. still a gain of three. >> ed: that's where kevin johns feels, the way we're going to do this run game with diamont, has a good feel of it. not quite the arm of sudfeld, but good change of offensive philosophy. >> mike: quick throw in the flat, complete to rickie jones. spun down. there's 15 yards.

huge. >> ed: darron lee as he tried to come over to make that tackle, jones with a little ankle injury made the guy miss -- >> mike: boy, almost ripped off the helmet off his head. that's the sixth 15-yard penalty. >> referee: penalty, defense, 15 yards from the end of the run, automatic first down. >> ed: watch, excellent job that time by vonn bell dropping his head. and lee grabs the helmet and pulls him back and gets called for the personal foul. >> mike: boy, jones is lucky he can get up from that one. >> ed: now, the question becomes, if you're indiana, if you score a touchdown, are you going to go with two, or go to overtime? with the injuries, i think two would be the play. >> mike: redding picking his way to the 35 yard line.

2:50 on the clock. with two time-outs. you can whatever play you want. you don't have to worry about throwing the ball over the middle or running the ball. krk krg all three time-outs. they can go fast. but the run game from the quarterback position has been the difference. sudfeld out with an ankle injury, their starting quarterback. >> mike: line up redding in the eye. no place to run over there. height have been a hold and the flag went down right when i thought there was holding on the play. >> ed: yeah, once again, adolphus washington showing his athleticism. beating his guy to the point. the gatorade ohio state basketball player of the year, not football player of the year.

>> mike: how about that? >> referee: number 67, ten-yard penalty from the previous spot. repeat second down. >> ed: that's a good player feeney that adolphus feeney is beating. clearly not letting go of 92. a little acting. a little bit so we can see it. good job number 92. >> mike: all of the way back to the 49 yard line. it is second and 20. now, play calls are restricted. >> ed: thinking three plays for 18. diamont. deep out. lot of contact and a flag. and that's going to be interference. eli apple. seventh major penalty against the buckeyes. and two on apple for p.i. it was intended per jones. >> referee: holding -- defense, number 13.

ten yards from the previous spot. automatic first down. a difference without -- >> ed: the ball is not in the air, to. of your screen, eli apple working against jones. he's got his jersey there, and as jones fights it off, the that's why they're calling it. he's got great position. such a smooth athlete. that's the second penalty on apple and what a change from the ten-yard holding on adolphus washington which made it second and 18. now first and ten all over again for indiana. >> mike: still 35 yards to go for pay dirt. and now only 1:48 to get there. redding. nowhere to go. i mean, nowhere. >> ed: well, they tried that stretch run now with a couple of times with redding. get diamont back involved with the zone read. now, the clock is starting to tick a little bit to a place,

you have three time-outs, not much of a panic, but boy, they're taking their time. >> mike: diamont, complete, very close to a first down. jones is still inbounds. let's see where they mark it, that's a very generous mark. >> ed: what a dime by diamont. >> mike: it was. >> ed: not as tight a spiral but that time he really fit that in nicely on the line to jones. >> mike: and great pattern with ri ricky jones ran. 1:09. sudfeld all he can do is cheer on his backup. post. jones to the 6. holy cow! what a great throw and jones, again, a tremendous pattern, he was almost invisible in the first half. and now, they're throwing at him every time. >> ed: leading receiver in the big ten, came in with the bum ankle, they said he looked okay

during the week, diamont, another really nice throw to jones. >> mike: are we watching history? redding. i think they're going to have to use one of their time-outs and talk about this. >> ed: yeah, i'm really surprised tsh -- now, movement on the right side for indiana. >> mike: that's going to cost them five. now they're going to use a time-out. backing up five, it gives you more room to run the ball, more room to run patterns. >> ed: it does.

>> referee: time-out. >> ed: good job inside a minute. the penalty on offense, you don't get the ten seconds off which could be tragic if you're indiana to go down to 13 here could be tragic. >> mike: here's the historical part of this, 35 years since indiana was 4-0, haven't beaten ohio state as number one, they have five tries, this is the sixth and they have never beaten a number one team. they're 0-15 against number one in the ap poll, but you can forget all the history. you only have to do it once. >> ed: and if you're in the moment for indiana, it's all about the 23 seconds and our two time-outs. we have a minimum of three plays to score. second, third, fourth. remember a defensive penalty, you can get an automatic first down. so, don't waste too much clock here. use one of those two time-outs. especially if you run the ball.

>> mike: 23 seconds left. this is the second down play. diamont. off the hands of his intended receiver in the end zone. and that was his tight end jordan fuchs who caught a pass in this quarter. >> ed: vonn bell had terrific coverage on this. this took forever to develop as bell is chasing the tight end. nice job by the quarterback to avoid bosa. got a little bit of tip. nice job by bell. >> mike: 16 seconds left. >> ed: time-out, ohio state. didn't like what they saw >> referee: 30-second charged time-out, ohio state. >> mike: playoff implications of this, should indiana win this game, do you see a path that ohio state can come back to defend a national championship?

>> ed: i do. most conference champions are going to have one or two losses. they beat michigan and michigan state and won the big ten championship attend of the season, indiana will probably have eight, nine wins before the end of season. i don't think she a nail in the coffin for the playoffs if ohio state loses. this drive has been held out by a couple of penalties. this one by lee after a penalty, a holding penalty. would have gotten, would have put them in second and long. apple gets a defensive holding penalty and diamont, found a little bit of a moneyman in ricky jones. and bell with a terrific dive to knock away that pass. >> mike: changed the traject i have so fuchs couldn't catch it.

diamont caught from behind. down he goes. time-out. >> mike: now it all comes down to this fourth down play. with nine second s left in the game. >> ed: i would move diamont out of the pocket. don't let him stand in the pocket and there's a guy in simmie cobbs who had a drop earlier, this receiver can get separation, i would want diamont rolling to his side. i know he's had some drops, but this has been their best weapon near the goal line for indiana. you can see cobb there, talking to kevin jones. be surprise if we don't see cobbs in there. roll him to the right. stand there and get two, three guys in the end zone. >> mike: even though ohio state has big defensive backs, simmie cobbs is bigger than any of them. >> ed: he's working down here on

conley at the bottom of the screen, just surprised if he's not in the mix here. >> mike: barring a penalty this is it. bad snap. throws for the end zone, jump ball, tipped. incomplete! the ball got passed zander diamont and it was desperation after that. >> ed: give diamont all the credit in the world, this is just a bad snap. just off to the left. he had to get over there and block adolphus washington. and he knew diamont keeping the ball alive, hit ricky jones in

the hands. what about diamont to keep that alive. >> mike: eli apple was there at the end. got his hand in there. but diamont, the backup quarterback to the injured nate sudfeld and devine redding, the backup running back to injured jordan howard, they just played their hearts out. >> ed: sure did. ohio state has a lot of work to do. defensively they're the best team in the country. they obviously didn't trust cardale jones down the stretch to throw it. they knew what they had in elliott. what a nice job for indiana. let's go to jerry punch. >> jerry: urban meyer walked over to the indiana sideline. you were patting their players on the back. never ness conference. what you were thinking with indiana inside the 10? >> we have a good pass rushers. i thought maybe bosa, adolphus, that's