Undefeated Indiana came into Columbus, Ohio on Saturday with hopes of making a statement.
Instead, though, it was Ohio State, defending home turf, that emphatically made its own mark.
And with their big win, the Buckeyes weren’t afraid to do some trolling.
Ohio State walked away with a decisive 38-15 win over the Hoosiers at Ohio Stadium led by Will Howard’s 206 passing yards — on 22-of-26 passing — with two touchdowns.
But Indiana, which came into the game as the fifth-ranked team in the nation, were brash in the lead-up to the Big Ten clash, with head coach Curt Cignetti calling out pundits and fans pointing to the Hoosiers’ weak strength of schedule.
ESPN, going into this weekend, ranked Indiana at 106th in terms of SOS, but Cignetti said it was more nuanced than that.
“Do your research,” Cignetti said Wednesday on “The Triple Option” podcast. “Google us … so you know something about us besides our name and what we’ve done in the past, and what somebody else says about our schedule.”
But Indiana didn’t do itself any favors in its biggest game of the year, racking up just 151 yards of total offense against Ohio State’s 316.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke couldn’t get anything going, completing just eight passes for 68 yards for a 3.8-yard-per-completion average.
So, with the clock winding down in the fourth quarter, Ohio State had some fun at Indiana’s expense.
Howard shouted “Google me” on the sidelines after a touchdown, and he also smoked a fake cigarette and stomped it out, seemingly shading the Indiana coach.
The scoreboard operator had some fun too, creating a fake newspaper with a headline that read: “Buckeyes win?? Google it!”
Now, both teams sit at 10-1 and 7-1 in Big Ten play, but Ohio State surely strengthened its College Football Playoff case, while Indiana might see a bit of slipping in the rankings.