Buckeye Rosters

Recap

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Tailback Keith Byars rushed for 169 yards and four touchdowns Saturday, leading 14th-ranked Ohio State to a 56-17 Big Ten Conference football victory over Indiana and extending the Buckeyes’ unbeaten string against the Hoosiers to 28 games. Byars’ first two touchdowns came as Ohio State raced to a comfortable 28-3 halftime lead.

The Hoosiers, unable to move on the ground, had to rely on the passing of quarterback Steve Bradley. But the Indiana sophomore was intercepted three times, each one leading to a touchdown run by Byars. Ohio State got its first touchdown three minutes into the game on a 44-yard pass from quarterback Mike Tomczak to Thad Jemison. Indiana then had the ball less than a minute before Orlando Lowry’s interception gave the Buckeyes the ball at the Hoosier 26. Byars ran three times, scoring from the 2. His second touchdown, a 24-yard run midway through the second period, came seven plays after Spencer Nelms picked off a Bradley pass at midfield. Byars appeared to be stopped at the 15 but broke loose from safety Chris Sigler and ran in for the score.

Byars’ third touchdown, a 1-yard run, came five plays after Garcia Lane returned an intercepted pass 13 yards to the Hoosier 21 in the third quarter. Byars’ last touchdown, another 1-yarder with 5:43 to play, capped a 20-play, 96-yard drive. Indiana’s only points of the first half came a 35-yard field goal by Doug Smith. The Hoosiers added a third-quarter touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Bradley to Len Kenebrew and a 33-yard pass from reserve Cam Cameron to Stephan Benson as time ran out in the final period.

The victory lifted Ohio State to 5-2 in the Big Ten and 7-2 for all games. Indiana, which last beat the Buckeyes in 1951, fell to 2-5 and 3-6.