Indiana coach: All there for Hoosiers near the end of 42-27 loss to No. 7 Ohio State
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Indiana's Antonio Allen had two interceptions that put No. 7 Ohio State on the ropes.
He thinks the Buckeyes, who used Jalin Marshall's four late touchdowns to pull away for a 42-27 victory, were looking past the Hoosiers to next week's game with rival Michigan.
"I think they were; everyone overlooks IU football," he said. "We've just got to go out there and fight hard so people can believe in us."
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The surprisingly tight game for most of the day could impact the playoff hopes of the Buckeyes (10-1, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 6 CFP), who clinched the East Division title and a berth in the conference title game. The Buckeyes will play the winner of the Minnesota-Wisconsin game in the Big Ten title game on Dec. 6 in Indianapolis.
They trailed the 34-point underdog Hoosiers 20-14 after Tevin Coleman sped 90 yards for a TD midway through the third quarter. A week after rushing for 307 yards, Coleman went for 228 yards on 27 carries for three scores for the Hoosiers (3-8, 0-7), who dropped their sixth loss in a row.
"We came out here fighting hard," Coleman said.
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The Hoosiers' last chance at a tying score ended with Tyvis Powell picking off a pass from Zander Diamont with 4:25 left, deep in Indiana territory. Marshall caught two more scoring passes after that to pad the lead before Coleman rumbled 52 yards for a score with 1:13 left.
"We kind of (had) them where we want them, 4 minutes to go in the 'Shoe and it's 28-20," Indiana coach Kevin Wilson said. "You guys were more shocked than we were. That's a fact. We were trying to make a play and came up short."
On IU's second possession of the second half, Coleman took a simple handoff, bounced outside and streaked down the left sideline. The 210-pound sophomore was pulling away from two Ohio State defensive backs over the last 50 yards, too.
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Most of his carries netted next to nothing. But the two long runs will be featured on highlight shows.
"You're not just going to hit the big runs on a great defense. You have to just keep on running, hitting the holes hard, soften them up," Coleman said. "Eventually, a big one's going to come to you."
Once in jeopardy of being run out of the chilly stadium, the Hoosiers were up 20-14. A crowd of 101,426 at Ohio Stadium sounded more like 426.
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"He gets in second gear and it's over," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said of Coleman. "He's a really good back. Top 10 — maybe higher than that."
After 35 anemic minutes, Ohio State found some answers. Marshall took a low, line-drive punt, avoided an early tackle and then sidestepped punter Erich Toth for the 54-yard return.
Marshall then scored on a 6-yard shovel pass, made a one-handed grab of a 15-yard pass from J.T. Barrett to swell the lead to 35-20 with just over 4 minutes left, then added a 54-yard catch-and-run.
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Down 14-0 early, the Hoosiers sure didn't look like a winless conference team to the Buckeyes. It was all right there in front of Wilson and his players.
"Getting better and fighting hard is a part of it," Wilson said. "There's a point when you've got to make plays. And it's time we start doing that."
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Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RustyMillerAP