BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (Ticker) -- Indiana turned out to be the perfect remedy for Ohio State's struggling offense.
Lydell Ross rushed for a career-high 167 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries and Craig Krenzel passed for 272 yards and another score as the eighth-ranked Buckeyes toyed with the Hoosiers, 35-6, in a Big Ten Conference contest.
With more than 20,000 Ohio State fans in attendance, the game was even more onesided than the score suggested. Ohio State finished with a staggering 603-131 edge in total offense. The Buckeyes (7-1, 3-1) came into the game ranked 114th out of 117 teams in Division I-A rushing.
Nearly half of Indiana's total came on a 58-yard drive late in the fourth quarter against Ohio State's reserves.
In last week's 19-10 win over Iowa, the Buckeyes were limited to just 185 total yards and no offense touchdowns. Both scores came on special teams.
"I feel a little better today," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "I thought we stepped up, so I think we are progressing. I don't think you know for sure until you play the next time, however."
In the first half alone, Ross ran for 121 yards and two TDs on 17 carries while Krenzel completed 15-of-20 passes for 204 yards. He finished 19-of-26 before being lifted in the fourth quarter.
The Buckeyes also had a big day on defense, sacking Indiana's Matt LoVecchio six times.
"I thought our defense did a great job of controlling the tempo of the game," Tressel said. "They gave us great field position all day and gave us lots of great possessions."
Playing away from home for just the second time, Ohio State earned its first road win of the season. The Buckeyes had their 19-game winning streak snapped two weeks with a 17-10 loss at Wisconsin.
But it felt like an Ohio State home game as the majority of the fans in attendance at Memorial Stadium were rooting for the Buckeyes, and they had a lot to cheer about early.
"That's all the seats we could get," said Tressel of the large Ohio State turnout. "If we could have had 30,000, I'm sure we would have had that many (fans). That's a special feeling for our players to come out and there is as much noise for us as there is for the opponent."
"The plan was to make a statement, come out and win the game, and try to get people to respect us," Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo added. "We knew there would be more of them (Ohio State fans) than us."
Ohio State needed less than three minutes to take the lead on Ross' 11-yard TD run. The Buckeyes made it 14-0 on Ross' two-yard TD run 59 seconds into the second quarter before Krenzel tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Santonio Holmes with 15 second left in the half to give Ohio State a 21-0 cushion at the intermission.
Ohio State missed a chance to extend its lead as Krenzel threw an interception after the Buckeyes reached the Indiana 11 on their first possession of the second half.
But Ross tacked on his third score, a one-yard run with 6:17 left in the third period, to push the Buckeyes' advantage to 28-0.
Backup Scott McMullen capped Ohio State's scoring with a 47-yard TD strike to Holmes with 6:23 left in the contest. McMullen completed all five of his passes for 111 yards.
Indiana (1-7, 0-4), which suffered its fifth straight loss, avoided the shutout on backup Graemme McFarland's 17-yard TD pass to Chris Taylor with 3:28 remaining.
LoVecchio completed 11-of-20 passes for just 89 yards and was under constant pressure.
Before its late score, Indiana did not cross midfield, punting on eight of its first 10 possessions. Counting the sacks, Indiana rushed for a net of minus-12 yards.
Ohio State improved to 12-0-1 against Indiana since 1989 and improved to 22-2-1 all-time in Bloomington.
