By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ohio State's Lydell Ross reacts after running for a two-yard touchdown run against Indiana during the second quarter. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Seemingly the last thing Ohio State's lowly ranked offense needed was to lose its hottest player.

Yet, an injury Saturday to wideout Drew Carter essentially forced the Buckeyes to find other facets of their attack. Against punchless Indiana, nearly everything worked, and the resulting versatility demonstrated in a 35-6 victory could key an offensive renaissance.

Tailback Lydell Ross broke through with career highs of 167 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Freshman Santonio Holmes had career highs of six catches, 153 yards and two TDs. The Buckeyes' 387 passing yards were the most in five years and its fifth-highest total ever.

OSU totaled 603 yards, the most since a 715-yard day against Utah in 1986. Not bad for a group that came in ranked 114th of 117 Division I-A teams in total offense.

"Everyone was fed up with the hoopla surrounding our offense," Ross said. "We wanted to make a statement."

To be fair, the eighth-ranked Buckeyes (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) faced the league's weak sister. IU (1-7, 0-4) allows 432 yards per game and hasn't beaten a I-A team.

"It was a very refreshing day for everybody," tight end Ben Hartsock said.

Clearly, players had tired of being grilled about the offensive woes.

"You can't get away from it," right tackle Shane Olivea said. "It motivates you. That's what made me want to play better."

OSU may now have a new rallying point: to win for Carter.

The fifth-year senior suffered a potential season-ending knee injury in the second quarter. OSU didn't give a diagnosis, but it was serious enough that coach Jim Tressel spoke of Carter in the past tense.

"Drew was a warrior," Tressel said. "To replace Drew Carter will be a tremendous challenge."

Just after Carter went down, Craig Krenzel completed passes to four different players on that drive, including Ross and fullback Branden Joe out of the backfield. Holmes, who had just two career catches coming in, caught passes of 47, 39 and 37 yards.

"(Receiver) Michael Jenkins had told me, 'When you get an opportunity, you have to step up and have a big day,' " Holmes said.

Krenzel returned to form, going 19-of-26 for 272 yards, a yard shy of the career high he set in triple-overtime against North Carolina State.

The Buckeyes talk a lot about balance, and so Ross' contribution was equally invaluable. He had 17 of his 23 carries before halftime, when he totaled 121 yards, and he surpassed his previous best of 130 yards on his first carry of the second half. Ross entered with just 241 yards this season, and had totaled more than 12 carries just once.

"Lydell, like any great back, wants the ball and believes he can do something with it," Tressel said. "He took a step forward today."

OSU's defense was again dominant. It held the Hoosiers to 131 yards, including minus-12 rushing.

The score could have been much worse. OSU had three turnovers in the red zone and missed a field goal. IU scored only late in the game against OSU's No. 3 defense.

Ohio State	7	14	7	7-35
Indiana	0	0	0	6-6

First Quarter

OSU-Ross 11 run (Nugent kick), 12:04.

Second Quarter

OSU-Ross 2 run (Nugent kick), 14:01.

OSU-Holmes 15 pass from Krenzel (Nugent kick), :08.

Third Quarter

OSU-Ross 1 run (Nugent kick), 6:17.

Fourth Quarter

OSU-Holmes 47 pass from McMullen (Nugent kick), 6:23.

Ind-Taylor 17 pass from McFarland (kick failed), 3:28.

A-51,240.

	OSU	Ind
First downs	26	13
Rushes-yards	39-216	32-(-12)
Passing	387	143
Comp-Att-Int	25-33-1	17-26-1
Return Yards	40	1
Punts-Avg.	2-36	8-44
Fumbles-Lost	3-2	2-0
Penalties-Yards	9-80	3-18
Time of Possession	31:50	28:10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Ohio St., Ross 23-167, M.Hall 5-19, Guilford 4-16, Krenzel 4-12, Joe 1-2, Zwick 2-0. Indiana, B.Lewis 9-20, Taylor 6-16, Grosfield 1-6, Green-Ellis 5-4, McFarland 1-0, team 1-(minus-1), LoVecchio 9-(minus-57).

PASSING-Ohio St., Krenzel 19-26-1-272, McMullen 5-5-0-111, Zwick 1-1-0-4, team 0-1-0-0. Indiana, LoVecchio 11-20-1-89, McFarland 6-6-0-54.

RECEIVING-Ohio St., Holmes 6-153, Childress 4-41, Carter 3-75, Ross 3-33, Jenkins 2-18, Hamby 2-6, Gamble 1-21, Joe 1-18, R.Hall 1-12, Hartsock 1-7, Schnittker 1-3. Indiana, Roby 6-47, Johnson 4-43, Pannozzo 3-16, Taylor 1-17, B.Lewis 1-11, Rudanovic 1-6, Green-Ellis 1-3.