BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Only four of Ohio State’s nine captains went to midfield for the coin toss before Thursday night’s game against Indiana.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett, linebacker Chris Worley, defensive end Tyquan Lewis and wide receiver Terry McLaurin represented the Buckeyes.
When OSU defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle was asked about the high number of Buckeyes captains earlier this week, he said, “We’ve got a lot of great leaders on this team. I guess it was hard for coach to pick out just a few.”
Throwback to the ’70s: Thursday night was the first time Ohio State opened its season against a Big Ten opponent since a 49-21 win over Michigan State in 1976.
It was the first time OSU began a season on the road against a Big Ten team since winning 21-0 at Michigan State in 1975 when the Buckeyes were ranked No. 3 and Michigan State was No. 11.
Ohio State opened against Big Ten teams every year from 1971-1976.
The last time Indiana opened against a Big Ten team was in 1982 when it defeated Northwestern 30-0.
Dobbins gets start: J.K. Dobbins became the first true freshman to start an opener at running back for Ohio State since Maurice Clarett in 2002.
Batting .800 in August: Ohio State had won eight of the 10 games it played in August going into Thursday night’s game.
The Buckeyes beat Fresno State (1994), Boston College (1995), Wyoming (1997), Texas Tech (2002), Washington (2003), Youngstown State (2008), Buffalo (2013) and Navy (2014). They lost to Alabama in 1986 and Miami in 1999.
Early, late openers: Ohio State’s earliest and latest openers both come from the earliest days of the football program.
The first game in the 1890 season was on May 3 and the final contest of the four-game season was on Nov. 27. The next year, OSU did not play its first game until Nov. 11.
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