Ohio State will take its stingy defense to struggling Indiana

The Buckeyes' defense that thwarted Iowa will test the Hoosiers on Saturday.
& lt;a href=mailto:richesson@vindy.com & gt;By BRIAN RICHESSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
COLUMBUS -- Iowa quarterback Nathan Chandler knows what Indiana faces Saturday when the Hoosiers welcome Ohio State to Memorial Stadium.
"They're a strong defense, and the one thing they do is make you beat them," Chandler said. "They don't give you anything."
The Buckeyes (6-1, 2-1) take that stingy defense, ranked among the national leaders, to Bloomington, Ind., for a Big Ten game (noon, ESPN) against the struggling Hoosiers (1-6, 0-3).
Chandler and the Hawkeyes were frustrated by that defense in a 19-10 loss last Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State held Iowa, which had been averaging 319 yards per game, to 219 while winning a battle of last season's conference co-champions.
"We were taking it pretty hard that we lost [to Wisconsin the week before], and we felt like Wisconsin's offensive line got the edge against us," said Ohio State senior defensive end Will Smith, who had five tackles and a sack. "So the defense came out fired up."
Effective against run
That showed, especially against the run.
Iowa tailback Fred Russell, averaging 121 yards per game, was kept to just 42 yards on 22 carries (1.9-yard average), as the Hawkeyes gained just 66 yards on the ground.
"Our main focus coming in was to contain their running game," Ohio State sophomore linebacker Mike D'Andrea said. "I thought we did a great job of doing that."
Much of the credit on defense was given to the linemen -- ends Simon Fraser and Smith and tackles Darrion Scott and Tim Anderson.
"Our defensive front did an extraordinary job controlling the tempo of the game," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "It starts in the trenches, and our guys won the trenches."
Sophomore linebacker A.J. Hawk added, "When our defensive line dominates their offensive line like they did, it really makes our job easy. Coach [Mark] Dantonio always stresses to our defense to play fast, and good things will happen."
Senior safety Will Allen and Hawk led Ohio State with seven tackles each against Iowa, with Hawk adding a sack of Chandler.
"We put pressure on their passer, and guys in the second and third levels did an excellent job of being where they were supposed to be," Tressel said.
Indiana, which was off last week, is last in the Big Ten in scoring offense (17.7 points per game). The Hoosiers rank seventh in total offense (346 yards per game) and seventh in rushing offense (160).
A sellout crowd of over 52,000 is expected at Memorial Stadium.
& lt;a href=mailto:richesson@vindy.com & gt;richesson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;