Tyler Friday understood the deal with Michael Penix Jr., Indiana’s sophomore quarterback. He knew Ohio State had to make him work for everything and get him off-kilter.
“We've just got to make sure he's uncomfortable,” Friday said a few days before the Buckeyes beat the Hoosiers, 42-35.
What neither Friday nor anybody else on his team’s sideline could have accounted for was Penix’s complete lack of uncomfortability even when guys were in his grill. Ohio State got after him often. Jonathon Cooper, a fifth-year senior defensive end, won co-Defensive Player of the Game honors with five pressures, three knockdowns and a sack.