COLUMBUS — It was nearly one of those historically impossible events. Like pigs calling the tower and asking for flight clearance, or the NHL looking at the Amazon rain forest as a possible playoff venue, or the Kardashians shunning publicity . . . and then going out and getting jobs.

If Indiana, tied with the Buckeyes as their game Saturday moved close to the final quarter, had managed to craft the upset, it would have been the most stunning moment of the college football season. It would have been “Hoosiers” the movie with a gridiron script that even Hollywood could not concoct.

Ohio State, which had not lost to Indiana since 1988, scored the game’s final two touchdowns to win 34-20 and remain on track as a major player in the Big Ten championship picture, but not before flirting with disaster against a one-win Indiana team.

“In the end, we can be happy that we got the win, but not happy about how we played,” senior defensive back Tyler Moeller said. “We won, but it bothers me that it was all of us not really playing up to our potential. We all have to be better.”

Despite an apparent lack of style points, Ohio State is 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten’s Leaders Division. The Buckeyes had three players rush for more than 100 yards for the first time since the 1989 season, and as a team rushed for a season best 346 yards. Dan Herron (141), Braxton Miller (105) and Carlos Hyde (105) piled up all of that.

But in order to gain their third straight conference win, the Buckeyes had to come from behind after being down 10 points early in the game, then figure out a way to slow Indiana’s quick-hit offense.

“I don’t think we played up to our standards today,” senior linebacker Andrew Sweat said, “but the key is winning and moving on. Anytime you don’t play all that well but still win the game, you have to be grateful about that.”

The Buckeyes were dead even with the Hoosiers with about seven minutes left in the third quarter after freshman quarterback Tre Roberson hit Kofi Hughes with a 34-yard touchdown pass over the middle.

Ohio State drove to the Indiana nine yardline, but after Miller was sacked, the Buckeyes faced a third-and-goal from the 20. Miller ran through the middle, froze a defender with a fake, and scored with nine seconds left in the third quarter to put Ohio State up 27-20.

Indiana missed a field goal attempt on its next possession, but came right back and pushed into Ohio State territory again with about four minutes left in the game. When Travis Howard intercepted a Roberson pass at the OSU 42, the Buckeyes were back in business.

“The one thing you keep looking at is, man we’ve got to get a turnover,” Ohio State coach Luke Fickell said about dealing with Indiana’s offense. “We’ve got to make something happen defensively. It wasn’t until the very end of the game . . . that you finally come up with that turnover.”

On Ohio State’s second play after the turnover, Hyde broke through the line and skirted outside, racing 47 yards to the Indiana seven yardline. Two plays later Hyde scored, and the Buckeyes led by 14 after Drew Basil’s fourth extra point of the afternoon.

“That felt great, to get that touchdown that finally put the game away,” Hyde said. “To have three guys go over 100 yards in the same game is huge. We did a great job running the ball today.”

The Hoosiers came out determined to not look like an Indiana football team. They pushed right down the field against Ohio State’s defense, and got a 35-yard field goal from Mitch Ewald to take a 3-0 lead just four minutes into the game.

After Miller fumbled while being hit on the Buckeyes’ third play of the afternoon, Indiana recovered at the Ohio State 41 yardline. The Hoosiers took five plays to reach the five yardline, and tailback Stephen Houston scored easily from there.

Leading 10-0, Indiana took some of the energy out of the crowd of 105,195 that likely came to Ohio Stadium expecting a rout. The Hoosiers had allowed 204 points in their four previous Big Ten games, all lopsided losses.

Ohio State closed the gap quickly, as Miller took the ball from his own 19 yardline, hit a seam in the line, and then shifted gears several times on an 81-yard dash to the end zone. His touchdown run came with six minutes left in the first quarter, and was the longest in Ohio State history by a Buckeyes quarterback.

Early in the second quarter, Basil hit a 36-yard field goal to tie the game 10-10. Basil was good from 45 yards out midway through the second quarter to give the Buckeyes a 13-10 lead. The Hoosiers tied it before the half ended on a 25-yarder from Ewald.

Herron, who broke a 48-yard run in the game, scored from 15 yards out early in the second half for a 20-13 lead, but Indiana answered when Roberson found a wide open Hughes for a touchdown.

The Buckeyes took over from there, dominating the game’s final phase to defeat the Hoosiers for a 16th straight time.

“We thought it was an opportunity,” Indiana coach Kevin Wilson said about flirting with a major upset. “ . . . comparing the way they played and the way we played, if we played up to our capabilities, then we’d win.”

Contact Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com, 419-724-6510 or on Twitter @MattMarkey

First Published November 5, 2011, 4:56 p.m.