Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is concerned about playing lightly regarded Indiana tonight after two tank-emptying wins against Michigan State and Nebraska.

“It’s a huge concern,” he said, “but Tuesday and Wednesday (practices) were good indicators that they’re pretty well locked in.

“I’m glad it’s a night game. I hate night games because you get home so late, but I’m glad because there’s going to be a little bit of energy in that stadium. I won’t have to worry about that.”

But the Buckeyes will be facing another spread offense, and they’ve been exposed defensively by teams that make them tackle in space.

“They threw (almost) 50 passes against Michigan State (last week), and 26 of them were screens,” Meyer said. “That tells you a little about what they are. They’re a pain in the rear end.”

The Hoosiers are first in the Big Ten and 19th nationally with 305.2 passing yards per game.

Local flavor: Indiana defensive tackle Adam Replogle, a senior from Centerville, is tied for first on the team in tackles with 36 and leads the squad in tackles for loss with 4.5 and sacks with 2.5.

He’s a two-time captain and will be making the 41st start of his career against the Buckeyes. Last year, he had a team-high 113 tackles with 10 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss.

“It seems like every week we play someone from Ohio. That tells you how great high school football is in this state,” Meyer said. “He’s very good. He’s their best D-lineman.”

Replogle’s brother Tyler played linebacker at IU from 2007-10, and younger brother Mike has seen action as a sophomore defensive end, recording a sack.

Still building: The Hoosiers have been a downtrodden program for a long time, save for a brief competitive stretch a few years ago under the late Terry Hoeppner.

But Meyer believes they’ve found the right coach in Kevin Wilson, who took over last season. The Hoosiers went 1-11 and are 2-3 this year.

“Offensively that guy’s a heck of a coach,” Meyer said. “He was at Northwestern back in the Randy Walker era. He was one of the originators of this up-tempo offense. Then he went to Oklahoma (as offensive coordinator), and we coached against him there, and they were tremendous with (quarterback Sam) Bradford and that whole group. I’ve always loved his coaching.”

Wilson returned the compliment.

“What I like about coach Meyer is he’s been very innovative in what he does, but his brand of football is all about toughness and attitude and playing good defense and coming at you,” he said.

Two QBs: Indiana quarterback Cameron Coffman was 33-of-48 passing for 282 yards and three TDs with no interceptions in a 31-27 loss to Michigan State last week. He took over for Tre Roberson, who broke his leg Sept. 8.

But Wilson had intended to also play Nate Sudfield, a 6-5 true freshman from Modesto, Calif., before Coffman got a hot hand. Both QBs are expected to see action against the Buckeyes.

Odds and ends: Two Buckeyes are from Indiana, sophomore running back Rod Smith (Fort Wayne) and sophomore defensive lineman Joel Hale (Greenwood).

“I’m going to have the whole city of Fort Wayne there,” Smith said. “A lot of people haven’t seen me play since high school. It’s going to be real fun.”

— OSU safety C.J. Barnett, a fourth-year junior from Northmont, has been cleared to play after missing the last three games with an ankle injury.

— OSU sophomore cornerback Bradley Roby leads the Big Ten with 11 passes defended, while senior cornerback Travis Howard is first in interceptions with three.

— Former Piqua and University of Dayton standout Kevin Johns is the assistant offensive coordinator for the Hoosiers.