Written by T.J, Inman

Who: #9 Indiana (4-0) at #3 Ohio State Buckeyes

Where: Ohio Stadium

When: Saturday, November 21 at Noon on FOX

Odds: +20.5 Indiana – Game lines provided by legal Indiana Sports Betting apps

Series History: No major conference football series has been more one-sided than the one between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers. Ohio State is the behemoth of the Big Ten and they have beaten the Indiana Hoosiers 25 straight times. IU last beat OSU in 1988 and the two tied in 1990. This will be the 93rd meeting between Indiana and Ohio State with the Buckeyes winning 75 times, IU winning 12 with five ties mixed in. The Buckeyes won 51-10 last season in Bloomington after a few of the previous games between the two were competitive.

What’s at Stake: The Ohio State Buckeyes had their game against Maryland cancelled last weekend so they enter the game at 3-0 and sitting as a clear favorite to win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoff. To put it bluntly, Ohio State is one of the few teams that are seen as having a realistic chance to win a national title. Sitting at #9 in the country and 4-0 on the season, the Indiana Hoosiers now also have their eyes on the Big Ten East championship and if they can knock off the Buckeyes, they will be in the driver’s seat.

Things to Watch

1. Can the Hoosiers Disrupt Justin Fields?

Justin Fields has attempted 83 passes through the three games he has played this season. The quarterback from Georgia has completed an astonishing 86.7% of those passes for 908 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. He has the same number of incompletions as touchdown passes. In short, Justin Fields is playing at a ridiculously high-level and Indiana’s defense faces their stiffest challenge of the season. IU’s secondary is very good but if Kane Wommack and the Hoosiers cannot scheme a way to get pressure on Justin Fields that will make Fields uncomfortable, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and the rest of OSU’s weapons will pick them apart. Look for selective blitzes but the bulk of the pressure will need to come from the Indiana front-four. IU’s defensive line needs to win the battle against Ohio State’s offensive line for the Hoosiers to have a shot.

2. Indiana’s Offense Must Be Sharp

The Indiana Hoosiers had executed at a very high-level through the first three and a half games of the season. They had not turned the ball over much and the red zone offense was operating at a perfect clip. The second half of the game against Michigan State saw IU miss a field goal and turn the ball over on downs on two occasions inside of the ten-yard line. While the outcome of the game was never remotely in doubt, the lack of sharpness in the red zone is something that cannot carryover. When the Hoosiers get into the red zone on Saturday, they will need to capitalize with points each and every time. Every opportunity must be paid off. The running game will need to click better than it has, no doubt about that. The most important thing for the offense though will be giving Michael Penix time to throw in a clean pocket because the Indiana wide receivers should be able to make some plays against the young Ohio State secondary. Ty Fryfogle has been on a tear but IU will need Whop Philyor, David Ellis, Miles Marshall and Peyton Hendershot to have terrific afternoons as well. I don’t think the Ohio State defensive line is quite the monster it has been in the past few seasons but this will be an incredibly tough test for Indiana attack.

3. Can Indiana Handle the Moment?

Many have described this as the biggest Indiana football game since 1987. I was born in 1987 and I can attest…1987 is a long time ago! Whether or not it is the single “biggest” game or not can be debated but the spotlight that Indiana will be playing on is not up for argument. The Hoosiers have had to put “blinders and earmuffs” on over the past couple of weeks. Ohio State is used to the national stage. I trust the Indiana coaches and players are fully locked in but it is worth noting that they’ll have the full attention of the Buckeyes after their 4-0 start and top ten ranking.

Juliet Gahan’s Pregame Show

Big Ten Betting Picks

In partnership with legal Indiana Sports Betting apps, this article will include a couple of Big Ten betting picks each week!

Our choices, outside of the IU-OSU game: Purdue (-3) at Minnesota (Minnesota stinks and this line does not make a ton of sense…that scares me), Michigan State at Maryland (-6.5), Illinois at Nebraska (-14.5), Iowa (-2.5) at Penn State, Wisconsin (-7.5) at Northwestern, Michigan (-10.5) at Rutgers

Michigan State at Maryland (-6.5)

I watched the Michigan State offense in-depth last week and Indiana was playing several second-string guys throughout the final 30 minutes while the Spartans never sniffed the end zone. The Hoosiers really could have won that game 35 or 38 to zero. The previous week, Michigan State was stomped by Iowa. I think Maryland wins this game comfortably.

Illinois (+14.5) at Nebraska

The Huskers got a nice win against a down and out Penn State squad last weekend but I am not ready to count them as a more than two touchdown favorite against anyone in the Big Ten. Illinois unleashed Isaiah Williams as a run first and run second and run some more style quarterback that boosted them to a win over Rutgers. I’ll take the Illini to cover this high spread.