What: #5 Indiana Hoosiers (6-0) vs. #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1)
When: Saturday, October 17 at Noon
Where: Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on FOX and can be heard on the IU Radio Network.
Spread and Total: OSU -3.5 | 51.5
Series History: It does not take a diehard college football fan to know the Ohio State Buckeyes have been dominant in this series. In fact, many IU fans had never seen the Hoosiers knock off the Buckeyes on the gridiron as the Scarlet and Gray reeled off 31 straight wins (plus a tie) from 1989 to 2024. That streak followed a rare pair of wins for IU in 1987 and 1988 and a 21 game win streak from 1960 to 1986 for Ohio State. The overall series is 80-13 with five ties but everything is different for IU football under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers knocked off the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game last December and now look to beat Ryan Day for the first time in the regular season.
What’s at Stake: Both teams and fanbases have had this game circled since the moment the confetti stopped falling at the Big Ten Championship Game. The Indiana Hoosiers topped the Ohio State Buckeyes to capture the Big Ten title and the matchup less than a year later is now viewed as the marquee contest in the Big Ten. This is the very first game in Memorial Stadium history in which both teams are ranked in the top five and the winner will seize the driver’s seat to return to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game and to earn a bye in the College Football Playoff.
A Few Things to Look For
1. Can IU Make Ohio State One-Dimensional?
Indiana has won 22 games in a row with each and every win being a game in which the Hoosiers surrendered 24 points or fewer. Bryant Haines’ defense is elite, again. That doesn’t mean the defense is impenetrable and perfect: quarterbacks have found some holes in the middle of IU’s zone coverage and mobile quarterbacks getting out of pressure and making plays to extend drives have been problems in two Big Ten games. The Hoosiers currently have the sixth best pressure rate with just the 132nd highest blitz rate. In addition, the Hoosiers have continued to be great against the run and have the #7 rushing defense. Ohio State has not displayed an explosive rushing attack this season, although they have been efficient. In addition, Julian Sayin has never shown the elusiveness or scrambling ability that guys like Aiden Chiles and Anthony Colandrea hurt IU’s defense with. What Ohio State does have is Jeremiah Smith. The receiver is pretty much inarguably the best player in college football and there’s a real chance he exits college football as the best wide receiver in the sport’s history. It has proven impossible to stop Smith from picking up chunk plays and scoring touchdowns but if Indiana largely eliminates damage done by other receivers and shuts down Ohio State’s running game, the Hoosiers give themselves a real chance.
2. Hoover Against Ohio State’s Defense
Josh Hoover is excelling in Curt Cignetti and Mike Shanahan’s system. The transfer from TCU has 17 touchdowns with zero turnovers while completing 68.2% of his passes for 1,364 yards. With IU’s running game unable to get anything going in Lincoln, the load was on Hoover’s shoulders and he turned to Nick Marsh to help turn a 17-6 deficit into a 20-17 victory against Nebraska. Ohio State is allowing the fewest yards per passing attempt in the country and the secondary is outstanding at limiting yards after catch. Josh Hoover will need to make the right calls on the RPO plays IU is going to put into action and he’ll need to make the most of any chances for big plays because the Buckeyes don’t allow many of them. The Hoosiers getting the running game back to the expected standard would go a long way towards helping the talented quarterback win this game.
3. Third Down Struggles
The Indiana Hoosiers have not been particularly strong on third down this season. The Hoosiers are converting on just 40.74% of third downs on offense (64th nationally) while allowing 35.14% of third downs (47th nationally) on defense. For comparison, Ohio State is 52nd in the country as a third down defense and 33rd in the country as a third down offense. Through six games, neither team can really view this as a strength but against Nebraska, it almost cost Indiana the game. The Hoosiers were just 1-10 on third down and they allowed the Cornhuskers to convert 10-19. Those third down numbers helped Nebraska rack up a nearly two to one time of possession edge. The third down battle needs to be much closer to even for IU to beat Ohio State a second straight time.
4. What Can IU Do Against #4?
There is not a gameplan in college football that could completely neutralize Ohio State’s superstar receiver Jeremiah Smith Jr. The current heavy favorite to win the Heisman Trophy has 48 receptions for 916 yards with a whopping 11 touchdowns. Despite sitting out multiple fourth quarters due to blowout leads, he is averaging eight catches a game for 152.7 yards per game. Indiana did well against Rutgers’ receiver KJ Duff and Nebraska weapon Kwazi Gilmer but Jeremiah Smith is a completely different level. So, what will IU scheme up to try and limit the damage #4 can do? The return of lengthy cornerback AJ Harris should help a bit with Smith’s size and it gives IU an experienced body to throw at him. Trying to rush Julian Sayin with pressure is always a good way to make it more difficult for a receiver to be involved and it could force Sayin into a couple of mistakes. Watching how one of the nation’s best (the best, in my opinion) defensive coordinators chooses to combat Jeremiah Smith and the rest of Ohio State’s offense, including emerging tight end Nate Roberts, will be fascinating.
Other Indiana Links From the Week
IU Will Raise the Victory Flag Against Ohio State If…
Numbers that Matter: Indiana vs. Ohio State
Initial Availability Report for Indiana-Ohio State Game
Indiana Football Visitor List for Ohio State
Matchup To Watch: Indiana DB’s vs. Jeremiah Smith
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