Get Ready for the Ohio State vs. Indiana Game Here

In case you haven’t noticed, the Indiana Hoosiers are really good at football. Under the leadership of Curt Cignetti, who just signed an eight-year deal to be the head coach of the Hoosiers, the team is sitting at 10-0 and off to its best start in program history. The turnaround is something that we rarely get to see in the world of college football, especially in a Power 4 conference like the Big 10.

In 2023, the Hoosiers went 3-9. Cignetti’s ability to turn a program around so quickly is something that will likely be studied for years to come, and he’s likely created a formula that other programs will try to emulate.

Saturday will be the biggest game in the history of Indiana football. However, it’s not going to be an easy one, as the team plays host to Ohio State, the team who has been at or near the top of the B1G for as long as most fans can remember.

These two teams have played plenty over the years, but to call this a rivalry game isn’t fair. Ohio State leads the all-time series 79-12, and the teams have tied five times. This series has been one-sided to say the last, but the Hoosiers are hoping to turn that around starting this weekend.

No one outside of Cignetti would have expected this sort of turnaround this quickly for the Hoosiers, but for the first time in program history, they’ll be playing in what amounts to a playoff game.

The winner of this one will be in a position to play for the Big 10 Championship. Cignetti and the Hoosiers will have their work cut out for them, as Ohio State came into the season as one of the favorites to win the National Championship. Before the B1G game kicks off, we’ve got you covered with the preview that you need.

Why the Buckeyes Will Win

Hoosiers fans, don’t get upset. We’re going to take a deeper dive into why Indiana will pick up the W in a moment. Let’s start with the fact that Ohio State is the home team in this one, and Columbus has long been considered one of the toughest places to play for road teams.

“The Horseshoe” holds 102,780 people, and it’s sure to be rocking this weekend as the Buckeyes try to claim their spot in the Big 10 Title Game.

The Buckeyes come into this game having already played two teams that were in the top five at kickoff. While the did drop a game to top-ranked Oregon, Ohio State beat Penn State 20-13 on November 2. While it’s unfair to critique Indiana for beating the teams in front of them, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that Indiana’s resume is not as impressive as Ohio State’s.

Indiana comes into this game with one of the best offenses in the nation (more on that in a moment), but they haven’t played a defense like the one they’ll see on Saturday. Ohio State is giving up an incredible 10.3 points per game this season, good for first place in the country.

OSU’s front seven has been an important part of that winning defense this year, and if they hope to slow down the explosive Indiana offense, they’ll need to get to Indiana QB, Kurtis O’Rourke early and often.

One of the Cignetti’s best features is his ability, and the ability of his staff, to create mismatches on defense. If you weren’t sure how true that is, go back and watch the Nebraska game again. However, there aren’t as many potential mismatches on this Ohio State defense. This is the same Buckeyes defense that largely slowed down the Oregon offense just a couple of weeks back.

When it comes to skill position players on offense, there aren’t many teams in the nation with a better lineup than Ohio State. They’re stacked at every skill position, but especially at wide receiver, as the school continues to live up to the WR-U moniker that some analysts have given them.

Finally, Ohio State has something in its arsenal that we haven’t seen much of this season. Will Howard spent the first part of his NCAA football career at Kansas State, and there, he proved that he’s a dual-threat QB.

Thanks to the depth of skill position players around him at Ohio State, Howard hasn’t had to run much this season, but everyone knows that the potential is there. Indiana hasn’t faced a true running threat at quarterback this season, and if Howard, along with the rest of OSU’s skill players can control the clock by pounding the ball, it’ll be hard for Indiana’s offense to get on the field.

Why Indiana Will Win

This is not your grandpa’s Indiana Hoosiers football team. At 10-0, even if Indiana doesn’t get past Ohio State this weekend, they’re virtually assured a spot in the newly-formatted 12-team College Football Playoff. However, it’s unfair to say that Indiana can’t beat Ohio State.

Coming into this season on the heels of a 3-9 campaign, Indiana wasn’t a Top-25 team, but Curt Cignetti has established why preseason polls mean less than nothing. As one of only two undefeated teams left in the Power 4 conferences, Indiana is in the Top 5, and the case could be made that they should be ranked higher than fifth.

You only need to look at the offense to see why the Hoosiers have been so impressive this season. Kurtis O’Rourke, who wasn’t on anyone’s radar outside of Indiana before the season, has done an incredibly job of leading this team.

Not only has the team bought into Cignetti’s system and culture, but it’s clear that everyone on the roster is willing to go to battle behind O’Rourke. O’Rourke has also done an incredible job at protecting the ball this season. He’s thrown 21 touchdown passes and only four interceptions on the season.

There’s been a bit of a misnomer among some media members that Indiana’s offense isn’t quite as good on the road as it is at home. There simply aren’t any statistics to back that up. Indiana has the second-ranked scoring offense in the NCAA, putting up 43.9 points per game. The only team scoring more is Miami at 45 points per game.

The Hoosiers are averaging just 0.6 fewer points per game than they are on the road. In fact, the Hoosiers have put up 42, 41, and 47 points in each of their last three away games. This offense is built to score fast and often.

While we’ve discussed that Indiana hasn’t played a defense like the one they’ll see this weekend, the same could be said for Ohio State. The Buckeyes haven’t faced an offense that can put up this kind of points. You could make the argument that Oregon has an explosive offense, but Indiana scores more than Oregon, and the Ducks are the team that beat Ohio State.

Indiana’s offense isn’t predicated on a single receiver. The Hoosiers come into this game with five receivers who have 25 or more receptions on the season and a pair of receivers who have more than 500 yards. O’Rourke distributes the ball, and that could pose a problem for Ohio State.

Indiana’s defense is playing well, too. The Hoosiers are giving up 15 points per game this season, good for seventh in the country. They’re also only giving up 240 yards per game, which has them ranked third. A deeper dive into the analytics shows that Indiana’s defense only gives up a little more than four yards per play, fourth best in the country.

What It All Means

While Ohio State isn’t a stranger to big games, Indiana isn’t a stranger to being the underdog. They came into the season with no media hype, and got disrespected every step along the way early in the year. That appears to be the case again this weekend, as Ohio State is a 13.5-point home favorite. The oddsmakers in Vegas think this is going to be the first blemish on Indiana’s record, but Cignetti and his team have to be used to it by this point.

The winner of this game will face off with Oregon in the Big 10 Championship Game, so this game is virtually a playoff game. Win and you advance, lose, and wait to see what the playoff committee thinks of your resume. Are both teams going to make the postseason? Probably so. However, Indiana can cement its position as a legitimate title contender with a big showing on Saturday.

You can catch all the action at Noon EST on Saturday, November 23 live on Fox.