Something that used to be routine to the point of being expected now qualifies as a shock.
Indiana football lost a game.
The No. 4 Hoosiers saw their dreams of a second successive undefeated 2026 season die with a 19-15 loss to No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Memorial Stadium.
The game’s result is notable enough. With a second loss before Halloween, coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes would have seen their College Football Playoff hopes suddenly on the ropes, while an Indiana win would have positioned it well for a second-consecutive unbeaten regular season, with only one ranked
opponent remaining on its schedule.
Instead, Ohio State got a much-needed win while the Hoosiers are left with a rare taste of defeat after Nick Marsh was unable to get one of his feet down in bounds on what would have been a go-ahead touchdown catch with 1:02 remaining.
Just how rare is that taste for coach Curt Cignetti’s team?
Here’s a look at the streaks that ended in Indiana’s loss to Ohio State:
Indiana football win streak
Saturday’s loss was the Hoosiers’ first since a 27-17 humbling at the hands of eventual national-runner up Notre Dame in the first round of the playoff all the way back on Dec. 20, 2024.
In between that loss and this week’s setback were 22 consecutive wins, a streak that most notably included a 16-0 season in 2025 that ended with Indiana completing the most unthinkable turnaround in American sports history and winning the program’s first national championship.
The 22-game win streak had been the longest active run at the FBS level.
Indiana Big Ten win streak
The unceremonious end of Indiana’s 22-game overall win streak also marked the end of its 15-game win streak against Big Ten teams, the longest active run in the conference.
The Hoosiers’ most recent Big Ten loss before Saturday was, interestingly, also against Ohio State, a 38-15 blowout at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2024.
Under Cignetti, Indiana had been 22-1 against Big Ten competition.
You have to go back even further for the Hoosiers’ last loss to a Big Ten team that wasn’t Ohio State: a 35-31 loss at archrival Purdue on Nov. 25, 2023 in what would be former coach Tom Allen’s final game at the school.
Curt Cignetti Indiana home record
Cignetti’s record at Indiana has been spotless, with the former James Madison coach guiding what had been the losingest program in FBS history to a 33-3 mark, even after Saturday’s loss to Ohio State.
With only two losses on his resume heading into this weekend, Cignetti’s record at the school wasn’t technically spotless, but given what he had accomplished, it’s a nitpick that could be justifiably overlooked.
Now, though, there’s one other aspect of his record that isn’t perfect.
The setback against the Buckeyes marks the first home loss of Cignetti’s tenure. Indiana had been 19-0 under their third-year head coach in games at Memorial Stadium prior to this week.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indiana football didn't just lose to Ohio State. It saw its historic win streak end
