Fresh off their 27-9 victory over Michigan last week, Ohio State will be playing in their first Big Ten Championship Game since 2020, as they’ll square off with Indiana on Saturday night in Indianapolis.
The battle between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers for the conference crown will be the 64th matchup all-time between the top two ranked teams in FBS history. Ohio State has played in seven of those games in the past, posting a 5-2 record, with the most recent coming in 2006 when they defeated Michigan 42-39 in Columbus.
Revisiting last week’s win over Michigan
The win by the Buckeyes over the Wolverines on Saturday not only snapped Michigan’s four-game winning streak over Ohio State, it was the 16th straight victory for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes, who not only haven’t lost a game since they were beat by Michigan 13-10 last season, Ohio State hasn’t even trailed in the second half of any game over the past year.
Following a sluggish start in Ann Arbor, the Buckeyes asserted their dominance in the second quarter, taking the lead for good when Jeremiah Smith scored a 35-yard touchdown to push the score to 10-6.
Ohio State secured their sixth 12-0 start to a season in school history, and now has 12 seasons where they have recorded at least 12 wins. The victory over the Wolverines was a total team effort. From Julian Sayin throwing three touchdown passes, to Bo Jackson having a career day on the ground, and the defense continuing to show why they are the best in the country.
It was obvious how much winning The Game meant to Ryan Day after failing to win the rivalry battle the previous four times the programs have met.
History in the Big Ten Championship Game and against Indiana
Now with the Michigan game behind them, the Buckeyes will be playing in their first Big Ten Championship Game since 2020. This marks the seventh appearance in the conference championship game, with Ohio State having won five of their previous six trips to Indianapolis.
Heading into Saturday night’s contest, the Buckeyes have won 10 straight games they’ve played either on the road or at a neutral site. The last time Ohio State lost away from Ohio Stadium was at Oregon last October.
The Buckeyes and Hoosiers have met 99 previous times, with Ohio State holding a sizable 82-12-5 edge in the series. With their 38-15 win over Indiana last November in Columbus, the Buckeyes have now won 29 straight games against the Hoosiers.
The last time Ohio State failed to beat Indiana was in 1990 when the teams played a 27-27 tie. Indiana’s last win over the Buckeyes came in 1988 when the Hoosiers won 41-7 in Bloomington. This will be the first time the programs have played at a neutral site.
The Buckeye offense continues to click
There was a cause for concern after Julian Sayin’s first two throws against Michigan. Sayin opened up his first start against the Wolverines with an incomplete pass on his first throw, followed by an interception on the very next play.
After the turnover, Sayin settled in and threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns in the win last week. The redshirt freshman has now thrown at least three touchdowns in six games this season, and has passed for 3,065 yards and 30 touchdowns through 12 games.
To settle the offense down after Sayin’s early interception, Ryan Day and Brian Hartline turned to running back Bo Jackson, who totaled 67 yards on the second drive of the game for the Buckeyes. Along with rushing for a career-high 117 yards last week, Jackson finished with 166 total yards, which was three more yards than the Michigan offense had in the game.
With 954 rushing yards this season, Jackson is now just 46 yards shy of becoming the fifth Ohio State running back to rush for at least 1,000 yards as a true freshman.
Both Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate were back on the field last week after missing some time due to injuries. Smith had missed the Rutgers game, while Tate was out the previous three contests while nursing a calf injuries. Both receivers played huge roles in Ohio State’s win in Ann Arbor.
On his 20th birthday, Smith scored the first touchdown of the game for the Buckeyes in the second quarter, finding the end zone from 35 yards out to notch his 11th receiving touchdown of the season. Smith is now five receptions away from topping the 76 catches he had as a true freshman, and is 58 receiving yards shy of his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.
While Smith’s touchdown in the second quarter gave the Buckeyes the lead over Michigan, Carnell Tate’s 50-yard bomb from Julian Sayin was the icing on the cake for Ohio State, pushing the lead to 24-9 in the middle of the third quarter. Tate finished his first game in nearly a month with five catches for 82 yards, both high marks in the game for the Buckeyes.
Sandwiched between Smith and Tate’s touchdowns was a 4-yard touchdown catch by Brandon Inniss, who scored for the second straight week. With two catches in the game, Inniss is the fourth Ohio State receiver with at least 30 receptions this year, joining Smith, Tate, and tight end Max Klare.
A huge reason why Julian Sayin was able to look so comfortable in the pocket throughout the game last week was because his offensive line was able to keep him upright. Michigan’s defense actually made more contact with the officials than they did with Sayin, failing to register a sack against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State’s offensive line has only allowed six quarterback sacks this season, ranking second in the country. Continuity has helped the line, as aside from the Purdue game when Ian Moore filled in for Phillip Daniels, the same five linemen have started the other 11 games this season for the Buckeyes.
The best defense in Ohio State history
On the other side of the football, Ohio State continued to show why they are the best defense in the country, holding Michigan to just three field goals and 163 yards on the day. With their efforts against the Wolverines, the Buckeyes lead the country, allowing just 7.8 points per game, 203 total yards per game, and 121.3 passing yards per game.
Through 12 games the Ohio State defense has allowed just 93 points and for the first time in school history they have held 12 straight opponents to less than 17 points. The only team to record more than 300 yards against the Buckeyes this season was Texas in the season opener.
Hoping to put pressure on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is a Buckeye defense that has 30 sacks on the season. Leading the charge is defensive end Caden Curry, who has a team-high nine sacks on the year to go along with 13.5 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries.
The only Buckeye to record a sack last week against Michigan was Kenyatta Jackson Jr. The defensive end now has 5.5 sacks this season, ranking third on the team. Clogging the middle of the line is defensive tackle Kayden McDonald.
Leading Ohio State in tackles last week against the Wolverines was linebacker Sonny Styles. With six tackles against Michigan, Styles extended his team lead to 68 tackles on the year, eight ahead of fellow linebacker Arvell Reese.
While Styles has the most tackles of any Buckeye so far this season, there’s no question Reese has more impact plays, entering this week with 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Payton Pierce has quietly been doing work as the third linebacker at times, registering 42 tackles in 2025.
The defensive effort against the Wolverines last week was capped off by Davison Igbinosun picking off Bryce Underwood late in the fourth quarter. The pick was the first of the season by Igbinosun, and seventh of the season by the Ohio State defense.
Both Caleb Downs and Jermaine Mathews Jr. each have intercepted two passes this season. Downs is fourth on the team with 52 tackles, while fellow safety Jaylen McClain has made 44 stops. Rounding out the starting secondary for the Buckeyes is Lorenzo Styles Jr., who has settled into the nickel spot.
Curt Cignetti has the Indiana program lit
Head coach Curt Cignetti didn’t take long to make an impact in Bloomington, leading Indiana to an 11-2 record in 2024. After only losing to Ohio State in the the regular season, Indiana earned a spot in the College Football Playoff, where they were beaten by Notre Dame in the first round. The Hoosiers have been even better this season.
Along with posting their first 12-0 season in school history after beating Purdue 56-3 last Friday, Indiana is headed to then Big Ten Championship Game for the first time. This marks the first time the Hoosiers have earned a share of the Big Ten regular season title since 1967.
Aside from tight wins on the road at Iowa and Penn State, Indiana has cruised through the rest of their schedule. The Hoosiers are the first Big Ten team with four conference wins of at least 45 points. Indiana has been dominant on both sides of the football.
Not only does the 44.3 points per game they are averaging rank second in the country, the defense is giving up 10.9 points per game, only bettered by the Ohio State defense.
Fernando Mendoza and the offense of the Hoosiers are a full day
Leading the offense of the Hoosiers is quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Cal transfer has been outstanding in the crimson and cream, tossing a school record 32 touchdown passes so far this season, which is the top mark in both the Big Ten and nationally.
Earlier in the season, Mendoza became the third Big Ten quarterback to post three straight games with at least four touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Both Mendoza and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin are considered the favorites for this year’s Heisman Trophy, and the vote will likely come down to who performs better in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
Mendoza’s top two targets this season have been Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr., with each receiver hauling in 11 touchdown passes this year to tie Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and USC’s Makai Lemon for the lead in the Big Ten.
Last week Sarratt returned to action for the first time since he was injured in early November against Maryland. Sarratt enters this week with 48 catches for 650 yards this season, while Cooper leads the team with 58 catches for 804 yards.
Along with Sarratt and Cooper, wide receivers E.J. Williams Jr. and Charlie Becker, along with tight end Riley Nowakowski each have caught at least 20 passes and scored at least two touchdowns this season.
To compliment their passing attack, the Hoosiers also are able to run the football. Maryland transfer back Roman Hemby leads the team with 866 yards so far this season, and has found the end zone six times on the ground.
Hemby is one of two active FBS players with 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in their career. Kaelon Black has 729 yards and a team-high seven scores, while Khobie Martin has 453 yards and six touchdowns on just 69 carries. Black scored two rushing touchdowns last week, marking the first multi-touchdown game of his career.
The offensive line of the Hoosiers is coached by Bob Bostad, who is the only remaining assistant from the previous coaching staff in Bloomington. Anchoring the line for the Hoosiers is Carter Smith. The redshirt junior from Powell has started 37 consecutive games at left tackle.
In the middle of the line at center is Notre Dame transfer Pat Coogan, veteran of 42 games in his college career, and right guard Bray Lynch has started every game at right guard since the start of the 2024 season. Former Buckeye Zen Michalski has seen action throughout the season for Indiana, starting three games, including last week at right tackle.
Indiana’s defense is loaded with playmakers
Indiana’s defense has been one of the toughest to crack in the country, with only two opponents scoring at least 20 points against the Hoosiers this year. As a unit, Indiana’s defense has done a tremendous job at making impact plays, registering over 100 tackles for loss, 34 sacks, 16 interceptions, and eight fumble recoveries.
The work of the defense has been a huge reason why the Hoosiers have a 401-point scoring differential this season.
On the Indiana defensive line, Stephen Daley has had a breakout senior season for the Hoosiers. Daley had 4.5 tackles for loss against Purdue, raising his season total to 18.5 TFLs, which is the most in the Big Ten.
Along with Daley, both Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino have recorded at least four sacks in 2025. What makes the defensive line of the Hoosiers scary is they haven’t even gotten much out of Mikail Kamara this year after Kamara recorded 15 TFLs and 10 sacks in 2024.
The Hoosiers have three linebackers who have been making plays all year long. Leading the group is senior Aiden Fisher, who has 72 tackles despite missing two games this season. Last year not only did Fisher lead the Big Ten in tackles, he was named a first team All-American.
The next star at linebacker for Indiana is looking like Rolijah Hardy. The sophomore is leading the team with 76 tackles and has seven sacks this season. Isaiah Jones rounds out the impact players at linebacker, as he has 12 TFLs in 2025.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is going to be facing his toughest challenge as a starter this year when he tries to solve the secondary of the Hoosiers. Entering this week, safety Louis Moore is tied for third in the country with five interceptions on the season. Moore spent the 2022-23 season at Indiana before transferring to Ole Miss last year, where he started two games before he decided to return to Bloomington.
Just behind Moore is Amare Ferrell, who has started every game since the start of last year and typically lines up in the ROVER position in the Indiana secondary. Ferrell has intercepted four passes this season. Safety Devan Boykin has had a hand in a number of turnovers this year, picking off two passes, recovering two fumbles, and forcing a fumble. The cornerback spots are manned by D’Angelo Ponds and Jamari Sharpe.
Prediction
Saturday night’s battle has all the makings of a classic. Indiana and Curt Cignetti are brimming with confidence ahead of the College Football Playoff, while Ohio State knows they are the top of the mountain. The Hoosiers are getting closer to threatening the Buckeyes, as evidenced by Indiana going out to Oregon earlier this season and beating the Ducks in Eugene.
Now Indiana not only has a chance to win their first Big Ten Championship Game, they could also earn their first win over the Buckeyes since 1988.
How will Ohio State respond to the massive win over Michigan last week? The Buckeyes can’t afford to show any effects of a hangover from the win because if they do Indiana is a team that can take advantage of a sluggish start. Even if Julian Sayin and the offense do take a bit to get going at least they have the best defense in the country to lean on.
While Fernando Mendoza and company are a group to be feared, they haven’t matched up against a group close to the caliber of the Silver Bullets yet this season.
The biggest difference in this game is likely going to come down to dealing with a neutral site. Ohio State knows exactly how to deal with this type of situation after playing three playoff games last season. Indiana is certainly a team on the rise and they have talent on both sides of the football to be able to challenge the Buckeyes, they just aren’t quite ready to actually beat Ohio State yet.
At least Cignetti and the Hoosiers likely will still earn a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff even if they lose to the Buckeyes on Saturday night.
It will also be interesting to see which quarterback can solve the opposing defense, since it will likely go a long way in determining who wins the Heisman Trophy. Fernando Mendoza definitely has a signature Heisman moment after leading Indiana to a comeback win at Penn State, but what do the voters do if Julian Sayin beats Mendoza in a head-to-head matchup.
Sayin’s receiving duo of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate shine just a bit brighter than Mendoza and receivers Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
