This is going to be a bit of a different Around the Big Ten. There was only one game, the College Football Playoff bracket was announced, the bowl game slate was announced and other news has come out in the world of college football. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a fun week though!
Big Ten Championship Game
No. 2 Indiana 13 vs No. 1 Ohio State 10
There is only one way to describe this game: an instant classic. While the implications it had weren’t the craziest (Ohio State and Indiana ultimately just swapped spots in the CFP rankings
and both still earned a bye), it was a statement from IU head coach Curt Cignetti. In his four years at the FBS level, split between James Madison and Indiana, his teams have gone a combined 42-6. He faced his toughest test of the season as the Hoosiers were up against the Buckeyes. Per 247Sports, Indiana has the 73rd-highest talent ranking of any team this season. Ohio State is third. What Cignetti has done can’t go unnoticed, as he has taken a program that has been a Big Ten bottom feeder for years and turned it into a bonafide National Championship contender.
The Big Ten Championship started out with an IU punt, followed by Julian Sayin throwing an interception. The Hoosiers would only get a field goal out of that, before OSU punted back to Indiana. Fernando Mendoza would then throw an interception of his own before Sayin found Carnell Tate in the end zone three plays later to go up 7-3. On the next drive, Indiana would get into field goal range, but Nico Radicic missed the 39-yard attempt. Six plays and 67 yards later and it was Ohio State that cashed in for three. Now with the score at 10-3 in favor of the Buckeyes, Indiana wouldn’t allow any more points the entire rest of the game. The Hoosiers controlled the clock with a 14-play, 61-yard drive that lasted over seven minutes and amounted in three points for Cignetti’s squad. Ohio State couldn’t make magic happen on its next possession and was forced to punt as the first half closed with the Buckeyes leading 10-6.
Ohio State received the second half kickoff, but couldn’t get any points on the board as it had to punt back to the Hoosiers. Over the next 3:30, Mendoza led his team 88 yards down the field in just seven plays as the Hoosiers would score their only touchdown of the game as they took a 13-10 lead in the process. This drive included two incredible throws and catches from Mendoza to his trusted wideouts Charlie Becker and Elijah Sarratt.
Sarratt’s tremendous touchdown grab over the defender ended up being the difference in the game. Ohio State’s next drive last just under six and a half minutes, but the Buckeyes failed to score as Indiana held strong to force a turnover on downs with the Buckeyes on the IU five-yard line. The Hoosiers did chew almost six minutes on their next drive before punting it back to Ohio State. With just under 11 minutes remaining, Sayin led his team on a 15-play, 81-yard drive that took up just under eight minutes. With a fourth-and-1 on the IU 9-yard line and just 2:48 to go on the clock, Jayden Fielding missed a chip-shot 27-yard field goal to tie the game at 13-13.
All Indiana had to do now was rid Ohio State of its timeouts and chew the clock out. While the Buckeyes would get the ball back one more time, it wouldn’t be in favorable field position whatsoever, and they didn’t have any timeouts left. Mendoza had his second Heisman moment of the game as his 33-yard completion on third-and-6 to Becker essentially sealed the game.
Becker’s catch here led to Ohio State needing to burn its third and final timeout. Although IU punted just a few plays later, Mitch McCarthy’s 24-yard punt put OSU on its own 14-yard line with just 18 seconds remaining. Barring a miracle, the game was over. While Sayin did complete a Hail Mary pass to Jeremiah Smith, it happened with zeros on the clock, as Indiana got its first ever Big Ten Championship Game victory. I’ll leave this here:
College Football Playoff
No. 1 Seed Indiana Hoosiers
Will play the winner of No. 9 Seed Alabama @ No. 8 Seed Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA) on Thursday, Jan. 1 at 3:00 PM CST
No. 2 Seed Ohio State Buckeyes
Will play the winner of No. 10 Seed Miami @ No. 7 Seed Texas A&M in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX) on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 6:30 PM CST
No. 5 Seed Oregon Ducks
Hosting No. 12 Seed James Madison on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 6:30 PM CST. As of Draft Kings right now, the Ducks are a -21 point favorite to beat the Dukes in Eugene.
Bowl Games
Boise State (Mountain West) vs Washington in the Bucked Up LA Bowl (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7:00 PM CST
Washington is a 8.5-point favorite per Draft Kings against the Mountain West conference champions. Last season, the Broncos were the No. 3 Seed in the College Football Playoff and led by Hesiman runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for 2,601 yards in the 2024-25 season, good for second all time as he was just 27 yards short of tying Barry Sanders’ record. Most of the Boise State roster is intact from last season apart from Jeanty, who was drafted sixth overall in the NFL Draft. QB Maddux Madsen has had a down year compared to last season, but he did just throw three touchdowns as the Broncos took down UNLV in the Mountain West title game.
Central Michigan (MAC) vs Northwestern in the GameAbove Sports Bowl (Ford Field, Detroit, MI) on Friday, Dec. 26 at 12:00 PM CST
Northwestern is a 12.5-point favorite as of writing this. The ‘Cats arguably got the short end of the stick when it came to where they are playing their bowl game, as they beat both Minnesota and Penn State but both of those programs got “better” bowls. Nonetheless, what David Braun has done in his three years at Northwestern can’t go understated. He is the first Wildcats coach to lead the program to two bowl games in the first three years of coaching.
New Mexico (Mountain West) vs Minnesota in the Rate Bowl (Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ) on Friday, Dec. 26 at 3:30 PM CST
Minnesota is a 3-point favorite against a New Mexico team that resembles the Idaho Vandals from 2024-25. The Lobos finished the regular season at 9-3 and barely missed out on the Mountain West Championship Game. After a Week 1 loss to Michigan, the only two games New Mexico would lose the rest of the way would be to San José State and Boise State, in consecutive weeks. The Lobos finished their season on a six-game win streak that included victories over UNLV and San Diego State. Safe to say, Jason Eck has done a tremendous job in his first year coaching New Mexico.
Penn State vs Clemson (ACC) in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY) on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 11:00 AM CST
Penn State currently sits as a 2.5-point underdog. Both the Nittany Lions and the Tigers were ranked in the top-five to start the season (Penn State at No. 2, Clemson at No. 4), but hellish years for both squads had each team just barely qualifying for a bowl game. The two preseason national title contenders will square off at Yankee Stadium in what many people thought could have been the National Championship Game back in August.
Tennessee (SEC) vs Illinois in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl (Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN) on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 4:30 PM CST
In a matchup of all orange, Illinois is a 5.5-point underdog. Although this is a bowl game at a neutral site, the drive from Knoxville, TN to Nashville, TN is a short one. With Tennessee playing in a bowl not too far from campus, it will likely feel like a home environment for the Volunteers. Illinois and Tennessee both started the season ranked in the Top 25, and while neither team was able to make a push to win their respective conferences or make the CFP, both want to end things on the right note and snag a ninth win.
No. 16 USC vs TCU (Big 12) in the Valero Alamo Bowl (Alamodome, San Antonio, TX) on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 8:00 PM CST
USC is a 6.5-point favorite. TCU put its name on the map this season with a Week 1 blowout victory over North Carolina in Bill Belichick’s first game as the Tar Heels’ head coach. While the Horned Frogs did lose four games, all of those being in conference play, it was a season still full of positives. Quarterback Josh Hoover threw for 3,472 yards, good for sixth-most in the country. USC’s defense may have its hands full, but the Trojan offense is even more of a powerhouse.
No. 23 Iowa vs No. 14 Vanderbilt (SEC) in the ReliaQuest Bowl (Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL) on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 11:00 AM CST
The Hawkeyes stand as 4-point underdogs currently. Diego Pavia has put Vandy football on the map, so much so that 2026 five-star quarterback recruit Jared Curtis recently flipped his commitment from Georgia to Vanderbilt on National Signing Day. Vanderbilt has just two losses this season (No. 9 Alabama and No. 13 Texas), but Pavia is still a name that is getting tremendous Heisman trophy hype, and will be making the trip to New York. Pavia isn’t just a 3,000+ yard passer—he’s also Vanderbilt’s leading rusher. On the ground, he’s carried the ball 152 times for 826 yards and nine touchdowns. This may be the most versatile offense that Iowa has faced this season. The Hawkeyes find themselves ranked despite the 8-4 record, with all four losses having been by one score.
No. 18 Michigan vs No. 13 Texas (SEC) in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL) on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 2:00 PM CST
Michigan is a 4.5-point underdog to Texas, as the Longhorns have finished the season strong after a slow start. Arch Manning was the Heisman favorite at the start of the season, but he hasn’t yet lived up to that hype. What he did still do was throw for the fifth-most yards in the SEC and dish out 18 touchdown passes to just three interceptions. Michigan will surely have its hands full with Texas as the talent on Steve Sarkisian’s roster is that of a College Football Playoff contender.
Nebraska vs No. 15 Utah (Big 12) in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV) on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 2:30 PM CST
Nebraska goes into this one as a two-touchdown underdog. In Week 1, the Utes played a Big Ten team in UCLA, where they won a lopsided 43-10 game. Devon Dampier is the real deal at quarterback, posing a threat with both his arm and his legs. The Utes finished third in the Big 12 this season, with their two losses coming to Texas Tech and BYU — the two teams that played in the Big 12 Championship Game. Nebraska, especially without Dylan Raiola, will have its hands full trying to contain this high-powered Utah offense.
Coaching Carousel
Apart from everything I’ve touched on earlier, there was even more that happened in the Big Ten over this week, as the coaching search has come to a close for a number of B1G programs looking for new leadership.
Michigan State fires Jonathan Smith, hires Pat Fitzgerald as new HC
Despite happening on Sunday, Nov. 30, it felt a bit strange to include this news in the previous week’s Around the Big Ten. Since hiring Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State has received a $401 million donation for athletics. A good portion of that money will almost certainly go to football, giving Fitzgerald some room to work with. Prior to being hired at MSU, Fitzgerald was the coach at Northwestern from 2006 to 2022 before the hazing scandal broke. The football mind that led the Wildcats to 10 bowl game berths and two Big Ten West division titles is back in the Big Ten after a few years off.
UCLA hires Bob Chesney as new HC from James Madison
With the success Curt Cignetti has had with Indiana, UCLA is looking for its own Cignetti. James Madison is a very new FBS program, with the team in just its fourth season at the highest level of college football. In 2022 and 2023, Cignetti was at the helm, as he led the Dukes to a 19-4 record in their first two seasons of FBS football, including being ranked both years in the AP Poll. Chesney took over in 2024, leading the Dukes to a respectable 9-4 record that included a victory over Western Kentucky in the Boca Raton Bowl. In just his second season with JMU and the team’s fourth in the FBS, Chesney has led the Dukes so far to a 12-1 record that included a Sun Belt title and a berth to the College Football Playoff as the No. 12 seed. JMU’s only loss so far this season was to Louisville, by just 14 points. While Chesney is staying with the Dukes for the duration of their CFP run, UCLA got itself a good one in Chesney, who is already a proven winner.
Penn State hires Matt Campbell as new HC from Iowa State
The search is finally over. The Nittany Lions, after what felt like an eternity of looking and striking out with just about every coach in the country, finally found their match. At Iowa State, Matt Campbell posted a 72-55 record in his 10 seasons with the Cyclones. While in Ames, Campbell led his team to seven bowl game berths, going 3-4 in those contests. While Iowa State was bowl eligible this season, the team decided to forgo playing in the game after their coach left for Penn State. Nonetheless, he will likely bring some guys over from his former destination to help bring Penn State back after a disappointing 6-6 season.
Oregon loses DC Tosh Lupoi, hired by California as new HC
Oregon’s defense was one of the better units in college football, so Cal jumped on the opportunity to have a defensive-minded head coach paired with its star quarterback in Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. With the former five-star recruit saying he is fully committed to the Golden Bears, what better way to continue to have him grow than with a coach coming from under Dan Lanning?
Ohio State loses OC Brian Hartline, hired by South Florida as new HC
After former USF head coach Alex Golesh took the job to be the new head man at Auburn, the Bulls hired Buckeye offensive coordinator Brian Hartline after his offense was one of the best in the country across the regular season. He looks to continue the success Golesh had this season with South Florida in the AAC.
