It feels normal to have Ohio State playing for a Big Ten Championship. After all, the Buckeyes, with 39 Big Ten Championships and five wins in the Big Ten Championship Game, are the big bad wolf in the conference.
Indiana, on the other hand, is the David in this matchup. They haven’t won a Big Ten Championship since 1967, one of only two in program history. However, they pose a big challenge to Ohio State in this matchup in Indianapolis.
The Buckeyes and Hoosiers have incredibly similar stats and rank among the best in the country in several statistical categories. Ohio State leads the country in points allowed at 7.8 points per game. Indiana is No. 2 at 10.9 points per game. Ohio State is No. 4 in rushing defense at 81.7 yards allowed per game. Indiana is No. 2 at 79.2. In passing defense, the Buckeyes are No. 1 at 121.3 yards allowed per game. Indiana is No. 14 at 172.5.
Ohio State is No. 1 in total defense at 203 yards allowed per game. Indiana is No. 4 at 253.5 yards allowed per game.
Offensively, the Buckeyes are 13th in the country at 37 points per game. Indiana is No. 2 at 44.3 points per game. The Buckeyes are No. 24 in the country at 438.5 yards per game, while the Hoosiers are No. 5 with 483.8 yards per game.
This has the makings of a phenomenal Big Ten Championship Game. Let’s take a deeper look at the Hoosiers, keys to the game, and score prediction for Saturday night.
Quarterback: Fernando Mendoza
Graham-George Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year
Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year
First-Team All-Big Ten
Stats: 72 Cmp%, 2,758 yds, 32 TD, 5 INT; 64 rush, 243 yds, 6 TD
There is no denying Mendoza is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He has six games with at least three passing touchdowns and became just the third quarterback since 2000 to have three straight games with at least four touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Mendoza can run too, with a rushing touchdown in four of Indiana’s last five games and six total on the season.
Only three times this season has Mendoza’s completion percentage dipped below 60 percent in a game, and he has three games with a completion percentage above 85.
This is the best quarterback the Buckeyes have faced this season, and he should show up in some sort of fashion on Saturday.
Four Players to Watch on Indiana
1. Roman Hemby (RB)
Stats: 163 carries, 866 yds, 6 TD; 13 rec., 153 yds
Hemby is a quintessential example of a player who transferred to Indiana to play for Curt Cignetti and has flourished. The crazy thing is, he only has two games of 100+ yards rushing, including this past week at Purdue, when he had 152 on just 12 carries.
All six of his touchdowns have come in Indiana’s last seven games, so he’s playing his best football at the right time.
2. Omar Cooper Jr. (WR)
Second-Team All-Big Ten
Stats: 58 rec., 804 yds, 11 TD; 3 rush, 74 yds, TD
Cooper is best known for his incredible game-winning touchdown against Penn State four weeks ago. He only had 32 receiving yards in that game, the second-fewest he’s had in a game this season.
Cooper had 207 receiving yards and four touchdowns in a game back in September this season. He then had 115 receiving yards and a touchdown against Michigan State in mid-October.
This is a really solid, athletic, and agile wide receiver. The Buckeyes’ secondary has its hands full with him on the field.
3. Elijah Sarratt (WR)
Second-Team All-Big Ten
Stats: 48 rec., 650 yds, 11 TD
One of many players who followed Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana, Sarratt is a former First-Team All-Sun Belt selection after catching 82 passes for 1,191 yards and eight touchdowns. He had a great two-game stretch at Iowa and Oregon, where he had a combined 277 receiving yards on 15 receptions and two touchdowns.
Sarratt has seven games this season with a touchdown reception, and he has three games with multiple touchdown receptions. In addition, Sarratt has four games with at least seven receptions.
4. Stephen Daley (DL)
Stats: 35 TKL, 4.5 sacks, 18 TFL, 3 QBH, 1 PBU
Daley played his first three seasons at Kent State, then he saw what Cignetti is building with the Hoosiers and joined the fun. He has made an immediate impact, becoming a menace in the backfield, with five games of multiple tackles for loss. In addition, Daley has 10 tackles for loss in his last three games.
Ohio State’s offensive line is really good, but they are going to have to be great at preventing Daley from wrecking the running game Saturday night.
Head Coach: Curt Cignetti (2nd Season, 23-2)
The job that Curt Cignetti has done of building Indiana into a behemoth in the current landscape is incredible. I can’t remember the last time a head coach came to a school like Indiana, which had been dormant for so long in college football, and made them into one of the most formidable teams in the country so quickly.
Obviously, if you Google him, you’ll see his success speaks for itself. In four seasons at James Madison, Cignetti went 52-9. In two seasons at the FBS level, James Madison went 19-4 with Cignetti as their head coach. He was the Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2023.
In 2024, Cignetti won seven Coach of the Year Awards, including six national honors. He is in the running to win multiple national Coach of the Year Awards this season.
Offensive Coordinator: Mike Shanahan (2nd Season)
Not to be confused with longtime Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Shanahan, Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan followed Cignetti from James Madison to Bloomington and has completely transformed this Hoosiers’ offense.
Spending four seasons at James Madison, Shanahan was the Dukes’ offensive coordinator for three seasons and their wide receivers and recruiting coordinator for all five seasons on staff.
Shanahan began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant and graduate assistant at Pittsburgh in 2014 and 2015, following a four-year career playing wide receiver for the Panthers. He was Second-Team All-Big East in 2012 and ranks in the top 10 in both receptions and receiving yards in school history.
Defensive Coordinator: Bryant Haines (2nd Season)
Haines was a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2013, and he has been with Cignetti since 2017, when he started at Elon. He was James Madison’s defensive coordinator from 2022-2023 and their linebackers’ coach for all five seasons he was there with Cignetti.
As a linebacker at Ball State, Haines was a four-year starter and Second-Team All-Freshman All-American in 2005. He was All-MAC in 2008.
Keys to the Game
1. Stop the run
In this game, the Buckeyes’ rush defense must slow down Roman Hemby and put Mendoza in unfavorable passing situations. The Buckeyes’ defense is dominant because of its ability to execute fundamental tasks well. They stop the run to shut down the passing game, and that will go a long way on Saturday night.
2. Play from ahead
Indiana has rarely trailed this season, much like Ohio State. What will happen if they fall behind early, like 10-0 or 14-3? That’s going to play right into the favor of Ohio State’s defense.
Get out to a lead and see how Indiana responds to early adversity.
3. Run the ball
Another way to keep Indiana’s offense from taking off is to run the football, keeping the Hoosiers’ offense on the bench. If Bo Jackson continues what he has been doing these past few weeks, the Buckeyes are going to be able to neutralize Indiana’s defensive front.
4. Win the turnover battle
Both teams are good at handling the ball. Whichever team can create turnovers is going to win the Big Ten Championship.
Score Prediction: Buckeyes 31 – Hoosiers 24
This game is going to be really close. These are, undisputedly, the two best teams in college football.
Ohio State may not roll through Indiana the way it has almost every other opponent in the regular season. They’re going to have to battle for four quarters on Saturday. But they have the slightly more talented team, and that is why they will prevail and win the Big Ten Championship.
