Nobody said it was going to be easy, but Ohio State found a way to beat Indiana in its own stadium on Saturday afternoon despite having to overcome a lot of things. The last five minutes of the game itself had more drama than a romantic movie franchise.
It'll go down as another instant classic of two top-five teams, and nobody would be surprised to see these two meet again somewhere down the line in the postseason.
After each Ohio State football game, we like to look back and take some things away as observations and things we learned, and this one had a lot packed into it. Here are five things we think we learned after the 19-15 Ohio State victory over Indiana on Saturday afternoon.
The Ohio State defense continues to develop and did its job in this one
S/O Matt Patricia and the Ohio State defense for saving the day
With that being said…this might be the best possible time for a bye week the Buckeyes have had in some timehttps://t.co/dlK8rmh1jr
— Stephen Means (@Stephen_Means) October 17, 2026
It was evident that this year's Ohio State defense was still developing and a work in progress over the first few games of the year. And while it still gave up some huge plays, especially in the passing game in this one, the defense played lights-out against Indiana on Saturday.
Not only did the Buckeye defense have to find a way to absorb two turnovers and good field position for Indiana's offense, but it also limited the Hoosiers to just 73 yards rushing, something that was a major key to the game. Indiana outgained the Buckeyes, but a lot of that had to do with losing Julian Sayin (more on that later) and how the game played out at the end. The defense did its job, and then some today.
Julian Sayin could benefit from another year at Ohio State
Julian Sayin has been exposed in a few areas by this Indiana defense today.
— Football Scout 365 (@DraftAnalyst365) October 17, 2026
His ability to make plays under pressure is one of them. The receiver is WIDE OPEN here, but the edge pressure forces Sayin off platform and affects the throw. pic.twitter.com/NZAMT9oeiU
This was not a good game for Sayin at all. He threw two interceptions, only completed 15-of-29 passes, and misfired on a lot of receivers who were open. Indiana wanted to make Sayin feel the pressure and speed things up for him, and that was highly successful. It's the same template we saw from Indiana and Miami last season, and there's some significant development that needs to occur there.
When Sayin is clean, he's as accurate as can be, but he almost lost this one for Ohio State today. It would help if the offensive line could protect better, and now we know that Sayin will be out for 'multiple weeks' with an injury, according to head coach Ryan Day, because of it, but he has to get better and slow things down when defenses are coming after him.
Ohio State has to find a way to be productive in the passing game without Sayin
Ryan Day on the team moving forward if Julian Sayin is out for an extended period of time.
— Conner Smith (@CSmithMedia) October 17, 2026
“When someone goes down, someone has to step up.” https://t.co/msjHKK6Kt0
It felt like Ohio State was just hanging by its fingernails in this one as the sands of the hourglass ran out. Luke Fahey has surpassed Tavien St. Clair as the backup, but what we saw was simply not very good. Fahey's first play was great, with him using his legs and drawing a personal foul, but after that, he looked like a significant downgrade from Sayin.
He's just a true freshman, and he was put into a bad spot in this one, but you have to wonder if the experience in the program of Tavien St. Clair would be a better option. Either way, there are still a lot of things on the line for this season, and losing Sayin is going to mean a significant challenge for the coaching staff going forward. The good news is that there is an off week to figure things out before Ohio State heads to L.A. to play USC in a couple of weeks.
It's only a matter of time with Jeremiah Smith
JEREMIAH SMITH IS INEVITABLE ‼️@OhioStateFB converts on 4th down to extend their lead pic.twitter.com/XVjQFppOxg
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 17, 2026
You can't keep Jeremiah Smith down all game. To be fair, Indiana had the best plan to stop the superstar, holding him to just four receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown, but that touchdown that was given up was the play of the game, and it was all Smith. Sayin threw it into double coverage, only to have the South Florida native simply outduel both defensive backs to high point the ball and bring it in for a score.
So yeah, maybe you can slow him down, and Indiana doubled him almost every play, but at some point, he's going to impact the game by making a play that is all the difference in the world. Ohio State still had to dodge a bullet at the end of the game and a very questionable roughing the passer call, but for one play, Smith put the cape on when Buckeye Nation needed him.
Fourth-quarter struggles are still there for Ohio State
Finally caught a break after total disaster happened again in the 4th quarter.
— Ohio State Football Recruiting (@OhioStateFBChat) October 17, 2026
Next game at USC is in 2 weeks.
Maybe the most important 2 weeks we have needed off in long long time. All on Julian Sayin to heal up and be ready because without him, the season is lost.
Okay, let's give credit where credit is due. Ohio State found a way to win the game, even with losing its starting quarterback, questionable calls by the officials (yes, I said it), and an Indiana team that started to turn the screws at the end of the game by making key plays. The bottom line is that it still wasn't a very good fourth quarter, and it almost cost the Buckeyes again.
Maybe being able to act like Houdini in this one, after Indiana receiver Nick Marsh missed getting his foot down in the end zone on fourth down, will get this team over the fourth-quarter mind block it has, but we'll see. It sure looked like Indiana was going to go all the way down and win this one, with the defense buckling a bit and the OSU offense sputtering again in the last quarter. It's up to the coaches to get it fixed, and it's hard to figure out what the answer is.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: 5 things we learned from Ohio State football and its win vs. Indiana
