COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Looking at Ohio State’s schedule at the start of the season, the game against Indiana in late November didn’t stand out.
The Hoosiers haven’t been a contender in the Big Ten for decades and were terrible last year, so it was logical to think about this game as a throwaway, one that wouldn’t require a lot of heavy lifting for the Buckeyes as they schemed for revenge against Michigan the following week.
Instead, the college football world will get a treat instead of a dud on Saturday when undefeated No. 5 Indiana plays No. 2 Ohio State at the Horseshoe, a place where the Hoosiers haven’t won a game since Ronald Reagan was president.
Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP) is one the most uplifting stories of the season. Behind Ohio University transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the Hoosiers are enjoying their best season since 1967 when they finished 9-2 and shared the Big Ten title with Purdue and Minnesota.
They haven’t even sniffed a conference crown since.
The Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1, No. 2 CFP) are doing what they were expected to do. Their only stumble this season was a nail-biter of a 32-31 loss to now-No. 1 Oregon. Ohio State hasn’t dropped below No. 4 in the AP Top 25 all season.
“We saw Indiana becoming a big game, now a Top 5 matchup,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said this week. “Our guys are fired up for this one and know this is a must-win for us. We’ve got to go win this game to play in Indianapolis (in the Big Ten championship). I know the team, the coaches, everybody in this building, the fans know what kind of game this is, and we’ve got to bring it on Saturday.”
Oregon has already clinched one of the spots in the conference title game.
If Indiana beats Ohio State — the only nationally ranked team on its schedule this year — and closes out the season with a win over Purdue, the Hoosiers will be in the Big Ten championship for the first time since the inception of the game in 2011.
If Ohio State wins out, it will return to the conference title game for the first time since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season — and get a rematch with the Ducks.
Ohio State has a 28-game winning streak against Indiana, dating back to 1991. That’s the longest active winning streak of one team over another in Division I football.
Plug and play
Ohio State has enjoyed an embarrassment of wealth at skill positions.
Last week it was receiver Carnell Tate who caught two touchdowns from Will Howard in the 31-7 win over Northwestern.
True freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith has a TD catch in all but two games this season and leads the team with 865 receiving yards and nine scores. Four-year player Emeka Egbuka is right behind him with 612 yards and eight TDs.
Running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson have combined for 1,388 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
“The thing about this team here is that they’re not worried about individual accolades or anything like this, especially late in the season,” Day said. “They’re focused on winning, and they want to play for each other. And when you have that, you have a chance.”
Indiana’s future
Indiana rewarded coach Curt Cignetti for his historic debut season by giving him an eight-year contract extension worth about $8 million a year, with an annual $1 million retention bonus.
“The university has made a very significant financial commitment to football in a lot of areas, and I’m appreciative of the opportunity to lead the program and continue to develop the program moving forward. I’m excited about our future,” he said Monday. “This is where I wanted to be.”
Bye, bye
Last week’s bye was Indiana’s second this season and the timing could not have been better.
In addition to having an extra week to prepare for their biggest game of the season so far, the Hoosiers also got a chance to recover from their toughest game of the season, a 20-15 victory over Michigan.
Will it make a difference in this one-sided rivalry? Tune in Saturday.
“I think the off week came at a great time because it was a physical football game,” Cignetti said. “We’ve played a number of games in a row. It was good for everybody to catch a breather and get refreshed and recharged and gave us a little extra time on the next opponent.”
O-line issues
Ohio State got a bad break on Tuesday when starting center Seth McLaughlin tore his Achilles tendon. The Alabama transfer was the anchor of an offensive line already reshuffled because of injuries.
Left tackle Josh Simmons suffered a season-ending knee injury against Oregon last month. His replacement, Zen Michalski, went down in the Nebraska game.
The Buckeyes moved left guard Donovan Jackson to tackle and put Carson Hinzman at guard in place of Jackson. Day said Hinzman will now move to center and Austin Siereveld will slot in at left guard.
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AP Sports Writer Mike Marot contributed to this report.
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