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    IU football game day: Indiana vs. Ohio State Big Ten Championship primer and prediction

    Mike SchumannBy IU Football No Comments

    It’s No. 1 vs. No. 2.  The Big Ten title, College Football Playoff No. 1 seed, and the inside track to the Heisman Trophy are all on the line.

    Are you not entertained?

    Indiana goes for its first win over Ohio State since 1988, and first outright league title since 1945.  The stakes couldn’t be higher.

    Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s opponent and the 2025 Big Ten Championship game in downtown Indianapolis.

    No. 2 INDIANA (12-0, 9-0) vs. No. 1 OHIO STATE (12-0, 9-0)

    • Kickoff:  8:00 p.m. ET, Saturday
    • Location:  Indianapolis, Ind., Lucas Oil Stadium (67,000, field turf)
    • Television:  FOX — Gus Johnson (pbp), Joel Klatt (color), Jenny Taft (sideline)
    • Stream:  Fox Sports
    • Radio:  IU Football radio network
    • Odds:  Ohio State is around a 4.5-point favorite
    • Weather at kickoff:  Indoors
    • Series:  Ohio State leads the series 81-12-5
    • Tickets:  Use our StubHub affiliate link
    • The Coaches:
      • Curt Cignetti is in his second year as the head coach at IU.  He holds a 142-37 record in his 15th season as a college head coach.  He’s 23-2 at Indiana.
      • Ryan Day is in his seventh season as head coach, all at Ohio State.  He’s 82-10 in Columbus.

    TALE OF THE TAPE 

    CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

    Here is the Saturday Power 4 Conference championship schedule with TV and times:

    Saturday, Dec. 6
    BYU vs. Texas Tech (Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, Texas), 12 p.m. on ABC
    Georgia vs. Alabama (SEC Championship Game in Atlanta), 4 p.m. on ABC
    Virginia vs. Duke (ACC Championship Game in Charlotte), 8 p.m. on ABC
    Ohio State vs. Indiana (Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis), 8 p.m. on FOX

    OHIO STATE RESULTS

    Date Time At Opponent Location Result
    Aug 30 (Sat) 12 p.m. Home Texas Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) W 14-7
    Sep 6 (Sat) 3:30 p.m. Home Grambling State Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) W 70-0
    Sep 13 (Sat) 7 p.m. Home Ohio Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) W 37-9
    Sep 27 (Sat) 3:30 PM Away Washington Seattle, Wash. W 24-6
    Oct 4 (Sat) 7:30 PM Home Minnesota Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) W 42-3
    Oct 11 (Sat) 12:00 PM Away Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL W 34-16
    Oct 18 (Sat) 3:30 PM Away Wisconsin Madison, Wisc. W 34-0
    Nov 1 (Sat) 12 p.m. Home Penn State Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) W 38-14
    Nov 8 (Sat) 1 p.m. Away Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. W 34-10
    Nov 15 (Sat) 7:30 P.M. Home UCLA Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) W 48-10
    Nov 22 (Sat) 12 p.m. Home Rutgers Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) W 42-9
    Nov 29 (Sat) 12 p.m. Away Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. W 27-9

    OHIO STATE NOTES AND NUMBERS

    (Via Ohio State Athletics)

    ON A ROLL

    • Ohio State is the No. 1 team in the nation for the 14th consecutive week and is on a 16-game winning streak – the fourth winning streak of at least 11 games for Ryan Day.
    • The win streak is the longest in the nation and it ties Day’s longest winning streak of 16 games in 2018 and 2019.
    • Ryan Day’s head coaching record of 82-10, for a winning percentage of .891, is best among all active head coaches, and it is a percentage that tops Knute Rockne’s all-time career record of .881.
    • Ohio State has not trailed in the second half of a game during this winning streak.
    • Ohio State has a winning streak over all 17 Big Ten Conference teams, including streaks of at least eight games over nine other teams besides Indiana, and double digit streaks over Minnesota (13 games), Wisconsin (11), Northwestern (11) and Rutgers (10).

    NO LETUP

    • The Buckeyes had to replace 14 starters, 13 of them NFL Draft picks, off their 2015 CFP national championship squad.
    • The defense, under first-year coordinator Matt Patricia, has been stellar, leading the nation in scoring, total defense, passing yards allowed and ranking fourth in rushing yards allowed.
    • The offense has been an effective and efficient complement to the team’s defense, ranking 13th nationally in scoring and outscoring its last 11 opponents by at least 18 points per game.

    MAJOR AWARD FINALISTS

    • Safety Caleb Downs (4)- Thorpe Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott Impact Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award
    • DT Kayden McDonald – Outland Trophy
    • LB Arvell Reese – Butkus Award
    • QB Julian Sayin – Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award
    • WR Jeremiah Smith – Biletnikoff Award

    NOTABLE NUMBERS

    • Ohio State has allowed just six QB sacks this year (No. 2 nationally) and it is No. 4 nationally with just 40.0 TFLs allowed.
    •  For the first time in program history, Ohio State’s defense has held 12 consecutive opponents in the same season to 17 or fewer points. Only two teams – Illinois 16 and Penn State 14 – have scored more than 10 points vs. Ohio State this season.
    • Dating to last season, Ohio State has held 14 of its last 15 opponents to 100-or-less yards rushing, another school first by the defense.
    • Ryan Day will tie Urban Meyer for fourth place on the school’s all-time coaching list at 83 victories with his team’s next win.  Day has coached 92 games to date and is 82-10. Meyer coached 92 and was 83-9.
    • Buckeyes have Big Ten championship game records for rushing yards (331 by Tre Sermon in 2020 vs. Northwestern) and passing yards (499 by Dwayne Haskins in 2018 vs. Northwestern).
    • Buckeyes also have defensive title game records for tackles (16 by Jerome Baker in 2017 vs. Wisconsin), sacks (3.0 by Chase Young in 2018 vs. Northwestern) and interceptions (2 by Doran Grant vs. Wisconsin in 2014).
    • How about this compliment to the Ohio State offense: the team has punted just 22 times to rank 135th out of 136 FBS teams.
    • Carnell Tate is averaging 35.5 yards per touchdown (8 of them) reception with five at or over 40 yards.
    • C.J. Donaldson has scored 40 rushing touchdowns, including 10 at Ohio State, to rank second among active career leaders. Donaldson has scored nine TDs at or inside the 2 yard line and one from the 5.
    • Jeremiah Smith has the team lead with 12 TDs this year and 28 for his career. Smith is No. 4 among active players with 26 career receiving touchdowns.
    • Caden Curry and Sonny Styles have reached 52 and 51 games played as a Buckeye with Styles also reaching 41 games started.
    • Ohio State’s defense has not had a two turnover-forced game in six games. It had two fumble recoveries and an INT vs. Illinois on Oct. 11.

    CROSSING OVER

    • Ohio State safeties coach/pass game coordinator Matt Guerrieri was co-DC and safeties coach at IU in 2023 under Tom Allen.
    •  Ohio State assistant DB coach Michael Hunter Jr. was a Hoosier DB for coach Kevin Wilson between 2011-14, including starting 24 games.
    • IU QB coach and co-OC Chandler Whitmer was on Ryan Day’s 2019 Ohio State staff as an offensive assistant.
    • IU RS senior OL Zen Michalski was a Buckeye from 2021-24.

    BORDER WAR

    Indiana players from Ohio:

    41 Calhoun, Keishaun
    46 Jones, Isaiah
    30 Nelson, PJ
    65 Smith, Carter
    9 Stewart Jr., Seaonta
    61 Wilkin, Baylor

    Ohio State players from Indiana:

    5 Mylan Graham
    52 Joshua Mickens
    69 Ian Moore
    86 Max Klare
    92 Caden Curry

    MORE COVERAGE

    PREDICTIONS

    These two teams are facing the best opponent they’ve seen all season.

    Starters against starters, this looks evenly matched on paper

    Whichever squad holds the edge in key measures like turnover margin, big special teams moments, and explosive plays will come out on top.

    It will be tight.

    TDH PREDICTION:  OHIO STATE 24  INDIANA 21

    • ESPN SP+ (Computer):  Ohio State 26 Indiana 25 (48% win probability for IU)
    • ESPN FPI (Computer):  Indiana has a 50.6% chance to win.

    For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.

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