This one has been circled on the schedule for months.
It’s a Big Ten Championship game rematch, and the first-ever top-5 matchup in Memorial Stadium history. The outcome will be a factor in the Big Ten title race and College Football Playoff seeding.
Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s week 7 matchup against Ohio State in Bloomington.
No. 4/5 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (5-1) at No. 5/4 INDIANA HOOSIERS (6-0)
- Kickoff: Noon ET, Saturday
- Location: Bloomington, Ind.; Memorial Stadium (56,626; 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 3-point favorite
- Weather at kickoff: 49 degrees, sunny, wind 9 mph, 0% chance of precipitation.
- Series: Ohio State leads the all-time series 81-13-5. IU won last meeting 13-10 in 2025.
- Tickets: SOLD OUT. Use our StubHub affiliate link
- The Coaches:
- Curt Cignetti is in his third year as the head coach at IU. He holds a 152-37 record in his 16th season as a college head coach. He’s 33-2 at Indiana.
- Ryan Day is the head coach of Ohio State. He’s 87-13 in eight seasons with the program.
These are the moments we work for. https://t.co/HvDblTKD6g
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) October 16, 2026
GAMEDAY TIMELINE
THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK 7 SLATE
Friday, October 16
Washington at Purdue — 8 p.m., FOX
Saturday, October 17
Ohio State at Indiana — 12 p.m., FOX
Northwestern at Michigan State — 12 p.m., Peacock
Rutgers at Maryland — 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
Penn State at Michigan — 3:30 p.m., CBS
Wisconsin at UCLA — 7:30 p.m., NBC / Peacock
Nebraska at Oregon — 11 p.m., FOX
TALE OF THE TAPE
AVAILABILITY REPORT
OHIO STATE RESULTS
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 (Sat) | 12:30 PM | Home | Ball State | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) | W 56-3 | |
| Sep 12 (Sat) | 7:30 PM | Away | #4 Texas | Austin, Texas | L 23-24 | |
| Sep 19 (Sat) | Noon | Home | Kent State | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) | W 59-3 | |
| Sep 26 (Sat) | Noon | Home | Illinois | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) | W 42-19 | |
| Oct 3 (Sat) | 3:30 PM | Away | #14 Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | W 31-14 | |
| Oct 10 (Sat) | 4:15 p.m. | Home | Maryland | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium) | W 45-16 |
OHIO STATE NOTES AND NUMBERS
(Via Ohio State Athletics)
SETTING THE SCENE
- Ohio State is looking for its second ranked road win of the season. Only Georgia has multiple ranked road wins so far this season.
- This marks just the eighth time that Ohio State has played Indiana in the Ryan Day era, winning by a combined 274-97 in the previous seven games. The Buckeyes are 30-1-1 in the last 32 matchups against Indiana.
ON THE ROAD
- Under Day’s direction since the start of the 2019 season, Ohio State has a 29-4 (.879) away record, ranking first in FBS in road wins and second in road win pct:
OHIO STATE IN TOP-5 VS. TOP-5 MATCHUPS
- Saturday’s No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup marks the 49th game in program history where both teams are ranked inside of the top five. Ohio State holds a record of 24-23-1 all-time:
- Home: 13–4–0
- Road: 5–8–1
- Neutral: 6–11–0
- Over the last three years, Ohio State is 3-3 in those games.
JEREMIAH CHASING HISTORY
- Since entering college football in 2024, Jeremiah Smith leads all players in receptions (211), receiving yds (3,474) and receiving TDs (38).
- In the first six games, Smith had 48 catches for 916 yds and 11 TDs, the only receiver to rank in the top three nationally in every category. He has played 20 quarters this season, averaging 2.4 catches, 45.8 yds and 0.55 TDs per quarter. That pace puts him at 106 catches, 2,015 yds and 24 TDs at the end of the regular season.
- Smith goes into Saturday needing 315 yards and two touchdowns to break the Big Ten records.
- If he goes over 100 yards on Saturday, he will pass Marvin Harrison Jr. for the most career 100-yard games in program history, marking the 16th time he has done so in his career.
- Smith — who had eight catches for 150 yards and three TDs in the first half vs. Illinois — also became the third receiver since 2015 from a Power Four conference to have at least three games with at least 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns in one half. DeVonta Smith had four at Alabama and Ja’Marr Chase did it three times at LSU.
SAYIN MOVES INTO TOP 10
- Julian Sayin is the most accurate quarterback in program history with a career completion percentage of 74.6 pct. which also would be an NCAA record (min. 875 attempts).
- Additionally, Sayin has thrown for 50 touchdowns in his career which ranks ninth in program history and sits six touchdowns out of the top five.
- His nine 300-yd passing games are also tied for the second most in program history.
- He currently sits at 5,466 career yards which is 10th in program history and needs 904 yards to move into the top 10 in program history in career yards.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Indiana will be head coach Ryan Day‘s 64th Big Ten game in his tenure as head coach (win vs. Rutgers as acting head coach in 2018 included).
- Day’s Buckeyes are 58-5 in the previous 63 Big Ten game including a 28-3 record on the road in Big Ten games. Additionally, Ohio State is 16-4 against opponents who were unranked in Big Ten play during his tenure.
- Day’s teams are 24-1 in the month of October and 8-1 against ranked opponents during the month. Additionally, Ohio State is 10-1 on the road in October contests.
- Under Day’s direction since the start of the 2019 season, Ohio State has 29 wins on the road which is tied for the most in the country.
- In Day’s 63-game Big Ten tenure, Ohio State has averaged 40.0 points per game while allowing just 15.1 points per game to their opponents.
MORE OHIO STATE WEEK COVERAGE
- IU football’s top-5 matchup a big draw for high school recruiting prospects
- Fun pregame festivities planned ahead of IU football vs. Ohio State
- From the courtroom: NCAA’s stay attempt fails, Daley, Wyatt and Alexis remain eligible
- Watch: IU football’s Charlie Becker featured on BTN’s “The Journey”
- Three prominent IU football players have deep Ohio State ties
- Notes, numbers and key matchups for IU football’s top-5 clash with Ohio State
- Radio show: IU football coach Curt Cignetti recaps Nebraska win, previews Ohio State
- IU football notebook: Comparing Hoover and Mendoza through six games
- A look back at IU football’s last home win against Ohio State
- Here’s what Ohio State’s Ryan Day said about IU football ahead of Saturday’s game
- A “wow player” a “freak” — IU football has a special challenge against Jeremiah Smith
- Watch: IU football coach Curt Cignetti Monday Q&A — Ohio State week
PREDICTIONS
IU is ranked higher in one poll, Ohio State in the other. The computers need decimal points to distinguish these teams.
Needless to say, this game could go either way.
This game will likely come down to the effectiveness of Indiana’s pass rush. If the Hoosiers get to Julian Sayin before he can get the ball to Jeremiah Smith — we like Indiana’s chances.
TDH PREDICTION: INDIANA 24 OHIO STATE 20
- ESPN SP+ (Computer): Ohio State 26.4 Indiana 26.2 (51% win probability for OSU)
- ESPN FPI (Computer): Ohio State has a 51.4% chance to win.
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