Indiana gets Ohio State in Bloomington this weekend, and the matchup comes with a mountain of history attached to it. The Hoosiers are staring at their toughest test yet, but this isn’t just another top-five showdown - it’s the latest chapter in a series that has been tilted heavily toward the Buckeyes since 1901.
The numbers tell the story right away. Indiana is 13-80-5 all-time against Ohio State and just 2-29-1 at home in the series. The Hoosiers have only managed a four-game winning streak in the matchup once, from 1903 to 1913, while Ohio State’s best run was a massive 23-game stretch from 1960 to 1986.
Even with that history hanging over the game, Indiana heads into Saturday with the confidence of having won the most recent meeting. Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers beat Ohio State 13-10 in last December’s Big Ten Championship, a result that carried Indiana to a perfect season and a national title. It was a tense, defense-heavy battle that ended with IU pulling off what many viewed as a major upset and claiming its first Big Ten Championship.
Fernando Mendoza was central to that win. After absorbing a big hit earlier in the game, the Indiana quarterback answered by firing a 51-yard sideline pass to Charlie Becker, who finished with 126 yards on six catches.
On the next snap, Mendoza found Elijah Sarratt on a back-shoulder fade for the game-winning touchdown. Mendoza threw for 222 yards, and Kaelon Black added 69 rushing yards to help keep the offense on schedule.
The defensive side of that title game mattered just as much. Indiana’s pass rush put constant heat on Julian Sayin and finished with five sacks, including back-to-back takedowns by Stephen Daley and Mario Landino that pushed Ohio State into a bad spot after the Hoosiers grabbed the lead. Later, with Indiana protecting a three-point edge inside its own 20-yard line, the Buckeyes were forced into a game-tying field goal try that drifted wide right.
That result also shaped the recent series trend. Over the last five meetings, Indiana is 1-4 against Ohio State.
The list includes the 2025 Big Ten Championship win for the Hoosiers, along with Ohio State victories in 2023, 2022 and 2021. Those games went 23-3, 56-14 and 54-7 in favor of the Buckeyes.
Saturday’s game still stands on its own, though, and the current rankings show why. Indiana is No. 5 at 6-0, while Ohio State is No. 4 at 5-1.
The Buckeyes’ only loss came against No. 1 Texas.
Both teams are in the top five and both have a legitimate path to the College Football Playoff, which gives this meeting a different feel than most of the games these two programs have played over the years.
History is stacked one way, but the most recent memory points the other direction. Indiana will try to back up that breakthrough and prove it can stand with one of the sport’s biggest powers again, while Ohio State will be looking for payback after last year’s title-game stunner.
In Other News...
Curt Cignetti Has Indiana Chasing A Milestone Against Ohio State
Curt Cignetti has turned Indiana football into a program with real staying power in just over two seasons, guiding the Hoosiers to a 33-2 overall record and a 20-1 mark in Big Ten play. Along the way, he has matched the total number of wins former coach Tom Allen reached in Bloomington, a striking comparison given Allens 33-49 record across his tenure.
Now Indiana gets another chance to add to that climb when Ohio State comes to town, a matchup that already carries plenty of weight after the Buckeyes beat the Hoosiers in conference play but later lost to them in the Big Ten Championship Game. A win would give Cignetti his 34th at Indiana and move him past Allen on the programs all-time list, which is part of why this one feels like more than just another high-profile league game. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Just Won A Huge NCAA Eligibility Fight For Now
A major eligibility battle has gone Indianas way for the moment, with the Indiana Court of Appeals denying the NCAAs emergency motion to stay a preliminary injunction that keeps several Hoosier athletes on the field and court. For Indiana football players Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt, along with basketball player Sam Alexis, the ruling means they remain eligible to compete while the legal fight plays out, giving the university some immediate relief in a case with broader implications for a much larger group of athletes.
The courts decision also keeps the current status quo for the 97 student athletes covered by the lawsuit while the NCAAs appeal is pending. The association had argued that allowing those athletes to keep competing would create irreparable harm, but the court did not see enough reason to halt the injunction for now, leaving Indiana with a temporary win and the NCAA still searching for a way to reverse it. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas Biggest Test Yet Carries Massive Stakes Against Ohio State
Indianas unbeaten start survived another scare with a 20-17 escape over Nebraska, and the reward is a stage that has been looming for months. The Hoosiers are 6-0 again, just as they have been in each of Curt Cignettis first three seasons, and theyre carrying a 22-game winning streak into a visit from No. 4 Ohio State in Bloomington.
This one brings far more than conference standings into play. Indiana gets the Buckeyes in a rematch of the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game, which means the Hoosiers are not only trying to protect their perfect record, but also see how they stack up against the program standing between them and the top-tier credibility theyve been building toward all season. [Read more 🡒]