After a bye week, Indiana is back in the spotlight with a massive Big Ten test waiting in Bloomington. No.
4 Indiana hosts No. 20 USC on Saturday in a game that could ripple through the conference title race and the College Football Playoff conversation.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET, with CBS carrying the broadcast.
Fans can also stream the game on Paramount+ and FuboTV. Brad Nessler will handle play-by-play, Charles Davis will be on analysis, and Jenny Dell will report from the sideline.
Oddsmakers are leaning toward the Hoosiers in this one. DraftKings Sportsbook lists Indiana as a 7.5-point favorite.
On the moneyline, USC is at +230 and Indiana is at -285. The spread sits at USC +7.5 (-115) and Indiana -7.5 (-105), while the total is 49.5 with the over at -115 and the under at -105.
Neither team has been a model of consistency against the number. Indiana is 8-1 overall, but has covered just once this season, doing so in Week 5 against Rutgers.
USC enters at 7-2 straight up and 3-6 against the spread. The under has also been a trend for both teams, hitting in six of Indiana’s nine games and five of USC’s nine.
These two programs do not cross paths often. Saturday will be only the fifth all-time meeting, and the first since USC joined the Big Ten before the 2024 season. The Trojans have won all four previous matchups, including a 28-7 victory in 1982.
Indiana’s injury situation is still worth watching. Big Ten availability reports for Week 11 have not been released yet, but several names are on the radar: QB Josh Hoover, CB AJ Harris, WR Davion Chandler and EDGE Kellan Wyatt.
Hoover has been dealing with an undisclosed injury in recent weeks and was replaced by Grant Wilson at halftime against Minnesota. Harris left that game, while Chandler and Wyatt were both out against the Golden Gophers.
The bye week should have helped Indiana get healthier.
The quarterback situation is the biggest question hanging over this matchup. Indiana has not announced whether Hoover or Wilson will start, but either one would have a chance to make a major statement in a game with real weight.
USC comes in after a big win of its own. Lincoln Riley’s team knocked off then-No.
2 Ohio State 30-18 last week, though the Buckeyes were working with a backup quarterback. Luke Fahey struggled to get much going, and USC controlled the game from start to finish.
Even with that result fresh in the memory, the edge in this matchup goes to Indiana. Both teams are coming off byes, so coaching should loom large, and Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers positioned well at home.
USC has to make the cross-country trip, and Indiana has already shown it can keep finding ways to finish games. The pick here is Indiana 27, USC 21.
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