Indiana’s recent run against Ohio State tells the story of how far the program has come - and how much the meaning of this matchup has changed along the way.
These two teams have met 99 times since their first game in 1901, and for most of that stretch the series has been so one-sided it has never really felt like a true rivalry. That was true even while both schools spent more than a century in the same conference, and at times the same division.
But Indiana’s win last season in the Big Ten title game changed the conversation. It didn’t just break a losing streak that dated back to 1988; it marked the start of a new way to look at Ohio State on Indiana’s schedule.
Over the last decade, though, the Buckeyes have represented something different in each phase of Indiana football.
There were the years when Indiana could dream of hanging around. That stretch began around the middle of the Kevin Wilson era, when Nate Sudfeld and Tevin Coleman helped build one of the most dangerous offenses in the country.
By 2015, Indiana had enough punch to race out to a 10-0 first-half lead against Ohio State and carry a 10-6 advantage into halftime. Zander Diamont added the rushing spark, and Simmie Cobbs Jr. kept attacking the Buckeye secondary, giving Indiana a real chance.
But the ending was familiar. The Hoosiers still came up short, just as they did in the other close calls.
Indiana was able to notch upset wins over Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State during that era, but Ohio State remained out of reach. Those narrow defeats in 2015 and 2020 reinforced the same old feeling: no matter how strong Indiana looked under Wilson or Tom Allen, Ohio State sat on another level.
Then came the stretch from 2021 through 2023, and it felt even harsher. The optimism of Indiana’s COVID-19-shortened 2020 season gave way to a steep drop, and the losses to Ohio State became especially brutal.
Indiana lost those games by an average of 36.3 points, and the matchups served as a blunt reminder of where the program stood at that moment. The dread around those games became its own familiar feeling.
Now the matchup sits in a different place under Curt Cignetti. The 2024 meeting can be read two ways.
In one sense, it looked like the old Indiana: a good team until Ohio State exposed the gap. The loss, followed by the Notre Dame defeat and the bad faith discussion that came with it, brought back memories of the old glass ceiling.
But the broader picture looked very different. That 2024 loss was Indiana’s first of the season, and it came in the penultimate week.
Even after losing to Ohio State, Cignetti’s first season still ended with a College Football Playoff appearance. The damage wasn’t the same.
Big Ten expansion has changed the stakes too. These teams no longer have to meet every year, and it is now possible for Ohio State or Indiana to win the Big Ten and even national titles without ever playing each other.
In 2024, Indiana could have lost to Ohio State and still been heavily favored to reach the Playoff. The same idea likely applies again in 2026.
That is what makes this phase feel so different. The game still matters, and it will still pull massive TV numbers and carry Playoff implications, but it no longer has to define the season for either team. It feels more like a meeting between two apparent peers, with bragging rights attached.
For Indiana, that is the real twist. After years of measuring the program against Ohio State as the ultimate ceiling, the matchup now carries a very different kind of significance. And in the Cignetti era, that kind of change is hard not to notice.
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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 🡒]