Indiana’s showdown with Ohio State had all the makings of a College GameDay stage, but ESPN pointed the spotlight elsewhere.
With the Hoosiers and Buckeyes set for a massive Week 7 collision in Bloomington, many expected the pregame show to land at Memorial Stadium. Indiana enters at 6-0 and ranked No. 7, while Ohio State is 5-1 and sitting at No.
- Given the buildup around this one, it looked like the kind of game GameDay circles on the calendar.
Instead, the show is headed to Provo. ESPN announced Saturday night that College GameDay will be on site for Notre Dame-BYU, a matchup that pairs the No.
3 Fighting Irish with No. 8 BYU.
It’s also a notable return trip, with GameDay going to Provo for the first time since 2009.
Even so, leaving Indiana and Ohio State off the schedule is a head-turner.
The Hoosiers are bringing a 22-game winning streak into the game, and the Buckeyes have already taken a loss this season to Texas. That raises the pressure on Ohio State even more, because every slip matters in the chase for the College Football Playoff.
There’s also real championship weight behind the matchup. The game features the last two national champions, with Ohio State winning it all in 2024 and Indiana finishing the job last season.
Notre Dame and BYU, by contrast, both missed the CFP last year. Notre Dame famously refused to play a bowl game, while BYU beat Georgia Tech in the Pop Tarts Bowl.
This isn’t just a shiny marquee game, either. Indiana and Ohio State have developed a real edge over the last few seasons.
Ohio State beat Indiana in Columbus in 2024, and that remains Curt Cignetti’s only Big Ten regular-season loss at Indiana. The Hoosiers got that one back in last year’s Big Ten Championship Game, pulling out a tense 13-10 win that launched their 16-0 season and ended with a historic national title.
So while GameDay is off to Provo, the bigger drama may still be waiting in Bloomington. Indiana and Ohio State look built for a classic, and the only surprise bigger than the game itself might be the fact that ESPN won’t be there to cover it live.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Already Faces One Annoying BYU Narrative Before Kickoff
With kickoff still ahead, Notre Dame is already dealing with the kind of side conversation that tends to follow a high-profile nonconference game. BYU will be without leading running back L.J. Martin because of a lower-body injury, and the Cougars have leaned even more heavily on quarterback Bear Bachmeier since Martin went down. For the Irish, the betting line has them favored by 10.5 points, which only adds to the early chatter about how the matchup will be framed.
Notre Dame knows the result will be judged well beyond the box score, especially if the conversation shifts toward strength of schedule after the game. If BYU looks short-handed on offense, it could become another talking point for a team that is trying to make every quality opponent count. The irony is obvious enough: before either side takes the field, one of the main debates already has little to do with who wins and everything to do with how the game gets remembered. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame's Blowout May Have Revealed The Offense's New Identity
Notre Dames rout of Stanford on Saturday was the kind of performance that can reshape how a team sees itself. The 58-7 win was the most lopsided in series history, and it came with a season-high 361 rushing yards, the sort of output that usually says as much about identity as it does about execution. Freshman running back Jonaz Walton looked like the player driving that conversation, piling up 181 rushing yards, 28 more through the air and two touchdowns while giving the offense a clear downhill edge.
CJ Carr did not need to carry the same weight he has in some earlier games, but he still managed 181 passing yards, 41 rushing yards and three touchdown throws, which is its own sign of balance. Jaden Greathouse has also started to look like a more consistent piece of the passing game, finding the end zone in consecutive contests, and together those developments suggest Notre Dame may be settling into an offense built less around one star turn and more around a series of dependable answers. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A Big Secondary Boost At The Right Time
When Leonard Moore was sidelined with a concussion against Stanford, Jayden Sanders stepped into the starting lineup and gave Notre Dame exactly the kind of steadiness it needed in the secondary. Sanders wound up tied for the team lead in defensive snaps and came out of the game with an 86.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, a strong indicator that he handled the increased workload without the defense taking a step back.
Sanders also made his presence felt on the ball, finishing with two pass breakups and helping keep completions down on his side of the field. For a Notre Dame defense trying to stay settled in the back end, getting that kind of performance from a replacement starter was a timely development, especially with Moores status still part of the bigger picture. [Read more 🡒]