Indiana’s unbeaten start has come with enough wobble to leave even its own beat writer calling the season “odd,” and that’s the backdrop for Saturday’s massive top-five showdown with Ohio State in Bloomington.
Zach Browning, who covers Indiana football for Hoosiers on SI, pointed to the Hoosiers’ close calls against Nebraska and Northwestern as part of the reason the first six games haven’t felt like a clean march toward certainty. He also noted that those two teams may look far better now than they did six weeks ago, calling attention to the possibility that Nebraska and Northwestern could become bowl-eligible and even spend the next couple of months in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Indiana’s trouble against mobile quarterbacks has been a real theme, Browning said, especially when opponents can buy time and find receivers downfield. He also said the Hoosiers’ inability to run the ball against Nebraska stood out as a concern heading into a game against an Ohio State front that brings just as much, if not more, talent.
The matchup out wide is where Browning sounded most excited. He described Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh as an elite pair, saying it would be “an excellent day to watch some wide receivers,” with both players giving the Buckeyes’ secondary a major challenge in different ways.
Browning called Marsh the more complete receiver, praising his work after the catch, his expanded route tree and the way he has grown as a blocker in the run game. Becker, though, got the biggest physical comparison. Browning labeled him a 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 track star with elite speed and a huge catch radius, saying balls near him can feel like “an 80-20 ball when it’s in Charlie Becker’s radius because he’s that good at the catch point.”
He also had strong praise for Josh Hoover, whose season has moved past the turnover concerns he brought with him from TCU. Browning pointed to Hoover’s 17 touchdowns and no interceptions, and said the quarterback has done a better job lately of playing within the defense instead of chasing the splash play. He credited that shift with helping his ball security and cleaning up the issues that followed him from TCU.
As for the atmosphere, Browning expects Memorial Stadium to be unlike anything it has seen before. He called it the most raucous environment in stadium history and said the only comparison that came to mind was Illinois’ visit last year, which he described as the loudest he had ever heard the building. With the first top-five matchup in Memorial Stadium history set for Saturday, he said the early tone of the game could shape the crowd’s influence - if Ohio State lands the first punch, the noise could settle; if Indiana does, the stadium could become even more of a factor.
When it came time to make a pick, Browning leaned Ohio State, though not by much. He said he still views the Buckeyes as one of the two best teams in the country alongside Georgia and believes Ohio State is better built for this kind of game right now. He cited Ohio State’s performances against Iowa and Texas as evidence, but also said Indiana’s home field and the trenches could tilt things the other way.
Still, his final call was Ohio State 17-13. He said he would not be shocked if Indiana pulled it off, and he expects a tight, low-scoring game that could realistically go either way.
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