When Ohio State goes to Bloomington on Oct. 17, the game may look like it’s built around the quarterbacks, the receivers, or even the defenses. Julian Sayin against Josh Hoover is a clean headline.
Jeremiah Smith against Indiana’s secondary is another. Ohio State’s defense against Indiana’s offensive line has plenty of juice too.
But if this matchup between two evenly matched teams turns on one thing, it’s the Buckeyes’ offensive line.
That front five is the hinge point for everything Ohio State wants to do this season. Sayin enters 2026 with huge expectations after being named a Heisman finalist last season, and Smith is back to give the passing game a real star power boost. None of that matters much if Sayin doesn’t have time to work.
The warning signs are already there. Ohio State allowed only six sacks in the regular season in 2025, which worked out to 0.5 per game.
Then came the Big Ten Championship against Indiana, when the Buckeyes gave up five sacks in one game. They followed that with another five-sack outing against Miami in the Cotton Bowl.
Those two postseason performances were so rough that they hang over any conversation about the line heading into 2026.
Indiana can bring pressure, too. The Hoosiers averaged 2.85 sacks per game in 2025, and junior linebacker Rolijah Hardy is back after finishing with 8 sacks last season. Ohio State returns four starters from its front five, and nearly all nine linemen who saw meaningful snaps are back as well, though the final alignment still hasn’t been settled and some shuffling is expected.
That means the Buckeyes have the pieces to answer Indiana’s front, but they have to actually do it. If Sayin gets a clean pocket, the field opens up for him and Smith. If he’s under heat all afternoon, Ohio State’s rhythm can get thrown off fast.
The line’s responsibility goes beyond pass protection, though. With Arthur Smith taking over as offensive coordinator, Ohio State is expected to lean more on a physical run game, with play-action playing a bigger role than it has in recent years.
That makes first down especially important. Last season, the Buckeyes managed just 58 rushing yards in the Big Ten Championship game, and that kind of output won’t cut it if this offense is going to take hold.
Indiana’s defense is the kind that punishes teams that can’t stay ahead of the chains. Ohio State’s offensive line has to set the tone early, because winning first down helps everything else work. It gives Sayin and company longer drives, keeps Indiana’s offense on the sideline, and can wear the Hoosiers down over the course of the game.
That’s the real path for Ohio State in Bloomington. If the Buckeyes’ front five controls the line of scrimmage, the rest of the offense should follow. If it doesn’t, Buckeye fans may be stuck reliving the same problems all over again.
In Other News...
Michigan Just Took Another Major Hit Behind The Scenes
Michigans athletic department is dealing with another round of turbulence behind the scenes, with athletic director Warde Manuel reportedly expected to exit at the end of the calendar year. The move comes after an outside firm examined the culture inside the department, though the findings have not been made public, leaving plenty of questions about what prompted the latest shake-up in Ann Arbor.
For Ohio State, the news serves as another reminder of how different things have looked across the rivalry when it comes to athletic department stability. The Buckeyes have largely avoided the kind of public scandal and internal uncertainty now hovering over Michigan, and that contrast matters in a sport where off-field order can be just as important as what happens on game day. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Development Could Suddenly Reshape Ohio States Running Back Board
A recruiting domino in Tennessee is starting to matter well beyond Knoxville. Asa Barnes, the Tennessee running back target from the Volunteer State, is leaning toward staying home, and that could help clarify the top of the board for a pair of programs watching the same market closely. For Ohio State, the ripple effect is less about Barnes himself and more about how one decision can shape the path for another back the Buckeyes have their eyes on.
David Gabriel Georges is the name to watch next, with his choice expected to come after Barnes sorts out his future. Tennessee and Ohio State are both positioned around that decision, but the two schools do not present the same kind of running back picture, and that contrast could wind up mattering as the process unfolds. If Barnes lands where the momentum suggests, the rest of the board may start to move in a direction that gives the Buckeyes a cleaner read on where they stand. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Just Hit The Urban Meyer Comparison Fans Dread
Ryan Days Ohio State tenure has now reached the point where the comparisons to Urban Meyer are no longer just about style or expectations. Through seven seasons, the two coaches have lived in the same rarefied air in Columbus, each delivering a national championship and multiple Big Ten crowns while navigating very different versions of college football. The numbers are close enough to invite the conversation, and the circumstances around those numbers are different enough to keep it from being a simple one-to-one matchup.
The larger question is how to weigh all of it. Day has had to coach through the pandemic, the transfer-portal era and a sport that keeps changing around him, while Ohio States path through the Big Ten has also been shaped by expansion and a Michigan scandal that altered the landscape. So the Meyer comparison is flattering on one hand and nerve-wracking on the other, because it puts Day in the same sentence as a standard Buckeye fans still remember vividly. [Read more 🡒]