Indiana’s trip to Bloomington for Ohio State this weekend has all the ingredients of a heavyweight college football night, but it won’t get the College GameDay spotlight many expected.
The Hoosiers and Buckeyes are heading into Week 7 with plenty attached to the matchup. Indiana is 6-0 and sitting at No. 7, while Ohio State is 5-1 and ranked No.
- It has been building for months as one of the biggest games on the calendar, and the stakes only got higher with the way both teams have started the season.
Still, ESPN went in a different direction. On Saturday night, College GameDay announced it will be in Provo for Notre Dame’s matchup with BYU instead of making the trip to Indiana.
"Cougar fans, it’s been awhile 💭
We’re headed to Provo for the first time since 2009 for Notre Dame-BYU‼️ pic.twitter.com/gWSLxrpBkN
- College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 10, 2026"
The choice makes sense on one level. Notre Dame is No. 3 and BYU is No. 8, and GameDay hasn’t been to Provo since 2009.
But it still leaves Indiana vs. Ohio State feeling like the game that got left on the table.
There’s a lot more than rankings driving the buzz in Bloomington. Indiana is riding a 22-game winning streak, while Ohio State already has a loss on its resume, falling to Texas earlier this season. That puts real pressure on the Buckeyes, who can’t afford another slip if they want to stay in the College Football Playoff race.
This one also carries a serious championship edge. It features the last two national champions, with Ohio State winning it all in 2024 and Indiana doing the same last season.
Notre Dame and BYU, by contrast, both missed the CFP a year ago. Notre Dame famously refused to play a bowl game, while BYU took down Georgia Tech in the Pop Tarts Bowl.
And there’s a growing history between the Hoosiers and Buckeyes, too. Ohio State beat Indiana in Columbus in 2024, and that remains Curt Cignetti’s only Big Ten regular season loss at Indiana. Indiana got the payoff last year, though, beating Ohio State 13-10 in the Big Ten Championship Game and sending Cignetti’s program into its remarkable 16-0 season and national title run.
All of that sets up a game that should have the feel of an instant classic. Even without College GameDay in town, Bloomington is about to get the kind of matchup college football circles for a long time.
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