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...
USC QB Publicly Stands Up For Lincoln Riley As Pressure Builds
As USC tries to steady itself after a rough stretch, Jayden Maiava has made it clear he is not buying into the noise around Lincoln Riley. The quarterback spoke up publicly on a podcast, backing his coach at a time when the criticism has only intensified and the Trojans are looking for some sense of footing. It was the kind of remark that tends to travel fast inside a program, especially when pressure is already hanging over the staff and the results have not matched the expectations.
Maiava said the outside criticism can serve as motivation for the group, a stance that fits the broader mood around a team trying to push through scrutiny rather than retreat from it. Riley, for his part, recently praised Maiavas poise and confidence in the Penn State game, a sign that the quarterbacks voice and presence carry real weight in the locker room. Whether that support is enough to quiet the bigger questions around the program is another matter, but it is clear the conversation around USC is not going away anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Sees One USC Issue That Still Needs Fixing
USC came away from its 31-23 win over Penn State with plenty to like, but Lincoln Riley is still treating the running game as a work in progress as the Trojans head toward their next road test at Wisconsin. There were useful stretches on the ground, yet Riley made it clear the offense has room to grow there, even with the confidence the players around that unit have shown in the backs and the offensive line.
The timing could work in USCs favor, with the bye week offering a chance to get healthier and sharpen the parts of the offense that have not yet settled in. For a team trying to build on a big win and carry it into conference play, the ground attack remains one of the cleaner areas to keep watching, especially once the Trojans get back to game speed in Madison. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Outsmarted Penn State When USC Needed It Most
With USC clinging to its lead late against Penn State, Lincoln Riley turned to a formation that did more than just keep the offense on the field. The unusual look created enough confusion to force Matt Campbell to burn a timeout on fourth down, a small detail in the moment that carried real weight in a game where every possession felt strained and every decision mattered.
The sequence only got better for USC a short time later when Christian Pierce forced a fumble and the Trojans recovered it, setting up the closing stretch they needed to drain the clock in a 31-23 win. Riley's call was the kind of late-game chess move that can tilt a tight matchup, and on this night it helped USC finish the job when Penn State needed one clean stop and could not get it. [Read more 🡒]