Is Saturday’s game between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers the biggest one in the history of the series?
That’s the question for me this week when it comes to Ohio State Buckeyes football.
Before the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released last Sunday, Oct. 11, at 2 p.m., the stakes were already high:
- Indiana is the defending College Football Playoff National Champion, which marked the first in program history.
- The Hoosiers beat Ohio State last time the two teams met in the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis in December 2025.
Now, the latest AP Top 25 gave us this:
- Saturday’s game is a top-five matchup.
The Buckeyes rose to No. 4 and Indiana reached No. 5 after losses by then-No. 1 Texas, then-No. 6 Alabama and then-No. 10 LSU in Week 6.
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Georgia avoided a result that would’ve left the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in college football with losses after beating the Crimson Tide 20-17. Therefore, the Bulldogs are the top team in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Though, Bloomington will surely be a scene this weekend. According to Indiana game notes, Saturday will be the first top-5 matchup in Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium history. It’s a noon kick on FOX in a rematch of last year’s Big Ten final.
Matchup details
Who: Ohio State Buckeyes at Indiana Hoosiers. Kickoff: Noon. Broadcast: FOX.
Pregame
Essential resources
Associated Press Top 25 Poll: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
Ohio State game notes: https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/ohiostatebuckeyes.com/documents/2026/10/11/7_Indiana.pdf?timestamp=20261011092712
Indiana game notes: https://static.iuhoosiers.com/custompages/PDF/fb/2026/26-10-17-Notes_Ohio_State.pdf
Big Ten Conference weekly release: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/bigtensports.sidearmsports.com/documents/2026/10/14/2026_FB_Week_7_Release.pdf
Benge Notes
Cinema
I’ve covered top-five matchups before.
There’s hardly anything like it.
Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana, is in for a treat this Saturday. No matter what, those in attendance are going to win.
As for the game on the gridiron, how can Indiana avoid letting down the home crowd? And how can Ohio State avoid losing to the Hoosiers twice in a row?
Four statistics from the Big Ten after Week 6:
- Ohio State has the No. 1 scoring and total offense at 42.7 points and 503.5 yards per game.
- Indiana has the No. 3 scoring and No. 2 total offense, respectively, at 40.2 and 462.7 yards per game.
- Julian Sayin is No. 1 averaging 295.3 passing yards per game.
- Josh Hoover is No. 1 with a 200.5 quarterback efficiency rating.
Something’s got to give.
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