NOTEBOOK: Historic Opportunity Looms When IU Hosts Ohio State
By Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Has there ever been a bigger game in the history of Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium?
History suggests no when No. 4/5 Indiana (6-0 overall, 3-0 in the Big Ten) hosts No. 5/4 Ohio State (5-1, 3-0) Saturday at the stadium, which opened in 1960. These programs have won the last two national titles and rate among the favorites to win it all this season.
Also, head coach Curt Cignetti is 19-0 at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
“We’re playing a great team,” Cignetti said during his Monday press conference. “They have a lot of great players. They are extremely well coached. (Head coach) Ryan Day does a good job. Both coordinators, all the position coaches, do good jobs. They’re really, really good.
“We’re going to need our fans. It ought to be a great environment.”
The Hoosiers have been on Buckeye minds since last December’s Big Ten title game, when IU rallied for a 13-10 victory at Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Stadium. Before that, the Hoosiers hadn’t beaten the Buckeyes since a 41-7 victory in 1988.
This will be the teams’ third top-10 matchup in less than two years. The Buckeyes won in Columbus in November of 2024. This game is sold out and generating national buzz, which has sent ticket prices soaring to in some cases more than $1,000 each on secondary markets.
“Winning does a lot of good things,” Cignetti said, “and I think that's what happened. You’ve got an opponent that's coming in here that is used to winning and winning championships and is as strong a brand as there is in America, Ohio State football, for years and years and years.
“We’re a team that’s still developing. I'm sure they would say the same thing about their team.”
OSU has bounced back in a big way from its 24-23 loss at Texas in the opener, a game it controlled until the fourth quarter. It has since beaten Kent State 59-3, Illinois 42-19, No. 17 Iowa 31-14, and Maryland 45-17.
The Buckeyes average 42.7 points and allow 13.2. They run for 165.7 yards a game, and throw for 337.8 under first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the former NFL head coach for the Atlanta Falcons and offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans.
“Any time you have a new coordinator,” Cignetti said, “there will be some subtleties, but they still run the ball well really. They throw the ball really well. They are very efficient, very effective. They do a lot of the really nice stuff.”
Quarterback Julian Sayin completes 71.2 percent of his passes for 1,772 yards, 17 touchdowns, and two interceptions
Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is generating plenty of Heisman Trophy buzz. He’s caught 48 passes for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cignetti calls Smith a “wow” player. Besides Smith, four other Buckeyes have caught at least 10 passes, led by Devin McCuin’s 17 catches for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
Running back Bo Jackson has rushed for 460 yards and four touchdowns. Ja’ Kobi Jackson has 354 yards and six TDs.
The defense has intercepted four passes, forced four fumbles, and given up just one pass for more than 30 yards this season. Linebacker Payton Pierce and safety Earl Little Jr. each have a team-leading 30 tackles. Safety Jaylen McClain has yet to miss a tackle in six games.
IU will counter with quarterback Josh Hoover, who completes 68.2 percent of his passes for 1,364 yards, 17 touchdowns and no interceptions, and a pair of big-play receivers in Charlie Becker (30 catches, 529 yards, eight touchdowns) and Nick Marsh (29 catches, 528 yards, six TDs).
Marsh was named AP national player of the week after totaling six catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns (including the game winner) against Nebraska.
“That’s really the only word I can think of to describe him. They move Jeremiah around quite a bit. He's taken it up a notch without question. I think he has nine touchdown catches in the last three, four games.Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti on what makes Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith a "wow" player.
There is no one like him right now playing at this level. We have two really good ones (in Becker and Marsh), but he's a freak. We're going to have to do a great job on him.”
IU can tie Ohio State for the longest winning streak in the College Football Playoff era with a Saturday victory. The Hoosiers have won 22 in a row. The Buckeyes won 23 straight in 2013-14.
Cignetti pays no attention.
“This is all about giving our team the best chance to be successful and doing a great job as coaches. Both teams are going in, in my mind, 0-0. I'm sure that's how they're approaching it, too. That other stuff is just noise and clutter.”
For those wondering if IU’s running struggles at Nebraska (22 attempts, 65 yards) suggest potential trouble against Ohio State, Cignetti has a message:
Relax.
“Good teams have tendencies, but you’ve to have some changeup pitches, too. The run game has got to have at-bats. When you run 16 plays in the first half, you're not getting many at-bats.”
The Hoosiers rank second in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 221.3 yards per game. Running back Turbo Richard has rushed for 597 yards and five touchdowns. Lee Beebe Jr. has 551 yards and four touchdowns. Richard also has a Big Ten-best 10 rushes of more than 20 yards.
Ohio State ranks sixth in the conference in rushing yards allowed, at 96.2.
Cornerback A.J. Harris returned to action against Nebraska. An injury had sidelined him since the season-opening win against North Texas. Harris, a Penn State transfer, had one tackle.
“He hadn't practiced very much to be honest with you,” Cignetti said. “He had an opportunity there in the second half, and there are some things to clean up. We had a (pass interference) back there, but he's played a lot of football. He has ability, and if we can get him screwed in assignment-wise to do the right thing play in, play out, he’ll be a good player.”
Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia brings plenty of NFL experience that includes being the head coach of the Detroit Lions and the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.
The Buckeyes rank second to Indiana in points allowed among Big Ten teams. The Hoosiers give up 11.8 points. Ohio State is at 13.2.
IU leads the Big Ten with 20 sacks. The Buckeyes rank 10th with nine. Their four recovered fumbles are tied for second in the conference behind UCLA (nine).
Cignetti said this Ohio State defense is similar to last year’s dominating unit that ranked among the nation's best.
“There are some subtle (differences), but it’s more same than different,” Cignetti said. “They’re doing a great job. They've got a lot of new faces and some of those guys we played against at Alabama.
“They've really got them coached up and playing really well. A lot of good players flying around; They keep you off balance.
“(Matt Patricia) is a great football coach and the kids really play well.”
Cignetti is 7-0 in one-score games at IU. He was also successful in close contests in his previous stops at James Madison, Elon, and IUP.
How does he do it?
“If I had a big secret, I wouldn't tell everyone,” he said, “but at the end of the day, the players make the plays. You just try it put them in position to make the plays.”