No. 5 Indiana and No. 4 Ohio State meet for the 100th time in history, and such an anniversary calls for a great game. Luckily for all of us, that's what we should get with both teams ranked inside the top five.
The fifth-ranked Hoosiers needed a late comeback last week against Nebraska, but their record is untarnished as they host Ohio State at Memorial Stadium. Despite all the turnover in the offseason, Indiana has reloaded with star power all over the field. Nick Marsh is a handful at receiver, Turbo Richard leads the Big Ten in rushing yards and Tobi Osunsanmi can get after the opposing quarterback off the edge.
That opposing quarterback this week is Julian Sayin, who remains a highly accurate and efficient signal caller for Ohio State. Of course, he gets plenty of help from Heisman Trophy favorite Jeremiah Smith, who leads the conference in receptions (48), yards (916) and touchdowns (11). The Indiana secondary will have a huge challenge on its hands as it tries to slow him down.
This Big Ten Championship Game rematch has a little something for everyone -- great defense, explosive playmakers and excellent coaching. In a day full of marquee matchups, this might be the best one.
Keep it locked here as CBS Sports provides you with live updates, highlights and analysis as Ohio State battles Indiana on Saturday.
The ball is in the air, and we are underway from Bloomington. A top-five matchup. A rematch of the 2025 Big Ten title game. A potential preview of the 2026 Big Ten Championship. It doesn't get much better than this. Follow along as we provide live updates of what will be the biggest football game ever at Memorial Stadium.
Indiana has been quite literally perfect at home under Curt Cignetti. Not only are the Hoosiers undefeated at Memorial Stadium, but they have been crushing opponents in the process.
*Leads FBS since 2024
That's what Ohio State is walking into today, and it hasn't been great away from Ohio State lately. The Buckeyes are 1-3 in their last four games away from home. Granted, only two of those were true road games -- a loss to Texas and a win over Iowa.
Now that we're roughly one hour away from kickoff, here are two matchups I believe will decided this game:
It probably goes without saying that this is a mammoth game when it comes to the College Football Playoff, but I'll say it anyway.
What might be a little surprising is that our CFP resume rankings actually have Indiana ahead of Ohio State by a decent margin. That's due in large part to the fact that Northwestern and Nebraska have looked much stronger than anyone anticipated going into Week 1.
By contrast, the Buckeyes don't have many quality wins outside their victory over Iowa. They could change that very quickly with a win today.
For the first 97 years of this matchup, there were zero top-five matchups, and most of the meetings were lopsided affairs in favor of Ohio State. Going into this matchup, the Buckeyes own an 80-13-5 against the Hoosiers all-time, and the Winsipedia page isn't pretty.
The tables might be turning, however. Indiana has gotten an investment of resources, and it has the right coach in place. The result is a third consecutive top-five matchup between these programs.
If this keeps up, it won't be long before a new Big Ten rivalry develops.
When Indiana was in the market for a new coach several years ago, it didn't look for the 40-year-old wunderkind. Instead, it hired the 62-year-old Curt Cignetti, who spent decades paying his dues in various positions at various levels.
The Hoosiers plucked Cignetti from James Madison after he successfully led the Dukes from the FCS ranks to the FBS level. As it turned out, that was the start of the trend. UCLA scooped up Bob Chesney last offseason, and he's off to a terrific start with the Bruins, and current JMU coach Billy Napier is well on his way to rebuilding his career after a failed stint at Florida.
Harrisonburg, Virginia has suddenly become the cradle of coaches in college football.
I was tasked with previewing this game -- and offering an against-the-spread pick -- and I went back and forth for while. On the one hand, its been tough to bet against Curt Cignetti at Indiana. Despite the amount of talent the Hoosiers lost, they've reloaded in the portal, and they are a serious threat to win two straight national titles.
On the other hand, Ohio State is as talented as any team in the country, and it has the best player not in the NFL right right now. Jeremiah Smith is operating on a different level than any other player at this level. Beyond that, the Buckeyes defense is loaded with talent capable of slowing the Hoosiers attack.
It should be a tight four-quarter game in Bloomington.
