The Ohio State Buckeyes' October 17 date with the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington is one of the many difficult showdowns on OSU's buzzsaw of a 2026 slate. Perhaps it's how many key dates are on the schedule. Maybe it's a bit of fear of what Curt Cignetti is accomplishing right now at IU. Whatever it is, though, the hosts of the Buckeye Talk podcast, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis, don't sound overly animated about a Big Ten Championship Game rematch between the last two national champions.
Per Krajisnik, "I think for the first time in the Curt Cignetti era, the Indiana-Ohio State matchup is a little picture for me...It’s just a matter of deciding which team is [better] in 2026." Per Means, in response, I don’t think there is an undoubted, certified king in college football right now...I think it creates a conversation of like, ‘OK, where’s the trajectory of all of this is headed?’”
It's hard not to be impressed with the hype Josh Hoover is receiving as Fernando Mendoza's replacement under center. That, plus a general confidence in Cignetti's eye for talent, probably has many fan bases shook. It just feels like the Scarlet and Gray shouldn't be in that group. That game should mean something in Central Ohio.
Ohio State should be amped up to beat Indiana. Not as much as TTUN. But the Hoosiers should be the second-most important rival in the eyes of Ryan Day and his coaching staff. It's confusing to hear the game being downplayed by some of the Buckeye State's most trustworthy sources.
Ohio State could directly prevent Indiana from being CFB's king
Truthfully, Ohio State does have the power to keep Indiana away from college football's throne. It wasn't long ago when there was an undisputed ruler. Following a second-straight national championship in January 2023, the Georgia Bulldogs held that title. UGA's reign started with a win over the previous champion, the Alabama Crimson Tide, in January 2022 during the CFP title game, which was a rematch of that year's SEC Championship Game, and ended in the 2023 SEC Championship Game with a Tide win. There was a two-year lull at the top, with the participants of "The Game" trading championships. Last year may or may not have been the start of the next empire.
IU was undefeated, but ending OSU's undefeated 2025 season in a 13-10 thriller in Indianapolis last December was one of the foundational building blocks of their dynastic campaigns. That confidence led to a dominant run where they outscored Alabama and the Oregon Ducks by 69 points before ending up the Miami Hurricanes in a one-score game that came down to the last play.
Just as quickly as the Hoosiers nabbed a narrative victory, they could lose it at the Buckeyes' hands in their home stadium. This is not just another game for Ohio State and shouldn't be treated as such. What it is is a chance to bring an overly confident program back to earth in the middle of October, where it hurts the most.
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