The dream of posting a perfect season is off the table for Ryan Day and Ohio State football. In a bit of a stunner, the reigning national champs, fresh off a win over Michigan last week, faced Indiana with the Big Ten title on the line, but the Buckeyes just couldn't get the job done. Yup, Indiana came out on top 13-10.
Indiana fans absurdly calling out Ohio State for 'dirty hit' on Fernando Mendoza
Offensively, Ohio State looked a bit off, while Fernando Mendoza and Indiana made the needed plays late to post a win. For plenty of people, however, this game all came down to how things went down late in the third quarter, with Ohio State knocking on the door.
The Buckeyes were facing 4th-and-1 deep in Indiana territory and Julian Sayin appeared to get the first down on a quarterback sneak. However, after a review, Sayin was ruled short and not only did Indiana get the ball back, but Ohio State, down 13-10 at the time, didn't take the three points and remained down by a field goal.
AFTER REVIEW JULIAN SAYIN'S KNEE IS RULED DOWN AND IT'S @IndianaFootball's BALL! 😱 pic.twitter.com/vP7gyfXa5u
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 7, 2025
Ohio State football suffered a heartbreaking loss to Indiana in the Big Ten title game
This isn't necessarily a case where Ohio State fans are only angry with Day for going for it on 4th down, but the lead-up to things was a bit of a head-scratcher. On 3rd-and-1, the Buckeyes drew up a play design to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith, but he was well covered.
If Ohio State was going to go for it on 4th down, then why not run the ball on 3rd down? Also, it was clear that Sayin was a bit banged up too. Why go with a QB sneak against a stingy Indiana defensive line? Hindsight is of course 20-20, but these are fair questions to ask.
Late in the 4th quarter too, Ohio State was again looking to score. On 3rd-and-1, Ohio State ONCE again threw the ball and it fell incomplete. The Buckeyes had to settle for a field goal try and Jayden Fielding saw his kick go wide. Just unreal.
In the end, Day's gamble backfired on him and Ohio State suffered its first loss of the season. After the high of taking down Michigan to close out the regular season at 12-0, everyone has been brought back down to early a little bit with the loss to Indiana. Ohio State is still in a great spot to potentially repeat as the champs, but Saturday's defeat to the Hoosiers is a bit of a setback.