The Ohio State Buckeyes had their bye in Week 9, but the Indiana Hoosiers notched the most impressive victory of the week in terms of pure dominance. IU blasted the UCLA Bruins, winners of three straight under interim head football coach Tim Skipper and interim offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel, 56-6 in Bloomington.
The victory was so decisive, so spellbinding, that BruinReportOnline’s David Woods wants a similar rebuild in Westwood for UCLA.
Who knows, though. Cignetti could end up being the next James Franklin. He hasn't won anything yet. Emulating Ryan Day should be the goal of any team that wishes to defeat teams like the Tennessee Volunteers, Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish consecutively when the games matter the most. Especially if he does it again, in this polarizing and expensive NIL era.
FOX Sports' RJ Young believes that en route to Cignetti validating himself as a top-tier coach, or legendary status for Day in Columbus after a second straight title, the two are destined to meet in the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis this December.
"The Indiana Hoosiers are better than the best team the SEC has to offer." Young wrote.
"The Hoosiers dispatched the UCLA Bruins with the kind of dominance that has become their calling card in the Big Ten. It’s not just that IU beats the teams it’s supposed to — it’s that the Hoosiers leave no doubt, sending a clear message nationwide.
"They’ve beaten every top-25 team they’ve faced by double digits. The only team to hand Indiana a loss as lopsided as the ones they’ve handed most opponents in the Curt Cignetti era is Ohio State. A showdown in the Big Ten title game feels inevitable."
Besides TTUN in Week 14, OSU doesn't have a murderer's row in front of them. The Penn State Nittany Lions are coming off four straight losses when the two teams square off this Saturday at the "Shoe," then a trip to West Lafayette to play the Purdue Boilermakers, and two home games against the UCLA Bruins and Rutgers Scarlet Knights make up the remaining schedule for the Buckeyes.
Indiana similarly plays an unimpressive slate, with Penn State in Happy Valley, the Maryland Terrapins in College Park, the Wisconsin Badgers at home, and Purdue on the road.
Both could use each other as a measuring stick. Especially the Buckeyes, who won't have a test like the Ducks all year.