By Cole SullivanShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberOn Friday night, the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers dominated the Purdue Boilermakers, finishing the regular season 12-0 and securing a spot in the Big Ten Championship. After the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines 27-9 on Saturday, Indiana now knows its opponent.
The Buckeyes also completed the regular season unbeaten, setting up what could be an epic showdown at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis at 8 p.m. EST on Dec. 6.
This season has been the best in Indiana program history, building on last year’s College Football Playoff appearance in head coach Curt Cignetti’s first year in Bloomington.
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Ahead of Saturday’s matchup against Ohio State, he spoke about Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and how this year’s team compares to last year’s national championship squad.
“They’re a great football team. Obviously, they won a national championship last season… Ryan Day’s a great coach—he’ll be one of the legends of the game someday. They’re dominant really everywhere. Lot of great players, really explosive on offense, and they’ve got the No. 1 rated defense in America,” Cignetti said.
“The thing about Ohio State is they play fast, physical, and nasty with an edge. They haven’t really been challenged this year. The Texas game was 14-0—Texas didn’t score until the final three minutes. Michigan had some success early, but Ohio State took control. Other than the Texas game, 18 points is the closest margin in any of their games.”
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Both teams are firmly on track for the College Football Playoffs, so from that perspective, the Big Ten title game may not have a huge impact beyond minor shifts in the final rankings. However, Indiana hasn't won the Big Ten conference since 1967, while Ohio State hasn’t claimed the championship since 2020, which is quite unprecedented for them.
The game could also play a major role in deciding the Heisman Trophy winner, as both quarterbacks—Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin—are the two clear favorites, with little separating them.
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