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The Buckeyes Will Take On The Hoosiers in a Historic Top-Five Clash Saturday in the Shoe

Ohio State Welcomes Undefeated Indiana As The Regular Season Nears An End

The No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will host the No. 5-ranked Indiana Hoosiers at noon EST Saturday in the Horseshoe. The Buckeyes opened as 11.5-point favorites and are currently favored by 13.5 points. The over/under total is currently set at 51.5 points.

There are a plethora of storylines as these two teams face off with so much on the line. For the Hoosiers, this would be their first win against Ohio State since 1988 and the chance to keep their undefeated season, Big Ten title, and playoff hopes alive and within reach. For the Buckeyes, this would give them a chance to reach Indianapolis, potentially earn a bye in the College Football Playoff, and gain even more momentum heading into The Game next weekend.

Let’s take a look at some of the key points, players, and storylines as these two teams face off in unprecedented fashion.

The Hoosiers Are Rolling

Many people are saying that for Indiana, a close loss would be a major victory. As long as they don’t get blown out, they will have a good chance of making the first-ever 12-team playoff. They had a bye last week, and their last outing was an important win over a struggling Michigan side 20-15.

Their strength of schedule has been an area of concern, as they didn’t have to play Oregon, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and more. To their credit, they’ve handled everyone on their schedule and in dominant fashion for the most part.

On offense, Ohio-transfer Kurtis Rourke has powered the Hoosiers offense even after picking up an injury a few weeks ago. He’s up over 2,400 passing yards this season with 21 passing touchdowns and just four interceptions. He has spread the ball around nicely as seven Hoosiers have over 100 yards receiving including four with over 340 yards receiving.

Junior wideout Elijah Sarratt leads the team in catches with 38, receiving yards with 685 and receiving touchdowns with six. Sophomore wideout Omar Cooper Jr. has 527 receiving yards and five scores, and senior wideout Myles Price has 377 receiving yards for the Indiana offense. They spread the ball around and have a variety of playmakers out wide that will need to be accounted for.

On the ground, Indiana has their own dynamic duo with Seniors Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton. Both are proven older players who transferred in and have made a big impact, as both have nine rushing touchdowns on the season. They both have over 500 rushing yards and average at least 4.8 yards per carry. Indiana is not afraid of letting different guys touch the ball, which makes it important that everyone is on their A-game for the silver bullets defense.

The Hoosiers defense is led by Junior linebacker Aiden Fisher who has 98 tackles on the season. Sophomore defensive back Amare Ferrell has four interceptions on the year and leads a solid secondary. Junior defensive lineman Mikail Kamara has been a huge presence on the line with nine and a half sacks, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. Indiana has solid playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, and the Ohio State offensive line and wideouts will need to be on their game to help move the ball.

The World-Famous Ohio State Buckeyes

Will Howard has continued to put Ohio State in good spots and is up to 2,484 passing touchdowns with 30 total touchdowns and five picks. He is completing 72.9 percent of his passes, and has full control of the offense as the most important part of the season is here.

The best running back duo in the nation has proven it every week with a combined 1,385 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. Quinshon Judkins is at 6.0 yards per carry with TreVeyon Henderson up to 7.4 yards per carry. The big-play ability will be needed this week to help open up the air raid for Howard and company.

Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka both have 49 receptions on the year with a combined 17 receiving touchdowns. Smith is up to 865 receiving yards while Egbuka has 612 receiving  yards. Carnell Tate is coming off his best game of the year with two touchdowns and is up to 457 yards receiving. Four other Buckeyes have over 100 yards receiving, and all will be needed when called upon.

All the love for Carnell Tate following the #Buckeyes 31-7 victory over Northwestern ❤️ pic.twitter.com/lPLKXT8EMV

— Kellyanne Stitts (@KellyanneStitts) November 16, 2024

The Silver Bullets defense has been flying around in all phases, especially at linebacker. Sonny Styles, Cody Simon, and Arvell Reese have been all over the place. Styles is coming off arguably his best game of the entire season against Northwestern, and has become a great leader alongside Simon. Caleb Downs, Latham Ransom, and the rest of the secondary have played great ball aside from a few big plays given up by the corners. Along the defensive line, Jack Sawyer has been a beast and other guys have stepped up to get in the backfield with him.

So, What Gives?

As exciting as this Indiana team has been all year, they haven’t faced anyone close to the level of the Ohio State Buckeyes. In their biggest game against Michigan, Indiana scored just three second-half points and almost blew their lead. They have been good against bad teams, but haven’t played a great team all year.

They blew out Nebraska which was a common opponent that Ohio State struggled against. However, that was Ohio State’s worst performance of the season and they have played great football ever since.

Ohio State will be able to score plenty in this game, even with the horrible news of a season-ending injury to offensive lineman Seth McLaughlin this week. The biggest question will be how the Indiana offense fares against the stingy Ohio State defense.

Indiana should see a little success offensively, but if Ohio State builds a lead it could mean trouble fast for them. I see the Buckeyes feeding off the fan energy at home and coming out hot on defense as the offense finds their footing. They have been prone to slow starts, but are playing great football and have built some solid leads in the second quarters of games. The team knows if they can build an early lead the game can be out of reach fairly quickly.

Indiana is a respectable opponent having an all-time great season for their standards, but they still aren’t on Ohio State’s level. The Buckeyes will get a lead and carry it throughout the game, making the big plays when needed. I expect big games from Jeremiah Smith and Quinshon Judkins, which shouldn’t be a shocker to anyone. The defense will get a key takeover and make some defensive stands to help the offense. The Buckeyes win, setting up a big game against a struggling and underwhelming TTUN side.

Prediction: Ohio State 38 Indiana 17