Today the Indiana Hoosiers are the Big Ten Champions. While many anticipated a collision course with Ohio State months ago, few actually thought they’d pull off the upset. That outcome might be surprising, but it shouldn’t be. Ohio State averaged 37 points per game. In the Big Ten championship game Indiana held them to ten.
How did a team that climbed to the No. 2 spot from middle of the pack when the season started beat a team that was almost the wire-to-wire No. 1 team in the country? To say Ryan Day was outcoached might be harsh and misleading. Curt Cignetti simply executed a game plan he knew would work.
There were three factors that aided in Indiana’s win and the sense that Ohio State might have been outcoached. Make Buckeyes quarterback Julia Sayin and the run game look ‘regular’. Keep the game close and don’t take unnecessary risks. Finally, obsessively control the clock.
Ohio State had not been tested, won every game big
In week one, then No. 3 Ohio State defeated then No. 1 Texas by a score of 14-7. Ohio State was on their way to coasting to a 14-0 win before Texas scored a late touchdown to trim the lead to one score.
Every other game the Buckeyes played in 2025 ended with them winning by +16 or more. The two closest wins after Texas were +16 over Illinois, +18 over Washington and +18 over Michigan.
A scheduling argument could be made for Ohio State. Texas in week one was refreshing but that was followed by Grambling State and Ohio University. As the reality of the season set in, it became clear that Ohio State was not likely to get challenged until maybe Michigan in the last week of the regular season.
According to the Associated Press, heading into week one Ohio State had four top 25 teams on their schedule. No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Penn State, No. 12 Illinois and No. 14 Michigan. As it turned out, with the exception of Texas being in the top 15, none of those teams remained a top 15 threat.
Indiana took the speed and explosion out of Ohio State
Freshman quarterback Julian Sayin was the Heisman front runner headed into the Big Ten Championship game. With a college football best completion percentage (78.9%) and 31 touchdowns to only six interceptions, keeping Sayin looking normal and not elite was the first task. In the game Sayin threw for only 258 yards on 73% with one touchdown and one interception.
Defensively, the first quarter interception on Sayin seemed to take some of the wind out of Ohio State’s sails. It took until the second quarter to get the first passing chunk play (52-yards to Jeremiah Smith). An even more telling stat was Indiana’s ability to hold Ohio State’s entire team to only 58-yards rushing for the game.
Indiana was also able to stay close with Ohio State. The Indiana defense made Ohio State move the ball in smaller increments throughout the game. The big chunk plays were few and Indiana was able to minimize yards after the catch. Preventing Ohio State from jumping out to a big lead. After Smith’s 52-yards play, Ohio State did not have a single other play that resulted in more than a 20-yard gain. Keeping the game close set up Indiana’s fourth quarter strategy.
In what felt like the entire fourth quarter, Indiana focused on the clock. For just about every single offensive snap quarterback Fernando Mendoza took, he would bleed most of the play clock. Play after play, Mendoza wouldn’t even approach the center or be in position for the snap until no more than ten seconds remained on the clock.
They also called running plays in situations that felt less than ideal. That was because it wasn’t about gaining yards as much as it was about bleeding the clock. From eleven minutes left in the third quarter until the end of the game, Ohio State was unable to score. There was obvious urgency from Ohio State, but there was just no room for big chunk plays.
Down 13-10 for a quarter and a half, the second to last Buckeyes possession presented an opportunity to tie the game, but the field goal attempt was wide left. Even if they had converted on the field goal attempt, they would’ve given Indiana the ball back with almost three minutes to get in field goal range.
To suggest Coach Day and the Buckeyes staff got outcoached, may be a bit of a stretch. However, suggesting Ohio State got out executed is not a stretch at all. Now that the college football playoff bracket is officially filled out, there is a reality where Indiana and Ohio State meet again later in the playoff. If Ohio State hopes to see a different outcome, they’re going to need to figure out how to win close, possibly ugly games. Something that they didn’t have to do until this past Saturday.
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