By Danielle Daniels

FIRST AND TEN

• Ohio State, 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten Conference, hosts No. 5 and unbeaten Indiana (10-0 and 7-0) in a Top 5 showdown at Ohio Stadium. Kickoff on FOX is set for 12 noon.
• This is the fourth time in the 98-game series that both teams are ranked in the national Top 25, the first since the 2020 season when Ohio State was No. 3 and Indiana was No. 9, and the first Top 5 matchup.
• The seven-point Ohio State win in 2020 (42-35 at Ohio Stadium) was the closest game in this series in 11 years, or since Ohio State hung on for a 52-49 win over the Hoosiers in Bloomington in 2012.
• Both teams’ defenses are stout … staunch … steadfast … strong! The two units are Nos. 1-2 in the Big Ten in rushing and total defense, Nos. 1-3 in scoring and Nos. 1-5 against the pass. Nationally, they are Nos. 2-3 in total defense with Ohio State allowing 250.8 yards per game and Indiana allowing 255.5 yards per game.
• Ohio State and Indiana opened the 2023 season in Bloomington with Ohio State winning, 23-3.
• This is the 16th consecutive season the teams are meeting, but the regular season streak will pause after this game as the two teams aren’t scheduled to play again until 2026.

BY THE NUMBERS
0-0: Regardless what the all-time series record between Ohio State and Indiana states over 97 prior games since Game 1 in 1901, this Ohio State team and this  Indiana team have an all-time series record of 0-0.
20-4: Ohio State has won 83.3 pct. of its FOX Big Noon Saturday games (20-4) since 2019, the year FOX started broadcasting its featured game at that time. Ohio State is 14-2 on Big Noon Saturdays at home.
31st: Ohio State is seeking the 31st 10-or-more-win season in school history, fourth-most in major college football history. Head coach Ryan Day is seeking his fifth such season in this, his sixth season as coach.
75th: The game against Indiana will be Ryan Day’s 75th as Ohio State head coach (including the three interim games in 2018) and it will be the 65th game that his Buckeyes have been ranked Top 5 or higher.

PREGAME PUBLICITY

• FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff, ESPN GameDay and the B1G Tailgate pregame shows will all be on site in Columbus this week.
• Ohio State is 16-4 all-time with Big Noon on site and 41-20 all-time playing at a GameDay locale.
• Ohio State is No. 1 in GameDay appearances (Saturday will be its 62nd), wins and times hosting (24).

THE TIME OF THE SEASON

• Both teams are playing for a championship game opportunity.
• A loss for either team will all but eliminate it from Big Ten championship game consideration, with the Big Ten boasting four teams this week with one or no losses: 10-0 Oregon, 10-0 Indiana, 9-1 Ohio State and 9-1 Penn State.
• Ohio State is the only team that has or will have played the other three schools this season – thinking of tie-breakers – and all three games were/will be Top 5 affairs.

TOP FIVE MATCHUPS: A FIRST

• As a Top 5 team, Ohio State is playing another Top 5 ranked team in the regular season for a third time, a first in school history after previously playing No. 3 Oregon (32-31 L) and No. 3 Penn State (20-13 W) with both games on the road.
• The four other seasons in which Ohio State was a Top 5 team and played another Top 5 team three times came in 2022, 2006, 1996 and 1968.
• However, in each of those years the third game against a Top 5 team came in a post-season bowl game.

MINUTES TO MEMORIES

• Ohio State leads the all-time series with Indiana, 79-12-5, and has won the last 28 meetings dating back to consecutive Indiana wins in 1987 and 1988.
• In the relatively recent scary, close games of 2020 and 2012 …
• Indiana scored 28 second half point in the 2020 game and trailed by the final score (42-35) with over 10 minutes to play, but could manage just 12 yards on 11 plays in its final two series; and
• In 2012, Indiana scored 22 fourth quarter points to pull to within 52-49 with 1:05 to play but then narrowly missed recovering the on-sides kick, which hit Corey “Philly” Brown in the ankle before he dropped on the ball and safely secured it.

COURTESY OHIO STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS