No. 1 Ohio State opens as 5.5-point favorites over No. 2 Indiana in The Big Ten title game

No. 1 Ohio State picked up a huge win on Saturday with a 27-9 victory over No. 15 Michigan, but the Buckeyes won’t get much time to celebrate. Ryan Day’s group now faces an even bigger challenge, heading to Indianapolis for a showdown with No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game.

These two teams met in the regular season last year, with Ohio State defeating the Hoosiers 38-15 in Columbus. That said, while a few faces remain the same, both of these squads look a lot different than they did in 2024.

Indiana is led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who looks every bit like the top QB in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Cal transfer has thrown for over 2,750 yards with 32 touchdowns to only five interceptions, completing 72% of his passes. Like Ohio State, the Hoosiers feature a dynamic wide receiver duo in Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt, with both guys over 650 yards on the season with 11 touchdowns apiece.

Unlike years past, this Indiana team can really run the football, led by Maryland transfer Roman Hemby. The fifth-year senior has rushed for 866 yards and six touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry. Not too far behind Hemby is Kaelon Black, with the fellow senior running tallying 729 yards and seven touchdowns on 5.7 yards per carry.

Defensively, the Hoosiers are second only to Ohio State, allowing 10.9 points per game. Indiana has been lethal against the run, holding opponents to 79.25 yards per game on the ground to rank second nationally. Bryant Haines’ group ranks 17th in the country in passing defense, allowing 172.5 yards per game through the air.

Leading the way on that side of the ball is linebacker Rolijah Hardy, who has a team-high 76 tackles to go along with 11.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. As a group, Indiana is tied for seventh in the country with 34 sacks this year, with Tyrique Tucker (5.5) and Isaiah Jones (5.0) also reaching the five-sack plateau. Star defensive lineman Stephen Daley leads the team with a whopping 18 tackles for loss, also adding 4.5 sacks.

Indiana also ranks seventh nationally in interceptions with 16 as a unit, led by five picks by senior defensive back Louis Moore. Amare Ferrell (four picks), Aiden Fisher (two) and Devan Boykin (two) all have multiple interceptions this season. D’Angelo Ponds is one of the stars of that Hoosier secondary, tying with Ferrell for a team-high seven pass breakups.

This is far and away the best defense Ohio State has faced this season, and likely the best offense as well. The same could be said for Indiana on both sides of the ball, as this really does look like a battle between the two best teams in the country.

While a Big Ten Championship is on the line, so too is the Heisman Trophy. Fernando Mendoza (+125) and Julian Sayin (+185) have the two best odds of any players to take home the hardware, and in all likelihood the player that helps his team win this game will also win the Heisman.

Regardless of the outcome, both teams have almost certainly locked up a first round bye in the College Football Playoff, but each side also wants to win the Big Ten. Ohio State’s last B1G title came in 2020, while Indiana’s only outright Big Ten title came in 1945.

The Buckeyes have won the conference 39 times in total, while their 24 outright titles are the most in the league’s history.

All lines and odds are presented by FanDuel Sportsbook.