The Indiana football program looks to break through and finally take down one of the Big Ten powers, Ohio State, this weekend with two new faces under center.
Zero. That is the amount of wins the Indiana football program has had against Ohio State in Micheal Penix Jr’s lifetime. With just 12 total wins in the matchup history, the Hoosiers have gone winless in the last 24 games in the series.
Penix entered the Indiana program a year ago as someone who was going to change the culture and the winning, or lack thereof, ways of the program. As his freshman year didn’t go the way he wanted, 2019 came and all of his hard work paid off as he was named the starting QB ahead of the season opener. Now, two weeks in, Penix has shown why there is so much excitement around the IU program and why so many people have this week’s game circled on their calendar’s.
Ohio State has long had the star quarterback in the Big Ten and the matchup against the Hoosiers but this year and moving forward, things could be different.
Justin Fields is the newest top recruit to line up under center for the Buckeyes and after two stellar performances to start his OSU career, he is about to meet Michael Penix head on, on Saturday.
Fields enters Saturday as the second highest rated QB (192.5) in the conference whereas Michael Penix ranks fifth in the Big Ten in passing yardage (523). Penix, who has played in just six quarters through two games, looks to face his toughest test since stepping foot on campus last fall, but doesn’t see anything phasing him on Saturday.
“We all put our clothes on the same,” Said Penix ahead of the OSU game. In what normally would have been a huge advantage going to the Buckeyes at the QB position, Penix not only has the skills to matchup with Ohio State, but he also has the confidence and swagger to be the face of the matchup for the next couple of seasons.
Justin Fields will face his first Big Ten opponent in his career and a much improved Indiana roster will be anything but the Hoosier teams that were dominated by JT Barrett, Braxton Miller, Terrell Pryor, and Dwayne Haskins in the past decade.
The firepower that Justin Fields brings is the same as the previous names mentioned, but now when you look at the other sideline, Michael Penix won’t be your dad’s Indiana quarterback who hides when the best teams come to Bloomington; as the two newest quarterbacks of the Ohio State and Indiana matchup look to bring a renewed rivalry to the Big Ten East.