Heading into the 2026 college football season, there's little doubt about what Indiana's biggest game on the regular season schedule is. The Ohio State Buckeyes are set to come to Bloomington for a highly-anticipated matchup on October 17, as the two most recent college football National Champions, this contest has serious Game of the Year potential.
This battle between the Hoosiers and Buckeyes has all the makings of the biggest home game in Indiana football history. But Hoosier fans will have to be up and ready to roll early.
FOX selects Indiana vs Ohio State for Big Noon Kickoff
On Monday, Scott Dochterman of The Athletic reported that the Indiana vs Ohio State matchup will kickoff at Noon ET. FOX has selected the game for Big Noon Kickoff, which doesn't come as much of a surprise. FOX's top college football broadcast team consisting of Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft are expected to be on the call from Bloomington.
Dochterman reported that FOX selected the Indiana/Ohio State game with the second pick in the Big Ten's media rights draft. The selection process takes place between Big Ten media partners FOX, CBS, NBC, and BTN.
Indiana Football has reached a point where being favored by 40 points feels normal
According to Dochterman, FOX owns the first three picks of this year's media rights draft. Those picks were used on Michigan at Ohio State, Ohio State at Indiana, and Oklahoma at Michigan. There are a lot of moving parts in the exact process, but FOX picking this contest as one of its three selections was a clear choice to make.
Rematch of Big Ten Championship Game is must-watch television
October 17 is a date that Hoosier football fans have had circled on their calendars from the moment the official 2026 schedule was released.
The Hoosiers and Buckeyes have built up quite the rivalry over the past two seasons. Indiana's 2024 loss to Ohio State remains the only Big Ten defeat during Cignetti's tenure in Bloomington. Cignetti and company were able to get their revenge in last December's Big Ten Championship Game. The 13-10 victory kick-started Indiana's postseason run to a historic National Championship.
Ohio State is ranked as the No. 1 team in the country in the AP Top-25 preseason poll. Indiana comes in at No. 6. With that in mind, it's quite possible that this October 17 matchup is a meeting between Top-5 teams, and possible even No. 1 vs No. 2.
The Buckeyes have a tough journey ahead prior to coming to Bloomington. Ohio State travels to Austin to take on No. 5 Texas in Week 2, which is sure to be a doozy. The Buckeyes also host Illinois and travel to No. 22 Iowa before meeting up with the Hoosiers.
Indiana's schedule before battling the Buckeyes is much more manageable. The Hoosiers should breeze through their non-conference slate of North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky before taking on Northwestern and traveling to Rutgers and Nebraska in back-to-back weeks before the OSU matchup.
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