The Ohio State Buckeyes vs Indiana Hoosiers Game Preview and Prediction

The No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers and the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes have a top five showdown tomorrow at Ohio Stadium, it's the biggest game in Indiana Hoosiers football history and we will break it all down for you here at Hoosiers State of Mind.

The Hoosiers are coming off a bye week but before that they defeated Michigan 20-15.

Senior quarterback Kurtis Rouke completed 17 of his 28 passes for 206 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Iu struggled to get the run game going but Ty Son Lawton was the lerading rusher with 12 carries for 55 yards. The Hoosiers are averaging 43.9 points this season while the defense is giving up 13.8 points per game. The offense is ranked 2nd in the B1G while the defense is ranked 7th.

Ohio State was able to take care of Northwestern at Wrigley Field last Saturday in a 31-7 victory.

Senior quarterback Will Howard completed 15 of his 24 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. true freshman and five-star wide out, Jeremiah Smith is the real deal and he finished with four catches for 100 yards. Ohio State overall this season is averaging 37.8 points while their defense is giving up 10.3 points per game.

The keys for Indiana :

• Control your emotions and take the Ohio State crowd out of the game early. Ohio State hasn't lost a home game since November of 2022 (Michigan), Ohio State is damn near unbeatable at home every year. Indiana has won 3 straight road games and has veteran leadership all over the roster so I don't expect them to be over emotional but it's something they'll have to maintain throughout the ball game.

• Explosive plays down the field will be major for Indiana. Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. have combined for 1,212 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, while Myles Price has 30 receptions. Rourke finding these weapons down the field and testing Denzel Burke and the Buckeyes secondary early will help open the run game and slow down the pass rush.

• Defensively, Indiana is only allowing 13.8 points and 255.5 yards per game. Aiden Fisher leads the Indiana Hoosiers with 98 tackles, Mikail Kamara has 9.5 sacks and Amare Ferrell has 4 interceptions. The stars will need to step up their game in what I consider the most balanced offense in the nation.

The keys for Ohio State :

• Will Howard needs to out play Kurtis Rourke period. Will Howard is completing 72.9 percent of his passes for 2,484 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions, he's having a quite but underrated season for the Buckeyes.

• Ohio State has the top wide receiver room in the country from top to bottom and that will be the biggest difference maker in the whole ball game. Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka have combined for 1,477 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns, while Carnell Tate has 31 receptions for 457 yards and 4 touchdowns.

• The dynamic duo of Judkins and Henderson is the icing on the cake to slow down the IU offense and control the time of possession. The Ohio State Buckeyes rushing attack is averaging 183.8 yards per game, and Quinshon Judkins leads the way with 723 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Henderson has 662 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Indiana vs Ohio State Game Information & Odds

• Date: Saturday, November 23rd, 2024
• Time: 12:01 p.m. ET
• TV Channel: Fox
• Live Stream: Watch this game on Fox Sports (Regional restrictions may apply)
• City: Columbus, Ohio
• Venue: Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)

Ohio State is favorite as of Friday morning (11/22). Ohio State is favorite over Indiana -10.5 points and the over/under is currently at 52.5 points, according to Fan Duel Sportsbook.

Prediction: Ohio State over Indiana (35-17)

This is aforementioned the biggest game in the histroy of IU football and the toughest opponet they have faced all year by far and I think that task will be too much for the Hoosiers and they will suffer their first loss of the year. Ohio State even with the injuries to the offensive line just have too much fire power at the skill positions to lose this game.

I respect Curt Cignetti and think he is coach of the year and IU deserves to be in the playoffs win or lose but Ohio State just has too much talent for Indiana to handle. This is the breaking point where talent wins, there’s not a gap that you can bridge when the Buckeyes are as deep, and as talented, as they are.