Last season’s Big Ten Championship featured the top two teams in the country: No. 2 Indiana football took on No. 1 Ohio State for a trip to the Rose Bowl Game. After falling short in the matchup a year prior, the Hoosiers finally claimed their first victory over the Buckeyes since 1988.
On Saturday, No. 5 Indiana will again take on No. 4 Ohio State in a top-five matchup. But while the Hoosiers have undergone significant personnel changes since their championship win, the Buckeyes have retained much of their offensive core.
Indiana lost several key contributors from last season’s championship team, including quarterback Fernando Mendoza, running backs Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black and receivers Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr.
Conversely, the Buckeyes return several of their top offensive playmakers. Junior quarterback Julian Sayin is back after passing for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns in 2025.
Junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who led the Big Ten in receiving in each of his first two collegiate seasons, is putting together a Heisman-worthy campaign for the Buckeyes. Smith enters Saturday ranked second nationally with 916 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns through the air.
“There is no one like him (Smith) right now playing at this level,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said during a press conference Monday.
The Buckeyes also boast an efficient rushing attack alongside Sayin and Smith. Sophomore running back Bo Jackson, who rushed for 83 yards against Indiana in last year’s conference championship, again leads Ohio State’s ground attack. Jackson has compiled 460 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 89 carries this season.
While Ohio State returned much of its offensive production from a year ago, the program made a significant change to its coaching staff ahead of the 2026 season.
In January, the Buckeyes hired Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator and play-caller. Smith brought 17 years of NFL experience to Columbus, Ohio. Most recently, he served as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2021-23, before spending two seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator.
Despite a change at play-caller, Cignetti said Monday that the Buckeyes have maintained their offensive identity.
“Anytime you have a new coordinator, there’s gonna be some subtleties,” Cignetti said. “But you know, they still run the ball really well. They throw the ball really well. They’re very efficient, effective and they do a lot of really nice stuff.”
Cignetti offered a similar assessment of Ohio State’s defense. In 2025, the Buckeyes held Indiana to just 13 points — its lowest offensive output of the season.
Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia returns to lead an Ohio State defense that features several new faces, including eight transfer additions.
“More same than different,” Cignetti said about Ohio State’s defense. “...But doing a great job.”
Cignetti also praised the Buckeyes’ coaching staff for preparing its new players, including some that Indiana faced against the University of Alabama in last year’s Rose Bowl.
Senior defensive end Qua Russaw, who recorded one tackle against the Hoosiers as a member of the Crimson Tide, ranks second on Ohio State with 3.5 tackles for loss this season.
Former Alabama cornerback Cam Calhoun also tallied a tackle in the Rose Bowl matchup. Calhoun transferred to Ohio State for his senior campaign and has appeared in all six games this season.
“They’ve got a lot of new faces and some of those guys we played against at Alabama,” Cignetti said. “You know, they've really got them coached up. I mean, and playing really well. A lot of good players flying around; keep you off balance.”
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
