Five Things to Know About Indiana Ahead of Its Top-10 Showdown with Ohio State

While the rest of Ohio State’s remaining regular-season opponents have each won just one game so far this season, Indiana has won its first four games of the year to enter this week ranked ninth in the AP Top 25, setting up a matchup with the Buckeyes that could determine who wins the Big Ten East this year.

INDIANA HOOSIERS

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NOON – SATURDAY, NOV. 21 OHIO STADIUM COLUMBUS, OHIO

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By winning its first four games of the season against Penn State, Rutgers, Michigan and Michigan State, Indiana has positioned itself to take control of the division title race if it can pull off an upset at Ohio Stadium on Saturday at noon. And while the Buckeyes are a three-touchdown betting favorite to win Saturday’s game, the Hoosiers’ unbeaten start through the first half of the regular season should be enough for Ohio State to know its next opponent is one it needs to take very seriously.

It’s time to take a closer look at the Hoosiers’ historic start, where they could present challenges to the Buckeyes and what else you should know about Ohio State’s next opponent.

Best Big Ten start in 33 years

By winning the first four games of its conference-only regular season, Indiana has started 4-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1987, when the Hoosiers won their first four conference games of the season against Northwestern, Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan and went on to finish the year 8-4.

It is the second straight year Indiana has won four straight games against Big Ten opponents – the Hoosiers put together a four-game win streak last season against Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska and Northwestern, when they finished the year 8-5 – but the first time since 2015, and just the second time since 1991, that Indiana has won its first four overall games of a season.

As a result, Indiana currently holds its highest ranking in the AP poll since it was ranked fourth in November 1967. Saturday’s game will be just the fourth time Indiana faces Ohio State as a ranked team, and the Hoosiers weren’t ranked higher than 15th for any of the previous matchups; it will also be Indiana’s first time ever playing in a matchup of two top-10-ranked teams.

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Penix has been a consistent winner

Ohio State didn’t end up facing Michael Penix Jr. in last year’s game at Indiana after Penix missed the game with a shoulder injury that would ultimately end his season. With Peyton Ramsey (who’s now the starting quarterback at Northwestern) leading the Hoosiers’ offense, Ohio State rolled to a 51-10 victory.

Penix certainly wouldn’t have made a 42-point difference in that game – outside of the Ohio State game, Ramsey was mostly successful as Indiana’s quarterback last season, and he’s led Northwestern to its own 4-0 start this year – but the Hoosiers have won far more often than not when Penix has been their signal-caller.

Dating back to last season, Indiana is 9-1 in games Penix has started. He led the Hoosiers to victories over Ball State, Eastern Illinois, Rutgers, Maryland and Northwestern last season, with his only loss coming against Michigan State.

Penix made the game-winning play in Indiana’s season opener this year when he dove for the end zone and just reached the pylon with the ball to score a 2-point conversion that gave the Hoosiers a 36-35 win over Penn State in overtime.

The left-handed dual-threat redshirt sophomore has thrown for at least 320 yards in each of Indiana’s last two games – with Ty Fryfogle emerging as his top weapon, catching 18 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the last two games – and has nine total passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns and three interceptions for the season.

Taking advantage of turnovers

Justin Fields hasn’t thrown any interceptions in Ohio State’s first three games of the season – and really, he hasn’t even come close to throwing any – but if Indiana’s first four games of the year have been any indication, he’ll need to be extra careful with the football against the Hoosiers.

In just four games, Indiana has intercepted 10 passes; that’s good enough to tie for seventh in the country, as the Hoosiers are the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision who has averaged over two interceptions per game. Individually, Jaylin Williams is tied for the Big Ten lead with three interceptions while Tiawan Mullen has two and five other Hoosiers each have one.

Altogether, Indiana has forced 12 turnovers and lost only four this season to lead the Big Ten in both takeaways and turnover margin. And that’s been a huge factor in the Hoosiers’ success, as they’ve scored on the subsequent drive after nine of their 12 takeaways, including six touchdowns.

Reese Taylor, a converted quarterback who's now a starting cornerback for the Hoosiers, returned an interception 53 yards against Michigan State. (Photo: Tim Fuller – USA TODAY Sports)

A multitude of new coaches

Tom Allen is now in his fourth season as Indiana’s head coach, and it’s become clear between last year and this year that he was the right choice to succeed Kevin Wilson (now Ohio State’s offensive coordinator) as Indiana’s head coach. He received a seven-year contract extension worth an average of $3.9 million per year after he led the Hoosiers to their best regular-season record in 26 years last year, and he’s proven worth the money so far this year, all the while the love between him and his players has been on full display (and occasionally resulting in Allen injuring himself celebrating).

We you, coach! #LEO pic.twitter.com/nk3x7GUr6J

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) October 25, 2020

Indiana did make several changes to its coaching staff around Allen, though, between last season and this season. Former Michigan quarterback Nick Sheridan was promoted to offensive coordinator after Kalen DeBoer left to become the head coach at Fresno State; at 32 years old, he and 33-year-old defensive coordinator Kane Wommack form the youngest coordinator pairing in the Power 5.

Kevin Wright, who was previously the head coach at IMG Academy, replaced Sheridan as Indiana’s new tight ends coach. Jason Jones, a former assistant coach at Oklahoma State and Ole Miss, is the Hoosiers’ new safeties coach while Kasey Teegardin was promoted to special teams coordinator, replacing William Inge, who went to Fresno State with DeBoer. Kevin Peoples, who previously worked at Tulane, Georgia Southern and Arkansas, replaced Mark Hagen (who left for Texas) as defensive line coach. And Aaron Wellman, who was previously the strength and conditioning coach for the New York Giants, is now leading the Hoosiers’ strength and conditioning efforts after David Ballou and Matt Rhea left for Alabama.

So far, all the new pieces appear to be working together just fine in Bloomington.

Long losing drought against Buckeyes

Just as Indiana went more than three decades without winning its first four games against Big Ten opponents, it’s been over 30 years since the Hoosiers last beat Ohio State. Since Indiana won back-to-back games against the Buckeyes in 1987 and 1988, Ohio State has won 26 out of 27 games against the Hoosiers, with the other (in 1990, before overtime was introduced in college football) ended in a 27-27 tie.

The Hoosiers have given the Buckeyes a few scares in recent years – they scored 49 points in a three-point loss in 2012, and had third-quarter leads in 2014, 2015 and 2017 – but for the most part, the annual matchups between the two teams have been lopsided in Ohio State’s favor, with an average margin of victory over 21 points for those 26 wins since 1989.

Indiana already ended one of its lengthy Big Ten losing droughts this season by earning its first win over Michigan in 1987, and the Hoosiers certainly appear to have their best team in a long time this year. Having already earned its first win over a top-10 team since 1987 in the season opener against Penn State (who is now 0-4, but was ranked eighth in the AP Top 25 at the time), and its first wins against both Penn State and Michigan since the Big Ten moved into East and West divisions, Indiana will have its sights set on trying to make even more history on Saturday.