No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana both head into the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday with a ton of momentum and a perfect 12-0 record on the season — but only one team can come out unscathed.
The top-ranked Buckeyes are led by star quarterback Julian Sayin on offense, and their defense just might be the best unit college football has seen in a long time. Sayin is sitting slightly behind Indiana signal-caller Fernando Mendoza in the current Heisman Trophy odds, but a win this weekend could certainly change that. The defending national champions are eyeing a win to kick-start a College Football Playoff run that gets them back to the national title game.
On the other hand, the Hoosiers are no joke. They’ve routinely dispatched opponents with ease this season and rank among the best in the nation in several categories: second in both scoring offense (No. 1 among power conference schools) and scoring defense, fourth in total defense and fifth in total offense.
We asked FOX Sports’ college football writers to weigh in on which unit they’re most excited to see this weekend, and which player they believe could prove to be the biggest X-factor.
1. With No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana meeting in the Big Ten Championship Game, which matchup are you most excited to see: Ohio State’s defense vs. Indiana’s offense, or Indiana’s defense vs. Ohio State’s offense?
RJ Young: We’ve got No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the Big Ten title game for just the third time in history. It’s the first appearance for the Hoosiers and the first time Indiana has won a share of the regular-season title since 1967. We haven’t seen a No. 1 vs. No. 2 since Georgia and Tennessee played each other in 2022. Isn’t that enough?
If it isn’t, we’ve got Ohio State’s offense vs. Indiana’s defense — and the Hoosiers have been stingy. They have the second-best rushing defense in the country, giving up just 79.2 yards per game. If Indiana is looking for a weakness in Ohio State’s offense, it would have to start with its rushing attack. The Buckeyes didn’t rush for more than 200 yards against a Power 4 opponent until last month, nor do they have a 1,000-yard running back. Their feature back is a true freshman in Bo Jackson, who has come on strongly in the second half of the season and finished with 952 yards on the ground, though he didn’t play a single snap in Ohio State’s season-opening win over Texas.
The Buckeyes’ ground game has been efficient. Though they rank No. 53 among FBS teams in rushing yards per game (171.5), they’re averaging 5.29 yards per rush. If Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines can stymie OSU’s rush attack, he might also be able to drop eight players into coverage and force Sayin to beat the Hoosiers with his arm.
Michael Cohen: The fascinating thing about Ohio State’s defense, which leads the country in both scoring (7.8 points per game) and total yardage (203 yards per game) and a handful of other categories, this season is that the eye test alone confirms to everyone that the Buckeyes are very, very good. Under the direction of first-year defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, a long-time disciple of former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, the Buckeyes are playing with incredible speed, efficiency, organization and schematic variety — enough to confound even the most experienced collegiate quarterbacks. There are NFL-caliber players all over the defense, including four potential first-round draft picks in 2026: edge rusher Arvell Reese, safety Caleb Downs, linebacker Sonny Styles and defensive end Kenyatta Jackson. High-level pros at all three levels.
And yet, after 12 regular-season games, Patricia’s group remains somewhat untested given the unimpressive level of competition Ohio State has faced. Entering conference championship weekend, not a single Big Ten offense on the Buckeyes’ schedule ranks among the top 40 nationally in yards per game, with Washington (No. 42) coming closest. The average national ranking for offenses Ohio State played in league games this season is 89.3, including four that ranked outside the top 100 in Minnesota (128th), Wisconsin (135th), Purdue (102nd) and UCLA (119th). Even OSU’s marquee non-conference opponent, Texas, ranks just 75th in total offense. Who would have thought the highest-ranked offense on Ohio State’s schedule would be Ohio University at No. 39 overall? Not exactly a murderer’s row.
That’s what makes the matchup between Patricia’s defense and Indiana’s offense must-see TV. The Hoosiers rank fifth overall (483.8 yards per game), second in scoring (44.3 points per game), ninth in rushing (229.8 yards per game), second in third-down conversion rate (56.6%) and seventh in red zone touchdown rate (75.4%). Oh, and the Hoosiers have a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in Mendoza, who leads the country with 32 touchdown passes. To borrow the old cliché, something will definitely have to give on Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza in action at Memorial Stadium on November 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Laken Litman: This one is tough considering the game is a matchup of two Heisman-contending quarterbacks going up against the top two defenses in the country, but I’m most looking forward to watching Ohio State’s offense vs. Indiana’s defense.
We saw what the Buckeyes looked like to start the year against solid defenses like Texas and Washington and then last week against a strong Michigan defense, but Indiana will be the toughest challenge this group has faced all year. Sayin leads the country, completing 78.9% of his passes for 3,065 yards with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has weapons all over the field, from Bo Jackson to the talented wide receiver tandem of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.
Indiana’s defense, which has four All-Big Ten first-teamers on it, has a knack of getting to the quarterback and forcing turnovers. The Hoosiers finished the regular season 14th in the country in sacks (34.0) and ninth in interceptions (16). They’re fast and physical, and if they can get to Sayin , they just might be able to pull off the upset.
2. Which player do you think will be the biggest X-factor in the Big Ten Championship Game — and why?
RJ Young: Ohio State running back Bo Jackson will be the man I’m watching most when it comes to who can influence the game most in the second and third quarters. If Jackson has the kind of game he did against Michigan, where he picked holes and battled past the second level of the opponent’s defense, Ohio State is likely to win the game. If the Hoosiers can stop Jackson, perhaps Indiana can focus more attention on Tate and Smith in the passing game.
No one had the 19-year-old Jackson down as the man who would be the featured back at Ohio State, especially with CJ Donaldson, Isaiah West and James Peoples in the same running back room. If Indiana can find a way to remind Jackson that this is the biggest moment he has ever played in, they can win the Big Ten title. Jackson hasn’t yet seen a run defense as good as Indiana’s, though, and there is no better time for the Hoosiers to remind him of that fact.
Ohio State RB Bo Jackson in action against rival Michigan at Michigan Stadium on November 29, 2025. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Michael Cohen: Indiana edge rusher Mikail Kamara, who’s one of the many former James Madison players who followed head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana for the chance to play major college football ahead of the 2024 season.
Kamara’s adjustment to a higher level of competition appeared relatively seamless, as he led the country in quarterback pressures with 73 and earned third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press after racking up 10.0 sacks and two forced fumbles — all while leading the Hoosiers to the CFP for the first time in school history.
In July, Kamara spoke at Big Ten Media Days about his desire to translate more of those pressures into sacks, the metric he knows NFL evaluators covet above all else for his position. And while a lingering shoulder injury has bothered Kamara for the better part of a month, according to Cignetti, his production in 2025 remains impactful for a defense that ranks second nationally in scoring (10.9 points per game) and fourth overall (251.8 yards per game). He enters the Big Ten title game leading the Hoosiers in QB pressures (46), though he has only notched a single sack.
Still, Kamara possesses enough speed, power and burst to potentially cause problems for an Ohio State offensive line that shuffled players through several positions this season, especially along the right side. Even with the rotations, the Buckeyes’ preferred quintet of left tackle Austin Siereveld, left guard Luke Montgomery, center Carson Hinzman, right guard Tegra Tshabola and right tackle Phillip Daniels has only surrendered 59 QB pressures — less than the number Kamara produced by himself last season. Ohio State’s ability to protect its first-year starting quarterback is among the driving factors behind an offense that leads the country in third-down conversion rate at 56.9%. The Buckeyes keep their quarterback clean. In fact, Sayin has only been pressured on 24.1% of dropbacks this season, according to Pro Football Focus, and no power conference team has allowed fewer sacks (6.0) than Ohio State. Those are numbers Kamara would love to change this weekend.
Laken Litman: Indiana’s run defense is slightly better than its pass defense. That said, if Smith and Tate can make plays for Sayin in the passing game, those guys have a chance to be huge X-factors. Indiana hasn’t faced a one-two punch like them, and it will be interesting to see how they defend that caliber of talent. Smith and Tate both missed some time late in the regular season with injuries before returning last week to play against Michigan. How healthy are they really, and can this elite receiving duo slice up Indiana’s secondary like they did against the Wolverines last week?
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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