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Can Indiana's Nick Marsh Be the Best Wide Receiver on the Field Against Ohio State?

Jeremiah Smith is the favorite to win the Heisman, but Nick Marsh showed last week that he can be as dangerous as any wide receiver in America. Can he be the standout on a field full of stars?
Connor O'Gara|
Oct 10, 2026; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Nick Marsh (11) runs after a catch for a touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Oct 10, 2026; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Nick Marsh (11) runs after a catch for a touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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That Jeremiah Smith guy coming into town with Ohio State is pretty good, and Indiana's Charlie Becker is locking himself into a first-round NFL Draft pick, but for the Hoosiers to pull off a win over the Buckeyes on Saturday, former Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh might have to keep the momentum going from his great performance against Nebraska.

Even if Marsh isn't the best wide receiver on the field - he might be a first-round NFL draft pick, too - he has the skills to play like it.

In the offseason, an anonymous assistant coach confirmed something that I assumed after reports came out that Nick Marsh was set to transfer to Indiana.

That is, IU paid "a s--- ton" to land Marsh.

Thus is life in this era of the sport. A promising player like Marsh, who performed admirably given the lackluster offensive surroundings at Michigan State, could still covet top dollar on the open market even without some All-Big Ten season under his belt through two college seasons.

Perhaps of equal importance, an increasingly wealthy program like IU could afford to pay Marsh an aforementioned "s--- ton" to help replace star wideouts Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt.

The question all summer was going to be whether Marsh would be worth it.

Yeah, that Nebraska performance confirmed that Marsh was worth every penny

Marsh's final stat line in Saturday's comeback victory in Lincoln — six catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns — didn't even do his performance justice. It's when that production came that tipped the scales for the defending champs.

If (Nebraska's) Memorial Stadium had a roof, it would've blown off when Anthony Colandrea scampered into the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown three minutes into the fourth quarter. A fanbase that had been waiting more than a decade to see a win against an AP Top 25 team was at a fever pitch once the Huskers stretched the lead to 17-6.

It wasn't just that IU hadn't trailed all season entering Saturday's trip to Nebraska. That play marked the first time that IU faced a double-digit deficit since the 21-game winning streak (now 22) began. Never mind the fact that this one was on the road and in the fourth quarter.

Of course, it only lasted exactly one play thanks to Marsh.

You can't teach that body control. Credit fellow high-priced transfer Josh Hoover for fitting it into that window.

Also credit Hoover for standing tall in the pocket on fourth down and waiting for Marsh to come wide open across the field for the go-ahead score.

Two long touchdowns, one survive-and-advance victory.

IU needed every bit of Marsh's late-game brilliance, much like they needed every bit of his elite blocking in that nail-biter win against Northwestern to kick off Big Ten play. It wasn't an accident that IU still produced a 200-yard rusher even after Turbo Richard went down.

Marsh was monumental contributing in that way.

Remember when Curt Cignetti called out his gold spikes?

Of course you do. It made the rounds on IU's first day of spring practice that the high-priced skill-player transfer didn't immediately conform to IU's culture.

Go figure that Marsh has been anything but some diva wide receiver, and he might do the dirty work better than anybody at the position.

It wasn't just the blocking in the Northwestern game. Go back to the season opener and watch what he did to take on a linebacker in a goal-line package against North Texas.

Yeah, that'll play.

The 6-3 junior has made a real case for IU's first-half MVP during the 6-0 start, and not just because he had more scrimmage yards against Nebraska than the rest of the skill-players combined.

The goal was for Marsh to become the ideal complement to the ascending Charlie Becker. Through six games, their production is nearly identical (via PFF).

2026 (through 6 games)

Becker

Marsh

Catches

30

29

Receiving yards

529

528

Receiving TDs

8

6

Contested catches

6

7

Yards after catch

146

251

First downs

23

21

Drops

0

1

NFL QB RTG when targeted

154.7

152.7

That last number — NFL QB rating when targeted — is an important, but obvious metric for IU's 1-2 punch. It's pretty simple. Good things happen when Hoover looks their way. Just for a little perspective, even All-World Jeremiah Smith only has a 148.0 NFL QB rating when targeted.

It's Smith's Ohio State squad that'll come to IU on Saturday in search of some revenge after last year's Big Ten Championship loss. Marsh's 2025 Michigan State squad was nowhere near Indianapolis that day, but Becker certainly was.

Nobody would be surprised if the Buckeyes went all in to stop the guy who torched them for 126 yards on six catches, three of which were contested. Ergo, another big day could be in the works for Marsh.

It's hard to quantify what would've been a worthy return on investment for Marsh in 2026. Just hitting 1,000 yards or double-digit touchdowns would've been ideal, but it wouldn't have provided full context.

His ROI was going to be defined by how valuable he was when IU's back was against the ropes. In the same way that Omar Cooper Jr. parlayed his 1-of-1 Penn State catch into first-round status in the 2026 NFL Draft, the next-level folks will love it if Marsh continues to show up in big-time moments.

A big-time moment awaits on Saturday. Consider it another chance for Marsh to show exactly why he's worth a "s--- ton."

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Connor O'Gara
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