Is Indiana-Ohio State the Most Highly-Anticipated Big Ten Championship Game Ever?

What Indiana did to then-No. 9 Illinois – the unforgettable 63-10 blasting – in the Big Ten opener put the country on notice. But after road wins at Iowa and then-No. 3 Oregon – the latter of which came by double digits – it all came into focus.

Indiana and Ohio State set to meet for colossal Big Ten title game

Nov 28, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks on during the third quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Indiana and Ohio State were on a collision course, with the pair destined to meet in Indianapolis on Dec. 6 in a historical matchup featuring two undefeated squads.

This contest will mark just the second time in FBS history that a pair of teams with zero losses clash in a conference championship game. And, of course, the elephant in the room: It’s Indiana vs. Ohio State.

Not a soul is surprised to find the Buckeyes in this spot, but the Hoosiers, who shocked the college football world in Year 1 of the Curt Cignetti era, haven’t just matched that 2024 campaign, but surpassed it – and then some.

Everyone remembers the discussions a year ago: “Indiana can’t beat a ‘real’ team.” “The Hoosiers’ schedule was a cakewalk.” “They got dominated in their matchups with ranked opponents.”

Much of it is true. Although, in Indiana’s defense, the pair of losses were against the two teams that met in the national title game (Ohio State and Notre Dame). Still, the Hoosiers weren’t competitive in either of those games, and didn’t actually appear to belong on that stage.

2025 Indiana has been at a different level

But in 2025, Cignetti and his club have shut all of that down. 53-point win over a top-10 opponent? Check. Road wins at two of the toughest venues in the country? Check. Win a nailbiter by way of a gritty late-game drive on the road at Penn State? Check.

The Hoosiers proved themselves in every imaginable way this year. The critics and doubters aren’t just quiet. They simply don’t exist anymore.

Ohio State has followed up its national title campaign with a perfect regular season

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day calls for the players and coaches to head back to the locker room after 27-9 win over Michigan at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Meanwhile, Ohio State has just taken care of business. After allowing quarterback Julian Sayin to get his feet wet against then-No. 1 Texas – a game Ohio State won 14-7 – Ryan Day and his staff slowly took off the training wheels.

The result? A well-oiled offensive machine led by Sayin and his superb wideout duo of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Since that contest against the Longhorns, the Buckeyes have won every game by at least 18 points, and have never once appeared in jeopardy.

The lone time one could argue Ohio State appeared to be out of sorts was this past weekend at the Big House. Following a head-scratching interception from Sayin, Michigan took a 6-0 lead.

But Sayin rebounded quickly, as did his team. The Buckeyes ultimately went on to win the game in convincing fashion, by a final score of 27-9. Freshman running back Bo Jackson had his third straight game cracking 100 yards on the ground, and Ohio State made it abundantly clear that there are no weaknesses in its armor – on either side of the ball.

Are we poised for the greatest Big Ten title game ever?

The matchup is set: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana 🍿

Any early predictions? 👇 pic.twitter.com/OwzoARDmYT
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 29, 2025

And that brings us to Championship Weekend. The greatest Saturday of the year. Regardless of team affiliations or conference biases, everyone will have their television tuned to FOX at 8 p.m. on Saturday night.

It’s a game that simply can’t be missed. Since the inaugural Big Ten championship in 2011, there have only been two top-5 matchups for the league title. And never have the No. 1 and No. 2 teams met for this game. Last year’s No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 1 Oregon was fun, but the Ducks had just joined the conference and both programs have – or perhaps had? – been perennial powerhouses for years.

But the storylines and question marks this year, aside from the obvious top-two pairing, are endless. Can Indiana, which hasn’t beaten Ohio State this century (the Hoosiers have lost 30 straight to the Buckeyes), once again buck expectations en route to winning a Big Ten title? Or will mighty Ohio State once again prevail?

Will Fernando Mendoza or Julian Sayin steal the spotlight? Can the Heisman Trophy contenders go blow for blow – or will one of them shine brighter than the other?

What about Smith and Tate? Can they mop the floor with yet another elite defense – one even better than they’ve seen all season?

And, of course, the man, the myth, the legend: Curt Cignetti. What does the gridiron genius have up his sleeve? Can he avenge his team’s 23-point loss from a year ago?

None of these questions have a clear-cut answer. You can make guesses – educated ones at that – and we all know the predictions will pile in. But we won’t really know until the two teams line up opposite one another on Saturday night with the Stagg Trophy at stake.

Only then will those questions be answered. And only then will we see if Indiana can beat Ohio State for the first time in 37 years and if Cignetti can bring Bloomington its first Big Ten title since 1967.