Rick Neuheisel names his clear favorite in Indiana vs. Ohio State

Joe Cox | Nov 4, 2025

CBS Sports analyst Rick Neuheisel might be getting ready for Week 11, but he dropped an early prediction on the projected game on everyone's mind: Indiana vs. Ohio State / Mark Henle, Mark Henle/The Republic

One of the axioms of college football is that teams can't afford to look ahead. But while players can't necessarily afford to look back even lightweight opponents, CBS Sports analyst Rick Neuheisel did just that. While there are four weeks of Big Ten play left, Neuheisel took an early peek at the projected matchup on everyone's mind-- Indiana vs. Ohio State. And his pick might surprise.

The No. 1 Buckeyes are 8-0 and the No. 2 Hoosiers are 9-0 and are seemingly on a collision course for a meeting in Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game on December 6th. Only Michigan on the final week of Ohio State's schedule seemingly has much of a chance to prevent the meeting from occurring.

In looking ahead at the potential Indiana/Ohio State matchup, Neuheisel dropped a month-early pick for the projected meeting.

Neuheisel's pick

If I was taking the role of somebody sitting on that [CFP selection] committee here in that first Tuesday night, they're going to go with Ohio State as the No. 1 team. But if I had to pick who was going to win that game, I'd take Indiana.

- Rick Neuheisel

"If I had to pick who was going to win that game (between Ohio State and Indiana), I'd take Indiana."

🗣️ @CoachNeuheisel pic.twitter.com/e9DlAL9Q1l

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) November 1, 2025

OSU's case

Neither team has faced much of a test and each has a solid argument to be the top dog in college football. Ohio State's only competitive game was the 14-7 win over Texas in Week 1. While Ohio State's offensive numbers are somewhat pedestrian this year, the Buckeye defense is allowing 6.9 points and 214.8 yards per game. Both numbers are the best in FBS football. OSU's offense is 17th nationally in scoring at 36.6 points per game and is 30th in yardage with 436.5 yards per game.

Indiana's case

Indiana has arguably the top offense in college football. The Hoosiers lead FBS with 46.4 points per game and rank third in yardage at 504.9 yards per game. It's not as if the IU defense has been weak. It's third in FBS in allowing 10.8 points per game and is seventh in yardage allowed at 248.3 yards per game. The Hoosiers squeaked out a 20-15 in over Iowa and in Week 1 outlasted Old Dominion 27-14.

Heisman Hopefuls

Each team has a Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback leading their respective offenses. Ohio State's Julian Sayin and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza are currently first and second in QB rating in FBS football. Sayin is completing nearly 81% of his passes for 2,188 yards and 23 touchdowns against three interceptions. Mendoza is completing over 72% of his attempts for 2,124 yard and 25 touchdowns against four interceptions.

The difference of history

Neuheisel's take aside, Ohio State is generally considered a favorite because the disparity between the teams is tradition. Indiana has the most losses in FBS history, has won a single Big Ten outright title and shared a second and had never won 10 games in a season until last year. Ohio State claims nine national titles, 39 Big Ten championships, and hasn't failed to win 10 games in a season (other than the 7-1 mark in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) since 2011.

But in college football's new age of parity, even a veteran coach like Rick Neuheisel threw caution to the wind by saying he would (will?) pick the Hoosiers.

Indiana and Curt Cignetti got a strong endorsement from CBS analyst Rick Neuheisel with a pick to potentially beat No. 1 Ohio State. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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