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Indiana football has exploded in popularity on a college campus rich in basketball tradition. At 10-0, the Hoosiers are the feel good story in Bloomington, the Big 10 Conference, and college football. Head coach Curt Cignetti immediately changed the culture in only one season.
But Saturday emerges as the undefeated Hoosiers' biggest test. Now standing in the way of the dream undefeated season? A program proud and established in gridiron tradition, plus the nation's No. 2 ranked team: Ohio State.
As Indiana piles the victories, the more the target grows and the more the games get bigger for IU. The counterargument, though, is that fans and analysts will believe IU hasn't faced anyone challenging until now. The Buckeyes become the first top five program the Hoosiers will face all year long.
The betting lines aren't doing Indiana any favors. Ohio State is entering the heavyweight showdown in Columbus as a massive 12.5-point favorite. The Buckeyes are also used to playing in contests featuring another top five program. Indiana's history there is the size of an ant.
But there's plenty of reasons to believe IU can sting Ohio State's Big 10 title and even College Football Playoff hopes. There's already bold predictions involving the Indiana-Ohio State matchup. Time to dive into why the Hoosiers will shock the CFB world Saturday.
Indiana's air attack will exploit man coverage
Ohio State's WR unit gets more love nationally. Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka fuel the attention as 49-catch wideouts who have scored a combined 17 touchdowns.
Indiana's receiving unit, though, are a major reason behind the Hoosiers' 43.9 points per game. Five different WRs have scored between three to six touchdowns already. The Hoosiers have two wideouts who can blow the top off defenses in Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. — averaging 18 and 22 yards per catch, respectively.
That said, they're the perfect options to test Ohio State in man coverage. The Buckeyes struggled containing Oregon's playmakers when pivoting to that coverage in the 32-31 loss. Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel found Tez Johnson slipping past OSU in man on the 48-yard touchdown.
Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke can go straight after OSU cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun the moment he reads Cover 1 with one of them not having safety help.
Indiana will rattle a suddenly depleted Ohio State offensive line
The Buckeyes have protected quarterback Will Howard effectively. The QB1 has taken only nine sacks.
But, OSU suffered a major injury Tuesday that'll alter the front five — plus hand the advantage over to Cignetti's defensive unit. Buckeyes center Seth McLaughlin left practice with a reported torn Achilles. OSU already is without left tackle Josh Simmons with his own knee ailment he suffered on Oct. 22.
A front five getting a makeover now has to deal with the Big 10's top sack leader in Mikail Kamara. The James Madison transfer brings 9.5 sacks in tow. Kamara attacks from the right side over tight ends and the right tackle. Cignetti, though, likely will plug Kamara over the blindside to test Simmons' LT replacement Donovan Jackson and move his best pass rusher up and down the line.
But there's more than Kamara to account for if you're Ohio State. James Carpenter is another impactful Hoosier from Cignetti's James Madison University. The 6-foot-2, 288-pounder is a bowling ball of destruction inside who already has eight tackles for a loss in his IU debut. Carpenter will likely test Carson Hinzman, as he steps in for McLaughlin. Carpenter winning multiple one-on-ones will free up the other Indiana defensive linemen and make Saturday a long one for Howard and company.
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Kurtis Rourke will stay composed even in a hostile place
Rourke hasn't looked like a QB who plays with panic. He clearly shows trust in the blocking up front. The 6-foot-5, 231-pounder picks apart defenses from there.
He did endure a rough four-sack evening against Michigan in IU's last game. But not once did he vent frustration and still guided the win.
Ohio State will test Rourke and send an array of stunts and blitzes. Indiana is dealing with its own injuries inside of the offensive line. But if Rourke hits two touchdown passes, IU gains the advantage as Gabriel tossed that number in the Oregon win.
Indiana's run defense gives them advantage
This game will appeal to lovers of the ground attack. The run defense will dictate the winner.
Ohio State is fourth nationally in surrendering 907 rushing yards and six ground-based touchdowns. But guess who ranks as the best run defense in the nation? The visitors at Ohio Stadium — who've allowed just 722 total rushing yards.
Carpenter inside makes offensive line coaches cringe. But there's also the more imposing 6-foot-2, 317-pound CJ West to account for too. West grabbed nine tackles with four solo stops from his interior line spot against Michigan. He even tallied 55 solo tackles at Kent State before transferring. He's experienced in stuffing the run. Him and Carpenter together inside is clearly pick your poison for OL units.
Indiana will surpass 20 points
This IU offense has proven to be way too dynamic for defenses to contain.
Indiana, for what it's worth, only needs to hit 20 points to make Ohio State feel uncomfortable. The Buckeyes haven't surrendered more than that number in all of their victories. Oregon, however, hit 32. And that was a Ducks offense ranking 27th in scoring. Indiana looks more vaunted as the second-best scoring offense. The upset alert sets off if IU scales 20 before the third.
