Tag: Indiana Hoosiers

Ohio State football legend, Justin Fields announced as ESPN College GameDay guest picker

Ohio State football legend, Justin Fields announced as College Gameday guest picker #GoBucks

Ohio State football will have the opportunity to play in its third top five match-up of the season against the Indiana Hoosiers and this game is receiving some insane hype. Come Saturday, Columbus, Ohio, will be hosting Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff as well as ESPN’s College GameDay.

ESPN recently announced its guest picker for the pregame show and former Ohio State quarterback, Justin Fields, will be joining the crew. The show typically either gets celebrity or professional athlete alumni and the Fields pick makes perfect sense considering his current team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have already played on Thursday night.

The former All-American will join C.J. Stroud, who was a guest in 2023, A.J. Hawk in 2022, Eddie George in 2019 and 2017, Orlando Pace in 2016, Archie Griffin in 2015, and Santonio Holmes in 2009, as the only former Ohio State football players who were guest pickers.

For those heading to the game the College GameDay set will be near St. John Arena and the Big Noon Kickoff set will be near the RPAC.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Josh Keatley on X.

An ESPN analyst actually suggested Indiana sit Kurtis Rourke vs. Ohio State

Should Indiana bench Kurtis Rourke against Ohio State on Saturday? ESPN analyst Joey Galloway makes the case for it.

Could the No. 5 Indiana not play its starting quarterback, lose the game against Ohio State by a significant margin and get into the playoffs?

Well, that’s a tough question that only the College Football Playoff committee could answer.

Most would think an 11-1 Indiana team could get in, especially with a easy win over Nebraska, a team that beat top-20 Colorado, earlier in the season, but does that rely upon what happens on Saturday?

While those questions don’t have real answers for now, one could argue that Indiana’s best option is to bench its starting quarterback and eat the loss to avoid his being injured.

That’s at least the take that ESPN’s Joey Galloway had. His main point was that Florida State could’ve won a National Championship had Jordan Travis not been hurt late in the season. No one on Twitter/X was a fan of that suggestion as it would void fans a real top-five battle.

Here’s the full clip.

Now, there hasn’t been any real discussion of this, just Galloway’s take. Rourke, who led the MAC in passing yards and passing touchdowns at Ohio in 2022, has played well this season and has a 21:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

On top of that, should Ohio State blow out Indiana and the Hoosiers not have a top-25 win to end the season, they might not get in, especially if they pulled off a move like this. Nonetheless, it was a take thrown out.

Just, for all parties, hopefully it won’t be one that Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti takes any real consideration of.

Can Penn State still play in the Big Ten championship game?

Penn State’s path to a Big Ten championship is still there, but the Nittany Lions will need some help.

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, there is still a chance Penn State can play for the Big Ten championship. But in addition to taking care of its remaining schedule, Penn State will need some help from around the conference in order to book a trip to Indianapolis to play for the first Big Ten championship in the 18-team era of the conference.

At 6-1 in Big Tne play, Penn State sits in fourth place in the Big Ten standings following the result of Week 12. Oregon essentially clinched its spot in the Big Ten championship game with a defensive victory at Wisconsin on Saturday night. There is a bizarre tiebreaker that could bite Oregon in the end, but that is considered highly unlikely at this stage. That leaves one spot up for grabs between three teams, including Penn State.

And there will be some clarity to the Big Ten championship game situation in Week 13 when the two other teams competing for a spot in Indy, Ohio State and Indiana, square off in the game of the week. Indiana is undefeated this season and Ohio State has just one loss (to Oregon). Indiana owns a one-game lead on Penn State in the standings and Ohio State holds the edge over the Nittany Lions due to a head-to-head victory a couple of weeks ago.

The winner of next weekend’s Ohio State-Indiana will have the inside track to Indianapolis going into the final week of the regular season. Indiana will wither be 11-0 and 8-0 in Big Ten play going into its final game of the regular season against 1-9 Purdue, or Ohio State will go into the final game of the regular season at home against Michigan already owning head-to-head tiebreakers against both Penn State and Indiana.

What are the tiebreakers?

The Big Ten released its conference championship game tiebreakers prior to the start of the season. They are mostly the same as they have been in previous years for division championship tiebreakers.

Here is the exact wording of the tiebreaker procedure for the Big Ten with more than two teams tied this season (this procedure is repeated until the number of tied teams is whittled down to two);

  1. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage in games among the tied teams
    (a) If all teams involved in the tie did not play each other, but one team defeated all other teams involved in the tie, the team that defeated all other teams in the tie is removed from the tiebreaker, and the remaining teams revert to the beginning of the applicable tiebreaker process (i.e., two team or three or more team tie).
    (b) If all teams involved in the tie did not play each other and no team defeated all other teams involved in the tie, move to the next step in tiebreaker.
  2. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against all common conference opponents played by all other teams involved in the tie.
  3. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the next highest-placed common opponent in the standings in order of finish:
  4. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents:
    (a) In the event of an unbalanced schedule (i.e., less than nine conference games are played), the records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents, regardless of how many conference opponents each team played. If winning percentage is equal for all conference opponents, move to next step in tiebreaker.
  5. The representative will be chosen by the by the highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team Rating Score metric) following the regular season.
  6. Random draw among the tied teams conducted by Commissioner or designee.

How does Penn State get into the Big Ten championship game?

The easiest way Penn State gets to Indy is by winning its final two games, Ohio State handing Indiana a loss, and then Ohio State and Indiana each lose their respective regular-season finales for two losses.

So what will it take for Penn State to creep past the Buckeyes and Hoosiers, and are there any tiebreakers that could break Penn State’s way?

First things first, Penn State cannot take another loss. Penn State must win its final two games at Minnesota and at home against Maryland to remain a one-loss team.

Ohio State may be the favorite at this point to get to Indy. The Buckeyes will likely be favored at home against Indiana and against Michigan the following weekend. If Ohio State beats Indiana, the Buckeyes will be sitting pretty when they face the Wolverines. A second Ohio State loss could knock Ohio State out of the mix entirely because catching Indiana will be impossible and Penn State could have just one loss on its record.

Indiana is in a tough spot if it loses to Ohio State this weekend. Indiana would likely need both Penn State and Ohio State to lose the final weekend of the season in order to make the short trip to Indianapolis.

If Penn State can handle its own business starting next week at Minnesota, then fans of the Nittany Lions will be in the awkward position of having to root for Ohio State (against Indiana) and then for Michigan (against Ohio State) in order to see Penn State in a tiebreaker with the Hoosiers.

The fourth tiebreaker is the one that would likely help Penn State over Indiana if it comes down to those two schools.

It’s a longshot for Penn State, sure. But there is still a path to the Big Ten championship game. Just root for the Buckeyes next week and then you’ll never have to root for them again.

Penn State will know where things stand prior to their next game. Ohio State and Indiana kick off their game next week at noon Eastern. Penn State will visit Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

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Former Wisconsin offensive linemen, top assistant named semifinalist for national award

Former Wisconsin linemen, top assistant named finalist for national award

Several former Wisconsin Badgers have helped lead the Indiana Hoosiers to a record 10-0 start to the 2024 season.

Those are tackle Trey Wedig, guard Drew Evans and offensive line coach Bob Bostad. The trio is a significant reason the Hoosiers’ line was named a semifinalist for the 2024 Joe Moore Award on Tuesday.

Related: Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is doing what everybody expected Luke Fickell to do at Wisconsin

The award, with history since 2015, is given annually to college football’s best offensive line. Notable recent winners include Washington (2023), Michigan (2021-22), Alabama (2020) and LSU (2019).

The Hoosiers were named a semifinalist for the 2024 award along with Alabama, Army, Iowa, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Tulane.

As mentioned, three former Badgers are a big reason for the nomination.

Wedig has started all 10 games at right tackle for the Hoosiers this season. He boasts one of the top PFF grades of any eligible tackle in the Big Ten, making him one of Curt Cignetti’s top transfer additions from a highly successful offseason.

The versatile lineman entered the portal after playing a reserve role on the 2023 Badgers in year one under Luke Fickell. He would’ve been up for limited snaps again in 2024 with both Jack Nelson and Riley Mahlman back for a final season.

Evans, meanwhile, transferred to Indiana back in 2023 after initially walking on with the Badgers ahead of the 2022 season. He started the first nine games of the 2024 season for the Hoosiers before suffering a season-ending injury last week in practice.

Bostad, finally, is the most notable former Badger of the group. The current Indiana offensive line coach was a top assistant under Bret Bielema in the mid-2000s before returning to the Wisconsin program in 2017 as its inside linebackers coach.

He transitioned back to offensive line duties in 2022 as Paul Chryst reworked his offensive coaching staff. The veteran assistant then took a job at Indiana after Chryst’s firing.

Indiana will look to continue its dream season on Nov. 23 when it faces the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The team is a win away from possibly reaching the Big Ten title game, a remarkable turnaround after a 3-9 final season under Tom Allen.

A big factor in that success has been the work of Wedig, Evans and Bostad along the offensive line.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

How Oregon Ducks can clinch a Big Ten title appearance, and who they might face

A deep dive into the scenarios for how the Oregon Ducks can clinch a spot in the Bit Ten Championship Game, and who they might face.

In their first year in the Big Ten Conference, the Oregon Ducks are leading the way as we near the end of the regular season. With a spot in Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game up for grabs, Dan Lanning’s Ducks are in great position.

All they need to do is win on Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers, and they’re in. With a 10-0 record and a 7-0 record in the Big Ten, the Ducks just need to go 1-1 over their next two games in order to clinch a spot in the conference title game.

Who they might face in Indianapolis, though, is a bit more complicated. Let’s run through the potential opponents.

Indiana Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0)

What a story the Hoosiers have been this year under Kurt Cignetti. With an undefeated record going into its bye week, Indiana is in a similar position to Oregon: Win and it’s in.

However, it gets a little bit more complicated because of who Indiana plays. The Hoosiers go on the road to Ohio State in Week 13 for one of the biggest games in program history. If they beat the Buckeyes, they clinch a spot in Indianapolis. However, if they lose, a potential tiebreaker scenario comes into play, assuming Ohio State beats the Michigan Wolverines. Indiana can beat Purdue, and both teams will finish 11-1 (8-1).

In that case, Ohio State would get in due to the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indiana.

Ohio State Buckeyes (8-1, 5-1)

At this point, it seems as if the Buckeyes are the best bet to meet Oregon in Indianapolis. All they need to do is beat Indiana — no small feat — and then beat Michigan in the final week of the season to secure a spot in the Big Ten championship game. Should they win both of those games, it would give them the same record as the Hoosiers — and the Penn State Nittany Lions, assuming they win their final three games of the year, more on that in a second — but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Because of that, the game between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers in Week 13 is being viewed as a play-in game for the conference championship. Whoever wins is almost undoubtedly in, provided they take care of business the following week.

Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-1)

The Nittany Lions are the last team who technically have a shot at getting into the Big Ten championship game, though it is a long shot at this point. To get to Indianapolis, they need to win the three remaining games on their schedule — at Purdue, at Minnesota and vs. Maryland. They also need both Ohio State and Indiana to lose one of their two remaining games.

If the Nittany Lions finish with an 11-1 (8-1) record, they would lose in a tiebreaker to Ohio State. If Penn State tied with Indiana, they don’t have a head-to-head matchup, so it would fall to record vs. common opponents, which would get incredibly consuming. Thankfully for all of us, it is unlikely to happen, as well.

In Conclusion…

To sum up, the Ducks have a great chance to make it to the conference title game, assuming that they can win one of their next two games. They will most likely play either Indiana or Ohio State, and it will almost certainly be decided by who wins that game in Week 13.

Who are you putting your money on?

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Alabama football projected to host first round Playoff game against Big Ten opponent

On3 projects Alabama to face Indiana in the first-round of the playoffs.

After a second loss of the season against the Tennessee Volunteers, many people considered the Alabama Crimson Tide’s Playoff hopes to be over. But Kalen DeBoer and company weathered the storm with back-to-back ranked wins and now Alabama looks like one of the scariest teams in the country.

With remaining games against Mercer, Oklahoma and Auburn, the Crimson Tide have put themselves in a great position to make the first 12-team Playoff. There is still a path for the Crimson Tide to get to Atlanta and compete for an SEC Championship, but more than likely, they will be an at-large team this year.

Getting the first-round bye will be a massive advantage, but a home Playoff game isn’t a terrible alternative. Andy Staples of On3 currently projects Alabama to qualify as the No. 7 seed where they would host the Indiana Hoosiers in the opening round. If the Crimson Tide can get past the currently undefeated Hoosiers, they would take on No. 2 Texas in the quarterfinals.

Games against Oklahoma and Auburn can’t be treated as automatic wins but with the way Alabama is playing right now there is a reason to feel optimistic about the Tide. Coming off of their statement win against No. 15 LSU Staples said,

“The 42-13 thrashing of LSU in a CFP elimination game served as a reminder that this Alabama team is still loaded even if it doesn’t have the same consistency it showed throughout the Nick Saban era. Jalen Milroe remains one of the nation’s most dangerous QBs.”

Staples projects Big 10 Champions Oregon to secure the No. 1 seed, with No. 6 Tennessee and No. 8 Ole Miss also qualifying.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

John O’Korn has some tough words for Michigan football

Funny and sad at the same time. #GoBlue

Having transferred to Ann Arbor at the start of the Jim Harbaugh era, there were high expectations for former Houston quarterback John O’Korn. But they never came to fruition.

O’Korn had to sit out the 2015 season due to the transfer rules back then, and though expected by many to win the starting job in 2016, he was passed by for Wilton Speight. However, O’Korn played for an injured Speight for one game in 2016 and played the bulk of the 2017 season after Speight was injured again in the Big Ten opener at Purdue that year.

The 2017 season with O’Korn at the helm featured a moribund offensive attack, much derided by the maize and blue faithful. But it’s much worse this year. And the first person to tell you that? O’Korn himself.

Watching his alma mater drop the first game against Indiana since 2020 and the first in front of fans since 1987, the former Wolverine had some choice words on X (formerly Twitter).

 

Ouch.

O’Korn beat Indiana at home in 2016 in what’s affectionately remembered as the snow globe game and again in overtime on the road in 2017.

It should be noted that the Hoosiers under Curt Cignetti are experiencing highs that the program has never reached, at 10-0 for the first time in the team’s history.

Former Wisconsin transfer lineman to miss remainder of 2024 season with Achilles injury

Former Wisconsin transfer lineman to miss remainder of 2024 season with Achilles injury

Former Wisconsin Badgers and current Indiana Hoosiers offensive lineman Drew Evans will miss the remainder of the 2024 season after suffering an Achilles injury, according to a release from the program.

Evans suffered the injury in practice this week leading up to Indiana’s matchup against Michigan. He had played an integral role in Indiana’s 9-0 start to the season, starting all nine games at left guard.

Related: Bye Week Report Card: Grading Wisconsin’s offense and Grading Wisconsin’s defense

The redshirt sophomore lineman transferred to Indiana after initially walking on with the Badgers ahead of the 2022 season. The Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin native followed position coach Bob Bostad, who left Wisconsin for Indiana after the Badgers fired former coach Paul Chryst during the 2022 season.

Evans did not appear in a game in either of his first two collegiate seasons. His play in 2024 as part of Indiana’s strong offensive line has been a big surprise, especially after he won a starting job due to an injury to the projected starter.

Evans’ absence will test Bostad and the depth of his group. Indiana is in the midst of a dream season in year one under new coach Curt Cignetti. It is approaching a College Football Playoff appearance — a result that would mark an unprecedented turnaround after the program’s 3-9 2023 campaign.

Indiana and Michigan will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Indiana’s offensive line without Evans will be a big story against a top Michigan defensive front.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

Michigan football announces uniform combo for Indiana game

Looking good! #GoBlue

Michigan football is heading back on the road on Saturday for a game no one — and we mean no one — would have seen coming as a tough fight with the Wolverines as a sizable underdog.

That’s because Indiana is rolling, ranked No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and the Hoosiers have been clowning every team in its path not too dissimilar from how Michigan has the past three seasons. Thus, the 5-4, unranked Wolverines have an uphill climb in this tough battle.

As such, Saturday is a big game, and one that the Wolverines will be breaking out the road version of the ‘big game blues’ by wearing white tops and blue pants and blue accessories at Memorial Stadium.

 

Michigan has only lost once to Indiana since 1987, that being in the COVID year, 2020. The Hoosiers had Michael Penix Jr. while the Wolverines were looking to find their way following an unexpected Week 2 loss to Michigan State.

If Michigan wins this game, it will become bowl eligible but if it loses, it will fall to 5-5 on the season.

The last time the Wolverines wore the road blues was in the Week 8 loss at Illinois. Prior to that, Michigan had never lost on the road while wearing blue pants.

ESPN sees a potential blowout loss for Michigan football at Indiana

It’s gonna take a lot to upset Indiana on Saturday. #GoBlue

Michigan football has lost to Indiana just once since 1987, and that was in the COVID year when the Hoosiers had Michael Penix at the helm and the Wolverines were struggling mightily. But IU is looking for another win on Saturday, but for the first time in a generation, being the favorite.

Not only is Indiana the favorite, ESPN thinks it could be a blowout victor. (subscription required)

It’s not that surprising, honestly, given how Indiana has beaten opponents. The Hoosiers have been as dominant as Michigan’s 2023 national championship team, and if IU had a different school name, it would likely be ranked even higher than No. 8 as it currently is in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Thus, the way ESPN sees it, there’s not much of a chance that the Wolverines have, and it could be bad for the maize and blue on Saturday.

The Hoosiers are 14-point favorites at home against Michigan. While this spread might seem generous at first glance, a closer look at statistics and recent performances suggests that Indiana is primed to not only win but cover this spread comfortably.

One of the keys to Indiana’s success has been their high-octane offense, led by quarterback Kurtis Rourke. (…)

Meanwhile, Michigan’s offense has been faltering all season. The Wolverines are a dismal 104th nationally in scoring and are even worse passing (128th). (…)

It’s very plausible that Indiana could score 40-plus points while Michigan manages around 14, pushing the total over 49 points.

As vaunted as the Indiana offense is, this will likely be the best defense that the Hoosiers have seen. Michigan is ranked No. 12 defensively, according to PFF. And per the same metrics, the best defenses that the Hoosiers have faced thus far are FIU (No. 30) and Washington (No. 33) — both of whom held IU to 31 points.

But, given Michigan’s offense, even if the defense holds Kurtis Rourke and company to 31 points, it’s unclear that the Wolverines can take advantage. After all, the IU defense is rated No. 3 according to PFF>