Indiana Football to Face Ohio State in Big Ten Championship Game

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Curt Cignetti didn't know the details, he just knew his team would be there.

Nearly two years to the day of predicting he'd lead Indiana, then college football's losingest program, to the Big Ten championship game the following season, the Hoosiers earned a 56-3 win over Purdue and secured their spot for the Dec. 6 bout in Indianapolis.

Cignetti wasn't wrong, he was just one year early. And now, after Saturday, he knows the details — starting with Indiana's opponent.

The No. 2 Hoosiers (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) will face No. 1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) at 8 p.m. Saturday inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It's the first Big Ten title game appearance in Indiana history.

Entering Saturday, the Buckeyes were one of three potential opponents for the Hoosiers, as Michigan and Oregon also had a path to Indianapolis. Oregon, which faces Washington on Saturday night, needed to win its game and needed Michigan to defeat Ohio State. Michigan needed to beat Ohio State and have Washington beat Oregon.

Ohio State beat Michigan, 27-9, in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon to clinch its spot in the title game. Indiana defensive end Stephen Daley said Friday night the Hoosiers planned to spend time recovering Saturday while keeping an eye on the results. They wanted to better themselves first before focusing on their opponent.

Now, the Hoosiers can begin film preparation with hopes of avenging one of two losses in Cignetti's tenure.

Cignetti and the Hoosiers faced the Buckeyes last season in Columbus, Ohio. In a battle of two unbeatens, Ohio State stormed past Indiana and took a 38-15 victory. The Buckeyes won the College Football Playoff National Championship two months later.

The second meeting between Indiana and Ohio State carries additional weight. Both quarterbacks — the Hoosiers' Fernando Mendoza and the Buckeyes' Julian Sayin — are in the Heisman Trophy race. There are also College Football Playoff implications, as Saturday night's winner figures to claim the No. 1 overall seed.

Indiana understands the magnitude of its situation. Mendoza said the Hoosiers are as motivated as ever.

"We've all worked our entire lives to get to this point," Mendoza said Friday. "So, it's not like complacency, like, 'Oh, yeah, we're 12-0, great.' Like, we've got to keep on going harder, and we've got to train harder, because this is just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we have ahead of us."

Now, that opportunity — and the road ahead — entails a battle of heavyweights in Indianapolis.