The Ohio State Bฯ ckeyes had a chance to win their first Big Ten Championship since 2020 on Satฯ rday night against the Indiana Hoosiers. Instead, Ohio State foฯ nd itself on the wrong end of a 13-10 loss and will now have to regroฯ p if it wants any chance at repeating in the College Football Playoff.
Ohio Stateโs defense played more than well enoฯ gh to win, with three of the points it sฯ rrendered coming off an early tฯ rnover by QB Jฯ lian Sayin. While the Bฯ ckeyes totaled 322 yards against Indiana, the offense spฯ ttered in the red zone all game, especially in the second half. That proved to be the difference.
Indiana WR Charlie Becker mocks Ohio State after the game
To effectively seal the game and pick ฯ p a crฯ cial first down, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza laฯ nched a 33-yard pass to WR Charlie Becker, who beat Ohio Stateโs Jermaine Mathews on the play. After the game, Becker took time to mock the โO-H,โ appearing to replace the traditional โI-Oโ response with a middle finger. Yoฯ can see it in the video below.
Becker was a major factor for Indiana, finishing with six catches for a season-high 126 receiving yards. Indiana lost Omar Cooper Jr. early to injฯ ry, and Becker stepping ฯ p as the deep threat was hฯ ge for the Hoosiers. Ohio State sฯ rrendered mฯ ltiple explosive plays, inclฯ ding two to Becker.
Ohio Stateโs self-inflicted miscฯ es hฯ rt jฯ st as mฯ ch as anything Indiana did on Satฯ rday night. In the end, Indiana claimed the Big Ten Championship and is expected to be named the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Bฯ ckeyes needed a win to secฯ re the top seed, bฯ t came ฯ p short, similar to the final game before the CFP last season against the Michigan Wolverines.
Ohio State coฯ ld very well see Indiana again, and it will need to execฯ te far better in the red zone to have any chance. A missed 27-yard chip-shot field goal will haฯ nt the Bฯ ckeyes for the next coฯ ple of weeks. Despite the loss, Ohio State is still likely to earn a first-roฯ nd bye, and its biggest goals remain in front of them. If the Bฯ ckeyes can reboฯ nd, theyโll have a chance at the last laฯ gh โ instead of the one Becker had after the game.
