Why the Big Ten Championship Game means everything to Indiana and nothing to Ohio State

The Big Ten Championship game between top-rated Ohio State and second-ranked Indiana is one of those special matchups that will be remembered for years to come.

The Buckeyes are the defending state champions and had a perfect regular season. They hope to become one of the few teams in recent college football history to win titles. Indiana has risen from the bottom of the Big Ten over the past two years. This team was just 3-9 in 2023, but the arrival of the head coach Curt Cignetti helped this team rise like a comet. They were 11-2 a year ago and have the same 12-0 record the Buckeyes have this season.

In a previous era, a conference championship game between two undefeated teams would have meant everything to the Big Ten. The winner would go to the Rose Bowl and play for a national championship, while the loser would go to another high-profile game with a chance to regain some pride.

This time around, the outcome likely won’t affect either team’s national championship chances unless the game goes either way or significant injuries occur.

But beyond that, winning the Big Ten title would certainly mean a lot to Indiana, as it plays in the Big Ten title game for the first time. But Ohio State appears to have little to gain — or lose — by playing in this game.

Ohio State has already met its regular season goal

Head coach Ryan Day was under a lot of pressure a year ago when his team lost its fourth straight game to Michigan. Ohio State fans were seriously disappointed and many of them wanted to send Day to the unemployed list. However, Day and the Buckeyes had a new opportunity because they were in the expanded College Football Playoff and there was a path to a national championship.

Ohio State was the No. 6 seed in the tournament and few expected to win the title. However, the Buckeyes shook off the disappointment of losing to the Wolverines and beat Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame to win the title. Quarterback Will Howard, running backs Quinshawn Judkins and Trewayon Henderson and running backs Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate were the leaders of that team, and Ohio State was dominant. They won all of those postseason games by at least 14 points.

That was last year, and the Buckeyes had to start over this year. They lost Howard, Judkins, Henderson and Egbuka to the NFL, but still had Smith and Tate along with new quarterback Julian Saina and running back Bo Jackson. They entered the year as just a 1.5-point favorite in the season opener against No. 1 Texas at Ohio Stadium, but many expected the Longhorns to win the game and have a big season.

The Buckeyes handled business against Texas and Michigan — and every game in between

Ohio State throttled Texas 14-7 and defeated every team on their schedule. They were 11-0 heading into the season finale against Michigan, and the Wolverines were motivated to make it five straight against the Buckeyes. A win could have sent Michigan to the CFP and the Big Ten title game, but Ohio State overcame a 6-0 deficit to roll to a decisive 27-9 triumph.

The Buckeyes can now focus on winning 10th national championship. Winning a 41st Big Ten title would be nice (ho-hum), but winning another national title is what matters to this elite football program. Even if Ohio State falls short against Indiana, a first-round CFP bye is likely. Day, Saiin, Jackson and Smith must avoid defeat or injury. A Big Ten title for a team with Ohio State history really doesn’t mean much with the CFP looming.

Indiana would feel incredible pride

Indiana has always been known as a basketball school – basketball state – even before the days when Bob Knight was the head coach of the Hoosiers. The football team tied for 1967 Big Ten Championship with Purdue and Minnesota, and it was the only time in school history that Indiana was in the Rose Bowl.

There has never been an outright Big Ten championship, and a title game win against Ohio State would give them a chance to capture the honor for the first time in team history.

Cignetti has been something of a miracle worker in his two seasons in Bloomington, and he has a terrific quarterback in Fernando Mendoza, a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.

The Hoosiers have taken care of business against every opponent, with their 30-20 win at Oregon in mid-October being their most impressive.

Like the Buckeyes, they will be a high seed in the CFP whether they win or lose the Big Ten title game. But hanging that Big Ten championship banner in Memorial Stadium would be one of the best recruiting tools the football program has ever had. Winning a conference title would become a source of pride that the football program has never had in the past.

A Big Ten championship would certainly mean more to Indiana than Ohio State.