Ohio State vs. Indiana prediction, pick, odds, spread: No. 1 Buckeyes, No. 2 Hoosiers collide from Indy
A Big Ten Championship and No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff are on the line Saturday
By
John Talty
•
4 min read
The game of the year, so far at least, comes Saturday night in Indianapolis beaten undefeated No. 1 Ohio State and undefeated No. 2 Indiana for the Big Ten Championship.
There may not be quite the playoff stakes of the Big 12 or SEC championship games as both Ohio State and Indiana are firmly in the projected bracket and currently expected to receive first-round byes. But there is still plenty at stake, including possibly the Heisman Trophy race, as college football's two best teams finally face off this season.
Ohio State, last year's national champion, comes to Indy with the nation's most-efficient passer (Julian Sayin), the best pair of receivers in the country (Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate) and a ferocious defense led by linebacker Arvell Reese and safety Caleb Downs. The Buckeyes have rarely been tested this season, but have looked every bit of the nation's top team so far.
Indiana, last year's surprise team, proved this season it was no one-season fluke. Cal transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza has been terrific as one of the nation's best QBs. The Hoosiers' defense, orchestrated by defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, ranks top 3 in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense. This is an even better and more well-rounded Indiana team than the one that went to the College Football Playoff a year ago.
You'll want to stay up late Saturday night in what could be a preview of an eventual national championship matchup.
Ohio State vs. Indiana: Need to know
Heisman stakes: Headed into the final weekend, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is tied with Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia for the best Heisman odds while Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is just behind at No. 3. With Pavia idle this championship weekend, the winning quarterback of the Big Ten championship will have a terrific opportunity to deliver a "Heisman moment" at a crucial time. Sayin and Mendoza both have great cases in what has been a wide-open Heisman race all season.
In Sayin's first year as the Buckeyes starter, he leads the nation in completion percentage (78.9), has thrown for 3,065 yards, 30 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Mendoza has been similarly impressive with 2,758 yards, 32 touchdowns and five interceptions. Watching these two guys go to work against top-flight defenses will be very fun to watch.
Longest winning streaks: The two teams with the longest regular-season winning streaks will meet in Indianapolis. Indiana won its last 13 regular-season games while Ohio State now has 12 consecutive wins after finally getting one over Michigan in its regular-season finale. When you add in postseason games (and the Buckeyes' title run last year), Ohio State has a nation's best 16 consecutive wins while Indiana checks in at No. 2 at 12 games. One other final stat for you: Ohio State, a 4.5-point favorite over the Hoosiers, has an impressive 10-1-1 record against the spread this season.
CFP implications: Neither Ohio State nor Indiana has to worry about missing the playoff no matter what happens in Indianapolis. The winner of this game will be locked into the No. 1 overall CFP seed and guaranteed a first-round bye. The bigger question would be whether the loser could fall out of the first-round bye territory of the top four seeds. Some of that will be dependent on what happens in the game, of course, and what the final margin ends up being. Assuming it's a relatively close game, however, the odds are that either Ohio State or Indiana would still be in terrific position to keep a bye. It's extremely unlikely, for instance, that No. 5 Oregon would jump either of these two teams, especially Indiana which has a head-to-head win over the Ducks in Eugene.
Where to watch Ohio State vs. Indiana live
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium -- Indianapolis, Indiana
TV: Fox | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Ohio State vs. Indiana prediction, picks
The nation's two best teams finally meet on the field with a Big Ten Championship at stake. It's strength on strength here as Ohio State and Indiana both have explosive offenses and game-wrecking defenses. Both teams have been cruising and this will easily be each's toughest game so far. Will Heisman frontrunners Julian Sayin and Fernando Mendoza go to town? Or will the nation's top two defenses make this a low-scoring affair with neither able to get comfortable? It wouldn't be a surprise at all to see points being hard to come by early in this game, but ultimately I think it ends up being a bit more high-scoring than either defensive coordinator would prefer. Pick: Over 47.5
Who will win and cover in each conference championship game? Legendary Vegas expert Bruce Marshall is on a 43-36 roll on college football picks. Visit SportsLine now to see all his college football picks.
