by Photo via Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
This Saturday, the No. 5 Ohio State football team will head back to Columbus to face upstart No. 5 Indiana in the penultimate game of the 2024 regular season. The showdown will have serious implications for both the 9-1 Buckeyes and 10-0 Hoosiers, as a win for either team could cement their place in the College Football Playoff, while a loss could drop them out of the field completely.
Unfortunately for Ohio State, starting center Seth McLaughlin was declared out for the season with an achilles tear on Tuesday night. McLaughlin has been outstanding in his first year with the Buckeyes after transferring in from Alabama, and it’s now the second time that a starting offensive lineman has gone down with a season ending injury (Josh Simmons vs. Oregon). Head Coach Ryan Day now has some important decisions to make regarding how to fill McLaughlin’s absence, and the most likely scenario is probably sliding Carson Hinzman over to center and slotting in Austin Siereveld at left guard. Siereveld started multiple games at the beginning the year at guard and Hinzman started at center all season last year, so the transition hopefully won’t be too drastic.
Both the offensive line and the rest of the team will have their hands full, though, with first-year Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti’s team, as the Hoosiers are as good as they’ve been, well…maybe ever. While Indiana’s schedule might not feature any ranked teams, they’re still undefeated and have battered just about everyone they’ve played.
Their quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, has had an outstanding season so far and is still lurking in the Heisman race. Prior to coming to Indiana, Rourke spent five years at Ohio, where he won MAC Player of the Year in 2022. Now, he’s having perhaps his best season yet, throwing for 2,410 yards with 21 passing touchdowns and just four interceptions. With a strong performance against the Buckeyes, don’t be shocked if Rourke becomes among the most talked about players in all of the country.
Similar to Ohio State, the Hoosiers have a two-headed monster in the backfield with Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton. They have 686 and 508 yards, respectively, and nine touchdowns each. Elijah Sarratt leads a strong receiving room for Indiana, as he has 685 yards on the season, good for seventh in the conference. Omar Cooper Jr. has 527 yards as well and leads the Big-10 in yards-per-catch.
Defensively, the Hoosiers have been stout as well, giving up the second-least amount of yards per game in the conference behind guess who: Ohio State. Indiana’s best player on that side of the ball, defensive end Mikail Kamara has been absolutely wrecking games this season, as his 9.5 sacks leads the Big-10. His athleticism makes him among the best run defenders in the country at his position, and the Hoosiers have been great in limiting the ground game.
He’ll have his hands full, however, as if last week was any indication, TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins are in form just in time for the home stretch of the regular season. The durability of the offensive line will be tested, but it’ll be power against power.
For the Buckeyes, especially defensively, it’ll be key to see all parts of the unit come together. We’ve seen the defensive line, the secondary, and most recently, the linebackers have big days and when they can all be on at the same time, they’re a difficult group to get past. The N.F.L-level talent that Ohio State has on both sides should be enough to beat Indiana, but the Hoosiers have not dropped the ball even once this year, so it’ll be a big test to see who really is among the cream of the crop in the Big-10.
