No. 4 Ohio State defeated No. 5 Indiana 19-15 on Saturday, October 17, at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The win ended the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the country, and improved the Buckeyes to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten. It also came at a significant cost: starting quarterback Julian Sayin left in the fourth quarter with an injury to his throwing arm and is expected to miss several weeks.
The game was a physical, low-scoring contest that mirrored last season’s Big Ten Championship. Both offenses struggled for long stretches against strong defenses. Ohio State scored first on a 26-yard field goal by Connor Hawkins. Indiana answered with a 7-yard touchdown run by Turbo Richard to take a 7-3 lead. With seven seconds left in the first half, Sayin found Bo Jackson for a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down, giving the Buckeyes a 10-7 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, Hawkins added a 29-yard field goal to make it 13-7. Early in the fourth quarter, facing fourth-and-1 from the Indiana 38-yard line, Ryan Day elected to go for it. Sayin threw a 38-yard pass into the end zone for Jeremiah Smith. Smith high-pointed the ball between two defenders and came down with the touchdown, pushing the lead to 19-7. The two-point conversion failed.
Indiana responded quickly. Josh Hoover hit Nick Marsh for a 19-yard touchdown, then connected with Turbo Richard for the two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 19-15 with 10:30 remaining. Shortly afterward, Sayin was sacked by Mario Landino. He left the field with his arm hanging limp and later returned to the sideline wearing a sling. True freshman Luke Fahey took over and the Ohio State offense did not score again.
Indiana had one final chance. With just over a minute left, Hoover found Marsh open in the end zone on fourth down. Marsh made the catch, but his left foot landed out of bounds, rendering the play incomplete. Ohio State took over on downs and ran out the clock.
Sayin finished 15 of 29 for 235 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions before the injury. Smith had four catches for 68 yards and the decisive touchdown, tying Braylon Edwards for the most career touchdown receptions in Big Ten history. Bo Jackson rushed for 56 yards and caught the first-half touchdown. Indiana’s Josh Hoover completed 20 of 40 passes for 296 yards with one touchdown.
Day said after the game that Sayin would “probably be out for several weeks.” Ohio State has a bye on October 24, then travels to USC on October 31. The remaining schedule includes a home game against Oregon on November 7, Northwestern, a trip to Nebraska, and the regular-season finale against Michigan. Fahey is expected to prepare as the starter during the bye.
The 19-15 result gives Ohio State a top-five road win and strengthens its College Football Playoff résumé. It also leaves the team without its starting quarterback for the next phase of the schedule. How the offense functions with Fahey, and whether the defense can continue to limit opposing scoring, will determine whether the Buckeyes can maintain their position near the top of the rankings through the rest of the season. The win snapped Indiana’s long streak. The injury to Sayin now shapes what comes next.
