Ohio State vs. Indiana CFB Live Updates, Highlights and Analysis for Oct. 17

When one of your superstars does something wrong, you just have to shake your head and move on.

Nick Marsh is one of Indiana's superstars, and even though he didn't get his foot down in the would-be, game-winning touchdown grab late in the game, he's a playmaker the Hoosier must have the rest of the way.

IU will be in the College Football Playoff. Curt Cignetti's team was down on the mat, and it responded again. Josh Hoover made play after play, and he even made the play that mattered. But it just didn't materialize in points.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes' season is concerning when you look at the path forward. What is Julian Sayin's injury? How long will he be out? Can they tread water with wins while he is?

What a game we all saw with two championship-caliber defenses delivering blow after blow. The Buckeyes just delivered one more.

Indiana was this close to a memorable moment.

Instead, Nick Marsh makes one of the biggest blunders of the season.

Well, this may be the most improbable ending you'll see this year.

On a beautiful play call, a beautiful route run by Nick Marsh and an incredible pass by Josh Hoover, Nick Marsh had a wide-open touchdown, but he couldn't get his foot down in the end zone.

What a monumental mistake!

The 4th-and-4 call worked. Everything worked but the star transfer receiver staying inbounds, and the 22-game winning streak comes to an end.

The Buckeyes have heated up Josh Hoover here with the game on the line, and they just got to him.

After a 16-yard completion on 2nd-and-20 to set up 3rd-and-4, Hoover went down for go gain. Here comes fourth down and the game. Curt Cignetti called timeout to discuss.

This will be a controversial, much-discussed call. Ohio State's Jermaine Matthews Jr. gets called for a roughing-the-passer penalty to aid the Hoosiers' drive at the 2-minute timeout.

They waved targeting, but this was a big call.

Wow! The Hoosiers are driving.

Here's Julian Sayin trotting to the locker room. Since then, the game is just simply too fast for true freshman Luke Fahey.

What does Ohio State do from here?

Ohio State star quarterback Julian Sayin returns to the field in a sling after trotting to the locker room.

Not only is this is a massive development for the remainder of this game, but it's a big deal for the rest of the season. Everybody wants to know what's going on and how long Sayin will be out.

The Hoosiers couldn't get anything going after that Ohio State punt, and now the Buckeyes have flipped field position.

They'll start their drive from their own 40-yard line, and IU has two timeouts left. With backup quarterback true freshman Luke Fahey in, the Hoosiers believe they can force another punt and go down and scored.

Here we go.

After Isaiah Jones' dumb play, OSU goes nowhere, and the Buckeyes are going to punt. The offense could go nowhere without Julian Sayin in the game.

He trotted back to the locker room.

What a response by IU with its backs against the wall. They'll have to drive the length of the field for the go-ahead touchdown with about 5 minutes left.

After Julian Sayin left the game with apparent injury and the Buckeyes backup quarterback freshman Luke Fahey in, Isaiah Jones bails out the Buckeyes by hitting a scrambling Fahey late.

Fahey was already on the ground, and Jones came in late.

The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty takes OSU from 2nd-and-28 to a gift first down.

You just can't do something like that.

IU's backs against the wall? You know a Curt Cignetti-coached team is going to respond.

They're not going to go down without punching.

A hurting Josh Hoover comes back in the game, leads them down the field and makes the best throw of the day on a 3rd-and-8 pass to Nick Marsh for a 21-yard touchdown, and it's now 19-15 after a successful two-point conversion.

Now, that 2-point conversion means even if the Buckeyes kick a field goal, IU is just a touchdown down.

We're witnessing greatness, folks.

The Buckeyes didn't capitalize on the two-point conversion, but after Jeremiah Smith just tied former Michigan great Braylon Edwards for the Big Ten's all-time touchdown reception lead, it's now or never for the Hoosiers.

They must score, and they must score now.

You want the highlight of the weekend? We just saw it.

On 4th-and-inches, Ohio State elects to run play action and throw deep to Jeremiah Smith. Basically, Julian Sayin just threw up a jump ball, and Smith readjusted to the ball, squeezed between two defenders and scored a MASSIVE touchdown.

What were IU's two defenders -- Jamari Sharpe and Amare Ferrell, who've been the defensive stars so far -- doing???? They just let the nation's best player come back to the ball on a heave-and-hope, catch the ball and take a huge lead.

Pretty much a disastrous quarter for the defending national champions have them staring at their first loss since December 2024. These are the moments when Curt Cignetti's teams have dug deep and found a way.

Can they again?

Quarterback Josh Hoover is dealing with what seems to be a shoulder/elbow injury, but he's been in the injury tent and appears to be ready to come back in next drive.

But the Buckeyes have it 1st-and-10 in IU territory, and any points push it to a two-score game. The Hoosiers need a stop. Now.

Nico Radicic just missed a 55-yard field goal, and Ohio State turned the Hoosiers away again.

With a career-long of 49 yards on his resume, that attempt seemed far out of his range, and though it was on line, it never had a chance. You've got to wonder about that decision by Curt Cignetti.

Obviously, Josh Hoover's arm pain played a major factor in that decision. How does it impact what the Hoosiers do from now on? Will he return to the game? How much can he do?

This is a pivotal moment.

Man, this is a bad development for the Hoosiers. It's 4th-and-6 for IU in a major moment, and the quarterback is hindered.

After a scramble, Josh Hoover has to leave the game with an upper-body injury that looks like it could be his shoulder. It appears he's trying to get his feeling back in his fingers on the sideline.

Grant Wilson in Hoover's backup, and he came in for a play before Hoover trotted back out.

He promptly completes a 16-yard pass to Tyler Morris on 3rd-and-2 to keep the drive alive. Still, Hoover noticeably winced on the play and is favoring that shoulder.

When Julian Sayin has missed today -- and he's missed a lot -- it's regularly been high.

He just airmailed Jeremiah Smith again, throwing the ball directly to Amare Ferrell, who grabbed his second interception on the day. We've got a turnover festival in Bloomington.

That was just what the Hoosiers needed, and they need to turn this turnover into points.

Two drives and two turnovers for the Indiana Hoosiers to start the second half is not what they needed to get back in the game.

Somehow, Jaylen McClain came unimpeded around the right end on 4th-and-4 from the 27-yard line and blindsided Josh Hoover for a sack-fumble, and Ohio State takes over.

This defense is playing like it knows IU is getting all the buzz.

Curt Cignetti elected to bypass the field goal and keep the drive alive, but nobody blocked McClain.

Somehow, the Buckeyes left Charlie Becker in man coverage, and he proved he's one of the nation's top playmakers with a big 36-yard gain to put IU in scoring position.

They needed a big play and got one.

Jamari Sharpe's big day continues. He batted a would-be touchdown pass away from Brandon Inniss in the end zone, and IU turns the Buckeyes away in the red zone.

But, after the big defensive play, the Buckeyes do get a 29-yard field goal from Connor Hawkins to extend the lead and put more points on the board.

Still a one-score game.

True freshman Jay Timmons punched the ball away from Davion Chandler after Josh Hoover completed a pass to him early in the third quarter, and the Buckeyes now have the ball deep in IU territory right out of the gate.

Now, it's Ohio State's defense's turn to make a gargantuan play that can give OSU control.

The narrative's pendulum has seemed to stagnate on Ohio State redshirt sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin right now.

He started the game 4-for-4 for 67 yards and also made some big plays on the touchdown drive late in the first half. Between those two scoring drives, he's been consistently awful.

None of that matters, though, because he's also made plays. Sayin found freshman Chris Henry Jr. twice on the late drive, including on a 2nd-and-20 sideline route after he'd just taken what looked to be a drive-crippling sack.

At the end of the half on the sixth play from inside the 4-yard line on 4th-and-goal from the 2, Ryan Day called timeout, elected to go for it rather than kick the field goal. Ohio State converted and seized every shred of momentum at halftime.

It was the right call and a huge call before the break, and now it's IU that must regroup if it's going to come back. But it's very much anybody's game.

Maybe Sayin had a case of the yips? He corrected them quickly.

It was faaaaaaar from easy, but Ohio State capitalizes on a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive with a fourth-down pass from Julian Sayin to Bo Jackson out of the backfield to take a lead.

The Buckeyes needed six plays inside the 4-yard line to finally punch the ball in, but they made the big play to get back on the board.

Sayin made two huge throws to freshman Chris Henry Jr., including a 2nd-and-20 completion after he'd just taken a sack from Tobi Osunsanmi to keep the drive going. Jeremiah Smith had a 7-yard grab on a bubble screen to move IU inside the 5-yard line.

Sayin also had a "What was that" throw on what should have been a wide-open touchdowns a couple of plays before the score, but none of that matters.

Julian Sayin finally made a pro-level throw, and it was to star freshman pass-catcher Chris Henry Jr.

They ruled he got a foot down, the Buckeyes are driving at least a little.

That was such a nice Indiana drive that ended with a colossal thud for the Hoosiers.

After Josh Hoover didn't see a wide-open tight end in the end zone and underthrew the third-down pass, leading to a short Nico Radicic field-goal attempt, the normally sure-legged kicker clanked the attempt off the left upright.

Josh Hoover has settled down after a rough start. Now, he's looking terrific distributing the ball to Charlie Becker, Nick Marsh and Co.

The running game is going, too.

This is niiiiiiiice drive by the Hoosiers, who are now back in the red zone with a lead. Need to cash in a TD. So far, Becker is upstaging Jeremiah Smith.

Ohio State finally found Jeremiah Smith for a diving 13-yard grab that had to be reviewed, but he hung onto it.

Then, Julian Sayin tried to find him deep downfield, but he underthrew the football, and the Buckeyes are having to punt again.

Sayin is really looking bad out there right now. Smith nearly made the play on the underthrown ball downfield, but he couldn't come up with it.

Two plays after Amare Ferrell's interception, Turbo Richards motors up the middle for a 7-yard score, and IU has its first lead.

Memorial Stadium exploded with the score that was set up by a fast, aggressive Indiana defense.

Julian Sayin has been sped up by the Hoosiers, and he's missing throws, making mistakes and this is spiraling after a 4-for-4 start by OSU's quarterback. He's missed on his past seven passes.

Julian Sayin was trying to force the football to Jeremiah Smith, but it was deflected by Jamari Sharp and intercepted by Amare Ferrell.

Ferrell nearly had a pick on the last drive, but he got one here, returning the ball inside the 10-yard line to set up the Hoosiers for a big, go-ahead score.

IU defense is ALL OVER THE PLACE right now.

Where is he?

You've got to hand it to the Hoosiers: They've got a plan for covering Jeremiah Smith, and it's working so far in a big way.

He's yet to have a catch, and Julian Sayin has only targeted him one time in three series. The Buckeyes must get the nation's top target into the game plan, but it's not happened yet.

"We're starting to slow them down a little, but they aren't throwing the ball to Jeremiah Smith hardly at all yet," Cignetti told FOX after the first quarter.

Yeah, it's been bad so far.

Julian Sayin has consistently made plays the past two years, but he hasn't been his best in the biggest games.

When you heat him up, he sweats. The Hoosiers are trying to do that today.

Amare Ferrell nearly had an interception, and the Buckeyes are punting again.

Following that first Ohio State scoring drive that resulted in a field goal, this has been a game dominated by defenses.

IU had a little something going on this past drive with Josh Hoover's first completion to Charlie Becker and a couple of first downs, but the drive stalled around midfield.

Hoover tried a deep slant on third down but didn't see OSU defensive back Earl Little, who nearly intercepted the ball, and the Hoosiers are punting again.

Points may be at a premium.

Josh Hoover missed two WIDE-OPEN receivers on that first drive, and Indiana goes three-and-out to start the game.

That's not quite danger-zone area yet, but Hoover hasn't ever played a game of this magnitude in his career.

It's worth at least bringing up the question of whether the lights are just too bright for the TCU transfer? We're not saying that, of course, but this is a major opportunity for him. He's got to perform.

Those were two rough passes to start, and we have a Hoosiers punt.

With so much focus on the nation's top player (can we please think of different ways to say this 1,000 times, Gus and Joel??), Julian Sayin comes out and cooks by going to the Buckeyes' supporting cast.

No Jeremiah Smith on that first drive, no problem for Ohio State.

Tight end Mason Williams came into this game with just five catches this year but had a pair for 46 yards on the first two plays. Sayin then found Devin McCuin and Brandon Inniss to get inside the 10-yard line.

The Hoosiers were able to keep them out of the end zone with a big stand, but Sayin going 4-for-5 for 67 yards and none of those being to Smith is a good start.

It's 3-0 Ohio State.

Pregame, FOX asks Curt Cignetti how you slow down Jeremiah Smith: "By hitting the quarterback before he throws the ball."

He also added, "This ought to be a heavyweight fight."

We're so ready!

I'm a SEC guy, having graduated from Tennessee and watched SEC football my entire life. I'm slow to learn when the Big Ten is better.

I'm not sure they are this year when it comes to depth. But there's no question these two teams are top-five programs right now (after all, they're the past two national champions) and teams in 2026. Along that same vein, I've doubted Indiana too often over the past couple of years.

Every time I think the Hoosiers won't, they do. Every time I believe Curt Cignetti can't, he does.

I believe Josh Hoover makes enough plays today, the Hoosiers running game takes over at times, the receivers do the little things like blocking down field and Charlie Becker makes a huge play. Also, while Jeremiah Smith will make plenty of plays, IU's defense is going to make a game-changer to overcome.

I'm expecting an old-school, Big Ten slobberknocker, and I'm expecting IU to pull out the win at home, 27-23.

The past few years, most of the national talk has been primary about the deep-and-rugged SEC. Quietly throughout the season, though, the top-of-the-heap teams belonged in the Big Ten.

Whether that's happening this year or not, we're about to find out.

Ohio State had a chance to flip that narrative for 2026 early but lost in a fourth-quarter comeback by Texas. Indiana has really yet to be challenged other than an upstart Northwestern team.

The Hoosiers' schedule has been, to put it lightly, unchallenging. The Buckeyes haven't had a tough tilt since Texas.

All that changes today. Are the Buckeyes a national title contender? Is Indiana still worthy of being called college football's top program? Let's go find out.

It's been a smoking start for Indiana QB transfer Josh Hoover, and it's been a bit under-the-radar, too.

Today, he's tested for the first time in a huge way.