The last two national champions met in Bloomington on a Saturday for one of the most anticipated games of the season. Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers hung close until the final minutes, when one foot out of bounds turned a possible win into a 19-15 loss that snapped their long run. In his remarks after the game, the Indiana head coach was not happy with the wasted opportunities on offense.
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Ohio State held on for the 19-15 victory at Memorial Stadium. Indiana had fought back into the game and still had a realistic chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. Receiver Nick Marsh caught what looked like a go-ahead touchdown on fourth down, but his left foot landed out of bounds.
The incomplete pass ended the Hoosiers’ 22-game overall winning streak and their 19-game home winning streak in a top-five rematch of the 2025 Big Ten Championship. The loss hit hard because Indiana had put itself in position.
“Tough one not to win. I thought our kids gave great effort and fight, hung in there, put ourselves to win….,” Cignetti said during his postgame press conference. “Too many missed opportunities on offense.”
That frustration came from the gap between the yards Indiana produced and the points it scored. The coach kept returning to the same theme in the minutes that followed.
“We had a lot of pass game opportunities and didn’t take advantage of them,” Cignetti added. “Execution… We had a lot of opportunity we didn’t cash in on, particularly in the second half.”
Indiana outgained Ohio State, finishing with around 369 total yards to the Buckeyes’ 313. Quarterback Josh Hoover completed 20 of 40 passes for 296 yards and one touchdown while dealing with a shoulder issue that started in the third quarter.
The ground game stayed limited, with the Hoosiers managing only 73 rushing yards. Those yards should have produced more than 15 points, and that gap is what Cignetti kept highlighting.
The biggest missed chance came after Indiana had already closed the gap. Trailing 19-7, Hoover found Marsh for a 19-yard touchdown, and Turbo Richard caught the two-point conversion to make it 19-15 with about 10:30 left.
Later, the Hoosiers faced fourth-and-4 at the Ohio State 27. Hoover delivered a well-placed ball to Marsh in the front corner of the end zone. Fireworks went off as many in the stadium thought Indiana had scored. Marsh’s left foot came down out of bounds, and the play was ruled incomplete.
That fourth-down failure was not the only costly moment. Indiana went 0-for-2 on field-goal attempts while Ohio State converted both of its tries. The Hoosiers also lost two fumbles, including Hoover’s first turnover of the season. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin threw two interceptions, both picked off by Amare Ferrell, so the defense created chances the offense never fully cashed in on.
The streak that ended carried real history. Cignetti arrived from James Madison ahead of the 2024 season and changed the program. Indiana went 11-2 that year and reached the College Football Playoff. In 2025, the Hoosiers went 16-0, won the Big Ten title, and claimed the program’s first national championship.
The 22-game streak covered the entire undefeated 2025 title run plus the start of 2026. It also included a 19-game home winning streak, and this was Cignetti’s first home loss at Indiana. The previous defeat had come against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff on December 20, 2024.
Ohio State won by executing better in the moments that mattered most, even while being outgained.
“It was a hard-fought game, and the guys never gave up,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said afterward. The Buckeyes converted both of their fourth-down attempts, including Sayin’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith that stretched the lead to 19-7.
The win came with a cost for Ohio State. Julian Sayin left in the fourth quarter after a hit from Indiana defensive lineman Mario Landino. He appeared to injure his throwing arm or shoulder, fumbled on the play, and later returned to the sideline wearing a sling.
“I don’t have a ton of details, but it looks like Julian will be out several weeks,” Day said. Backup Luke Fahey finished the game for the Buckeyes.
Both teams finished the day at 6-1 overall. Ohio State improved to 4-0 in Big Ten play while Indiana dropped to 3-1.