All eyes are on the Big Ten this weekend. The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to face the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers in a top-5 Big Ten battle in Week 7 of the college football season, and it’s the marquee game on the schedule.

Ohio State enters at 5-1, with the loss to Texas as the lone blemish on its resume. Indiana is unbeaten at 6-0. The Hoosiers’ closest game came last week, when they narrowly escaped Nebraska 20-17.

Ohio State and indiana are different teams than a year ago

These aren’t the same rosters that met in the Big Ten Championship last season. The Buckeyes’ most important returners are QB Julian Sayin, superstar WR Jeremiah Smith, and RB Bo Jackson. Those three are the foundation Ohio State has leaned on through the first half of the season.

On the flip side, Indiana is a mostly new team. The Hoosiers do return WR Charlie Becker, and they added Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh to the receiver room. TCU transfer Josh Hoover is now the quarterback under coach Curt Cignetti.

Still, the two teams look pretty similar in terms of identity at this point in the season. Both rely heavily on the passing game, and both have defenses that rank in the top 10 nationally in points allowed.

Oddsmakers lean toward Ohio State on the road

Even with how evenly matched these teams appear, oddsmakers are giving Ohio State the edge. According to FanDuel, the Buckeyes are 3.5-point favorites.

That number says something. Ohio State is the road team in this matchup, so a 3.5-point line isn’t a pick ’em by any means. It shows the Buckeyes are the firm favorite, and the expectation is for them to go into Bloomington and come away with a top-5 win.

A win over Indiana would be huge for Ohio State. It would pair with the Buckeyes’ ranked win over Iowa and give them another quality victory to point to as the season moves into the second half.

What Ohio State needs to do to win in Bloomington

One of the most important things Ohio State has to do is limit Indiana’s passing attack. The Hoosiers don’t have much of a run game right now, so the offense runs through Hoover, Becker, and Marsh. If the Buckeyes can slow that trio down, they’re going to be in a great spot.

Ohio State doesn’t run the ball particularly well either. The Buckeyes are going to play through Smith, which means the defense will have to step up and win its share of the game. With two top-10 scoring defenses on the field, a low-scoring matchup could very well be on deck.

It won’t be easy. Ohio State is trying to avenge a 13-10 loss in last year’s Big Ten Championship, while Indiana is looking to make it two in a row over the Buckeyes. Ohio State hasn’t beaten the Hoosiers since 2024 in Columbus.

There’s a firm favorite in this game, and that’s unlikely to change before kickoff. Now it’s up to the Buckeyes to go out and get it done when the two teams kick off at noon ET Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana.