In what is the game of the week in college football, the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1, 3-0) head to Bloomington to take on the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0).
Here are 5 things to know about the defending national champs.
Curt Cignetti wins; Google him
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti made waves at his first press conference as the head man of the Hoosiers, but so far he’s only backed up his words.
Cignetti won the national championship last season with the Hoosiers and is a five-time conference coach of the year and two-time national coach of the year (2024, 2025). As a head coach, he is 152-37 overall, and as Indiana’s head coach, he is 33-2.
Cignetti is also on a 22-game winning streak, and hasn’t lost since a 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the 2024 College Football Playoff.
Josh Hoover is another elite Indiana quarterback
Indiana brought in Fernando Mendoza last season, and Mendoza ended up winning the Heisman Trophy and going No. 1 in the NFL Draft. Cignetti has now another top quarterback acquired via the portal.
TCU transfer Josh Hoover is off to a great start for Indiana, throwing for 1,364 yards, 17 touchdowns and no interceptions through the first six games. He is also throwing to two of the best wide receivers in the country, Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker.
Hoover had a small turnover problem at TCU, but so far that has been non-existent at Indiana in Cignetti’s system.
This is Indiana’s first test of the season
The Hoosiers are 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference, but they haven’t played a ranked opponent since they beat Northwestern (who was not ranked at the time).
In conference, they have beaten Northwestern, Nebraska, and Rutgers. In non-conference play, they defeated North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky.
Two high-powered offenses
Led by Hoover, Marsh, and Becker, Indiana is third in the conference in points per game (40.2), fourth in touchdowns (31), and second in total points (241). Ohio State is first in the conference in all of those categories.
It should be a fun game on Saturday with the two offenses going head to head.
Hep’s Rock
Indiana has a lot of student traditions, but one of the football-related ones is “Hep’s Rock.”
Behind the north end zone of Memorial Stadium is a limestone boulder known as “Hep’s Rock.” The limestone rock, initially called “The Rock” was changed to “Hep’s Rock” to commemorate former Indiana football coach Terry Hoeppner, who died in 2007.
According to the Indiana Daily Student, the rock is believed to symbolize the team’s strengths and unity, and at each home game, IU football players and coaches touch the rock before taking the field. Fans with a Hoosier Pregame Pass can tour the stadium and see the rock up close.