The 2021 college football season is flying by. After last week’s Homecoming win against Maryland at Ohio Stadium, No. 6 Ohio State has now played the first half of the team’s 12 regular season games, and sits at 5-1 as the year reaches its mid-point. The Buckeyes goals of a Big Ten championship and a return to the College Football Playoff remain a possibility, despite an early season loss to Oregon.
Next week, the Scarlet and Gray get a well-deserved off weekend to recover and continue to get better. The team then travels to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers on Saturday, Oct. 23.
On Monday, the Big Ten announced the kick off times and broadcast channels for the Week 8 slate of games. Ohio State and Indiana will kic off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
The Buckeyes and the Hoosiers have met 93 times throughout the two programs’ histories with the Scarlet and Gray earning a 76-12-5 record. Despite playing nearly every year, Indiana hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 1988, a 41-7 win for Bill Mallory’s Hoosiers against John Cooper’s Buckeyes in Bloomington. That was, in fact, a second consecutive win for IU against the Scarlet and Gray after a 31-10 victory in Columbus the season prior.
Despite the record and recent run of form, Indiana actually dominated the early series between these two teams. The Hoosiers won the first five meetings, all between 1901 and 1905, and then the sixth meeting in 1913. Ohio State’s first victory between the programs didn’t come until 1914, beginning a run where the Buckeyes won 11 of 13 meetings, including one tie.
Last season, a talented and motivated IU team came to Columbus and nearly sprung the upset. Led by quarterback Michael Penix and wide receiver Ty Fryfogle, Indiana scored the final 14 points of the game to cut the Scarlet and Gray’s lead to just seven in the fourth quarter in what ended up begin a 42-35 win for Ohio State.
Although the Hoosiers finished last season 6-2 and ranked No. 11 in the country before coming into this season at No. 17, Tom Allen‘s IU has gone just 2-3 through its first five games of the year, including losses to Iowa, Cincinnati and Penn State.
Following the game against Indiana, the only other contest on Ohio State’s schedule with a start time in the regular season finale against rivals Michigan.
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2021 OHIO STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (Kickoff times/TV TBA unless otherwise noted)
Thursday, Sept. 2: Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31
Saturday, Sept. 11: Oregon 35 Ohio State 28
Saturday, Sept. 18: Ohio State 41 Tulsa 20
Saturday, Sept. 25: Ohio State 59 Akron 7
Saturday, Oct. 2: Ohio State 52 Rutgers 13
Saturday, Oct. 9: Ohio State 66 Maryland 17
OFF WEEK
Saturday, Oct. 23: @ Indiana (7:30 p.m. ET; ABC)
Saturday, Oct. 30: Penn State
Saturday, Nov. 6: @ Nebraska
Saturday, Nov. 13: Purdue
Saturday, Nov. 20: Michigan State
Saturday, Nov. 27: @ Michigan (12 p.m. ET; FOX)
Saturday, Dec. 4: Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis
