Things will look much differently Saturday Night. The picture above was taken in 2023 before the Indiana Hoosiers played the Louisville Cardinals. IU lost 21-14. It was a game Indiana had no business losing.

I was in this mass humanity 37 years ago. That was the last time the Indiana Hoosiers beat the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Keith Jackson was in the house that day. I don’t remember Keith ever being there before or after. TV games were few and far between then. Indiana won the game 41-7 on a beautiful and warm October 8th afternoon. Anthony Thompson ran for 190 yards and four TDs. For me this was THE GAME that I held onto for so long. I never thought anything I would witness at Memorial Stadium would ever top it. Then came this year’s dismantling of #9 ranked Illinois by a score of 63-10. That game topped it.

In full disclosure, I have sat down three times this week trying to write something about the Big Ten Championship Game when the Indiana Hoosiers will be the designated “away” team and the Ohio State Buckeyes will be the “home” team inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. In earnest, it is all a bit much for this old boy. I have written ad nauseum about every aspect of what has been working for Indiana this year. Great offense led by the best QB in the land. Balanced offense led by an offensive line that protects the quarterback or make holes “big enough to drive a truck through” as they say. A gifted receiving corps is there. Running by committee and all the backs running hard and making the most of their carries.

Yep. I think Indiana will win this one and Fernando Mendoza will win the Heisman Trophy. Not because OSU has beaten Indiana 30 straight times and it is Indiana’s time. With a nod to Coach Cig, this team didn’t lose those 30 games.

Tight End Riley Nowakowski will be a difference maker in this game. While the Buckeyes are chasing 3 wides down the field, Nowakowski will be underneath dragging over the middle, and Mendoza will hit him five times in the first half. Two of them will go for touchdowns. #37 looks like the 80s Kellen Winslow with legs that belong to Earl Campbell.

Defensively, what else is there? A plus 17 turnover ratio leads the nation. Like OSU, Indiana’s defense doesn’t give up many points. The D-line is solid and the stunts they run give the other team’s O-Line fits. Linebackers that don’t make mistakes and are ball hawks. The secondary? D’Angelo Ponds. Louis Moore. These guys will be ready for anything the Buckeyes throw at them.

Above from left to right you will find each team’s average score/ number of first downs given up by penalty/ turnover ratio/ yards penalized per game. The Indiana Hoosiers play the game better than any other team plays the game. You can’t make this stuff up. Coach Curt Cignetti has led the greatest turnaround in college sports history.

Come kickoff time, if I make it through that play without hyperventilating, I’ll steal a line from Vern of Stand by Me fame. “This is a really good time.” I never thought we would be here.