A budding rivalry came out of nowhere between a College Football blue blood, Ohio State, and an upstart Indiana Hoosiers Program.
In 2024, a new college football rivalry spawned virtually out of nowhere, as the Ohio State Buckeyes have been college football royalty since the sport began centuries ago.
Indiana, not so much.
The Indiana Hoosiers claim-to-fame is on the hardwood, but it has never really been relevant in college football.
In 127 seasons, the program boasts a 505-692-38 record, good for a win percentage of 40 percent. They have been in the Big Ten since its inaugural season in 1903 as a charter member, they have won the conference just two times. Indiana has made just 13 bowl games in their program history, and they are 3-10.
They have largely been a disappointment, that is, until the 2024 offseason, when they gave their head coaching job to Curt Cignetti. The outstanding coach turned James Madison into a bit of a winner, but that's just James Madison. No one believed that he could make Indiana relevant. It was going to be yet another coach that came in and fizzled out at the helm in Bloomington.
However, Cignetti had other plans.
Immediately after being hired, he came in and changed the culture in Indiana. In his first year, he led the Hoosiers to an 11 win season, including 8 wins in conference. It was the most wins in program history, and it was the most wins they had had since 1945, when they went 9-0-1.
While it was a fun season, they had two major tests last year that they were not quite ready for in 2024. The first one came in late November when the Hoosiers had climbed the ranks all the way up to No. 5 in the country. They geared up for a trip to Columbus to face the big brother and see if what they were was real.
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Unfortunately for them, it was not. Indiana matched Ohio State's physicality early, but then, the dam broke, and it was an onslaught. The Hoosiers played a tilted game, and their hope began to crumble when star safety Caleb Downs had a 79-yard punt return that punched Ohio State's 14-7 lead up to 21-7, and the Buckeyes were off to the races.
This was the first round it what is looking like is going to be one heck of a rivalry between these two schools over the next decade. The Hoosiers aren't going anywhere, and as long as Ohio State has Ryan Day at the helm, they aren't going anywhere either.
Saturday in Indianapolis is the second round of this fight, and it is going to be a good one. These are the two best teams in college football, and they are going to take center stage for the world to see.
Both teams are ready for the challenge, and it is a precursor to a potential National Championship game in about a month.
Ohio State and Indiana has become a must-see matchup.