Here's What They Said About Indiana and Ohio State on College GameDay

Indiana has a big game with No. 5-ranked Ohio State on Saturday night, and the experts on ESPN's College GameDay show spent a lot of time talking about the showdown and all that's coming down the road as the Big Ten race plays out.
Here's What They Said About Indiana and Ohio State on College GameDay
Here's What They Said About Indiana and Ohio State on College GameDay /

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The top four teams in the Big Ten East — Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State — begin their round-robin play next week, but the experts on College GameDay on ESPN made sure to point out there are things they still want to see from the big boys this weekend.

Indiana hosts Ohio State on Saturday night in Bloomington, and there was plenty of conversation about the game.

— Desmond Howard on Indiana's defense:

"Ohio State versus Indiana. Indiana's defense controlled the game last weekend against Michigan State keeping pressure on the quarterback and creating turnovers, but now this is a different animal. Ohio State's still on that tour, and in case you forgot, this is who we are and we're going to show tonight, primetime against the Hoosiers.''

— David Pollak on Ohio State getting better 

"We better pack our winter coats. We're going to be spending time in the Midwest. Getting better this week? If you're Ohio State, you feel good about the offense. It's just the Ohio State defense, it's just so different. When we're nervous, we watch tape, and if you watch their scheme from before from what they used to be to what they are now, it's just so different. That's what we do. But Indiana defensively also does some fun things defensively and schematically. 

— Kirk Herbstreit on Ohio State's defense after slow start

"Ohio State has tweaked some things on defense and the linebacker play is better. It's been different. They look better, but again, we'll know today and next week (against Penn State) how much they've improved.

— Rece Davis wrong with Indiana trivia answer

The Aflac trivia question today asked "Which Power 5 team has gone the longest without beating a top-10 and ESPN College Gameday host Rece Davis guessed it was Indiana.

That would be wrong, of course, because Indiana beat No. 8 Penn State in the season opener last year. The correct answer was Wake Forest, which hasn't beaten a top-10 team since 1946.

The entire panel picks Ohio State to beat Indiana

"I got Ohio State big. They're going to beat Indiana easy.'' — Desmond Howard

"I'm going with Ohio State here. This is John Havlicek, Jerry Lucas''. — Bill Walton

"Ohio State remembers last year when it was a close game. Now there's going to be payback. Ohio State by 21.'' — Lee Corso

"You said the corners were down for Indiana, and that's really bad timing. Really bad timing for (Ohio State quarterback) C.J. Stroud.'' — Kirk Herbstreit. 

The graphic came up that he was picking Ohio State. He wasn't able to say it, because he was interrupted by Walton, who still has no business being on TV.

— Reece Davis with bold prediction about Purdue

"I not only like Purdue (Saturday against Wisconsin), but I like Purdue to win the Big Ten West and lose to Ohio State in the championship game.'' The entire panel picked Purdue to win at home today, where they are 3.5-point underdogs against Wisconsin at Ross-Ade Stadium. 

Related stories on Indiana football

  • HOW TO WATCH: Indiana is back home again for the second straight weekend, taking on No 5-ranked Ohio State under the lights at Memorial Stadium. It's a primetime national TV game, so here's how to watch, with game times, TV information, the latest on the point spread and more. CLICK HERE
  • GAMEDAY PREDICTION: HoosiersNow.com publisher Tom Brew breaks down the Indiana vs. Ohio State game, and talks about how the convergence of timing and talent might be coming at a bad time for the Hoosiers. Here's his pick. CLICK HERE
  • OPPOSING SIDELINE: Here's what Ohio State's players and coaches are saying about the matchup with Indiana on Saturday night. CLICK HERE
  • TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana has lost four straight games to ranked opponents to start the season, and confidence can be a fragile thing. It's a fine line to walk, Hoosiers coach Tom Allen says, in fixing mistakes but also keeping player confident and aware that they can succeed. CLICK HERE
  • LOTS, GATES OPEN EARLY: To better handle the sellout crowd expected for Saturday night's game between Ohio State and Indiana at Memorial stadium, the university is opening the campus parking lots and stadium gates earlier than usual. Here are all the details. CLICK HERE
  • RYDER ANDERSON INTERVIEW: Indiana defensive end Ryder Anderson joined the Mike & Micah podcast on Tuesday night, and he had plenty of great stories to tell, including being able to laugh now about roughing up quarterback Jack Tuttle in the Outback Bowl in January when he was still playing for Ole Miss. CLICK HERE
  • MICHAEL PENIX INTERVIEW: Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. updated his injury status during the Mike & Micah podcast on Tuesday night, and defensive end Ryder Anderson was a special guest, and he had a ton of great stories to share with the audience. CLICK HERE

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.