After three games against teams with a combined record of 2-10, Ohio State will finally get its first challenge Saturday. 

The No. 9 Hoosiers come into Columbus with their first 4-0 start since 2015 and their highest ranking in the AP poll since they were No. 10 in 1969. Although Indiana has been a surprise for many in the Big Ten, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said he wasn’t caught off guard by the Hoosiers’ sudden emergence. 

“I’m not that surprised. I think they have a really good scheme on both sides of the ball, they do a good job coaching and they’ve updated their personnel,” Day said. “You could see them getting better last year — they played really, really well.” 

Indiana’s hot start was kicked off by its thrilling 36-35 overtime win over Penn State to open the season. The Hoosiers continued their stellar play following the upset, winning their next three games by an average of 19 points.  

However, like Ohio State, the Hoosiers haven’t faced a real challenge at this point in the season. Indiana has amassed their 4-0 record against teams with a combined record of 3-13. 

In what has been an unconventional year in the Big Ten, Indiana holds the top spot in the Big Ten East thanks to the cancelation of Ohio State’s Nov. 14 game against Maryland. With off years for traditional Big Ten juggernauts, Day praised the Hoosiers for taking advantage of the situation. 

“In all three phases, they make very few mistakes. They’re playing well and I think they’re the ones that deserve the credit more than anything else,” Day said. 

Ohio State was able to rout Indiana 51-10 in 2019, but the Hoosiers were without then-redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. — who has thrown for nine touchdowns and rushed for two more in 2020. 

The 2019 Hoosiers finished with a record of 8-5 and peaked at No. 24 in the AP Poll before once again falling amongst the unranked. 

The Ohio State offensive line will be tasked with countering an Indiana defensive attack that disguises pressure frequently. 

Leading the conference in sacks with 12, the Hoosiers have held opponents to an average scoring output of 19.3 points per game. 

With their stout pass rush, the Hoosiers utilize pressure to force quarterbacks into mistakes and turnovers. Indiana has intercepted 10 passes, which is the highest mark in the Big Ten— with junior cornerback Jaylin Williams leading the way with three. 

Ohio State junior quarterback Justin Fields attributed Indiana’s ability to force turnovers in the passing game to its aggressive pass rush scheme.

“From what I’ve seen on film, they blitz and the quarterback doesn’t know where it’s coming from and the quarterback is surrounded in the pocket and then he ends up making a bad decision or making an error and throws it up,” Fields said. “That’s gonna be the toughest part this week, is just picking up their blitzes, and if we do that, I feel like we’ll be pretty successful.” 

On the other side, Ohio State’s defense has only picked off one pass in 2020. 

A largely unproven Ohio State secondary will be tasked with measuring up against a passing attack that features two proven receivers and a 6-foot-4 tight end. 

Senior wide receivers Whop Philyor and Ty Fryfogle have combined for 711 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2020. Redshirt junior tight end Peyton Hendershot has added another three touchdowns to the tally. 

“I think the thing they do a really, really good job of is they get the ball out quick, they catch the football,” Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said Wednesday. “Their philosophy is they’re going to spread the field and they’re going to see if they can’t get it out quick before you can get there and then go from there.” 

Although the 2020 team will face its biggest challenge of the season when Indiana rolls into town, the Buckeyes are no stranger to top-10 matchups. The game against Indiana will mark the fifth instance in the last eight games in which Ohio State has faced off against another top-10 opponent. 

“Whether somebody’s 4-0 or 0-4, we have to win every game here, so every game’s big, but when Indiana’s playing the way they are right now, it’s certainly a little bit different in the fact that this is a major challenge for us,” Day said Tuesday. “It’s a challenge every time we play a game, but the way they’re playing and the way they’ve won games, our margin for error gets smaller and smaller.”