This offense had been set to 2nd gear for most of the season.
It was widely believed to be deliberate, as the Buckeyes cruised through roughly 42 of 48 quarters en route to 12 wins with minimal anxiety. Ohio State rode the brakes for three months and it didn't cost them a thing.
This defense was as good as any we've ever seen in Columbus. That meant the guys the offense practiced against during the week were better than the guys they would face on Saturdays.
Also, it still hasn't allowed 17 points in a game. Second gear was more than fast enough.
It helped that none of Ohio State's opponents were very good. The first playoff unit the Buckeyes played showed up on Saturday. Overall, they faced as many ranked teams back in the month of January as they got during the entire 2025 regular season.
Wisconsin ended up playing seven, including five in a row, so this wasn't a B1G thing. Same conference! It's life in an 18-team B1G. Ohio State drew a favorable slate in 2025.
The Buckeyes' two victims that are still ranked will face each other when No.14 Texas takes on No.18 Michigan in the Who Gives a Shit Bowl, which will finish up right around the time the Buckeyes kick off their CFP Quarterfinal game against the second playoff team they'll see.
Ohio State's 4th string TIGHT END played more than ITs STARTING SLOT RECEIVER DID, ALLOWING INDIANA to keep its preferred 4-3 defense on the field all night.
The time to shift into a higher gear is up for debate. Saying Indy was the moment to accelerate is plausible, but suggesting a conference title ranked a distant third among program goals - and shouldn't get in the way of the big one still remaining - also passes the blush test.
Regardless, choosing to play a 1 vs. 2 game in 2nd gear can only be described as arrogant.
During the season, it allowed the offense to experiment with offensive line packages and tight end rotations, play a lot of depth and preserve the fellas for a 16-game journey while tinkering with their identity. We believed that final form was whatever 5th gear looked like.
That could still be the case - everyone vividly remembers how the 2024 season finished.
But the urgency to shift gears was lacking from August to December, because if Ohio State wanted to win with heavy formations, it could. If it wanted to create a little highlight real through the air in lighter sets with its unguardable receivers, elevating Julian Sayin from Redshirt Freshman to Heisman Candidate - same story.
The Buckeyes rolled with four running backs nearly every game, played with their food and competed with themselves in the name of Efficiency and Control without stepping on too many rakes along the way.
But most of all, the guy in charge assured everybody that the offense was in fact moving this slowly on purpose. When the time came to turn up the gas, they would do so:
Efficiency is what were after, Ryan Day said. Thats how you control the game. When its time to turn up the gas, we will.https://t.co/OJMxEwKG3A pic.twitter.com/B17ETxissJ
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 7, 2025
Day also said just last week while preparing for this game that it was now time to go. No more self-imposed speed limits was a reasonable interpretation. No more School Zones to drive through.
This freedom to operate made easy work of ten largely dogshit opponents, with apologies to Washington (four total votes in the final AP poll from 66 voters) and Illinois (two votes) who are both just cold dried dogshit that doesn't smell quite as bad.
Two memorable periods during the first dozen games signaled what 5th gear would look like. The 1st half at Wisconsin was a dazzling air show; a whisper to Buckeye fans that Ryan Day could hammer the accelerator if he chose to.
And the 2nd half against Penn State was the other. A tight game became a bit of a laugher because Ohio State's offense made it funny. Keeping everyone fresh for that run through the holiday season was all anyone would remember anyway.
Game 13 finally arrived. Every statistical model screamed that Indiana was Ohio State's match on every side of the ball. The Hoosiers passed the eye test. Their accelerator has been jammed in 5th gear since Curt Cignetti's arrival last season.
So it was the no.2 team in the country that was brave and bold on Saturday night, scheming up and taking shots the Buckeyes rode to acclaim a year ago, albeit later this month. The Hoosiers didn't find any soft spots in Ohio State's defense, but their veteran quarterback made some Heismanesque plays along the way.
The end result was just 13 points, IU's season low. No opponent had held them under 20.
If the Buckeyes BEGIN THE COTTON BOWL IN 2nd gear, the parallels between THE 2024 POSTSEASON And this year's playoff will officially be over.
The no.1 team in the country took the field in a fast-track climate-controlled environment and just sort of tinkered with its dashboard - a slow start reminiscent of that comforting 2nd gear. Ohio State's offense operated with all of the urgency of a Sunday driver, which is to say it looked a lot like it had over the entirety of the regular schedule.
Indiana harassed Tegra Tshabola all the way to the bench and continued to torment the Buckeyes' offensive line with pressure while confusing Sayin with disguised and mixed coverages all night. Indiana scouted Ohio State correctly!
Forcing the right side of the OL to cave in on itself while hoping that the Buckeyes' wide receivers don't end up posing for end zone cameras too many times is the only way to beat this team. It's really hard to do. But Ohio State chose to help IU make that happen.
Bennett Christian, Ohio State's 4th string TE played more than starting slot receiver Brandon Inniss did, which allowed the Hoosiers' defense to keep its preferred 4-3 defense on the field all night. The Buckeyes did not force any schematic discomfort whatsoever.
Christian was also the target for the Buckeyes penultimate 3rd & goal attempt in the 4th quarter, prior to latest installment of the Ohio State Is Deeply Unserious About Special Teams series which has been in syndication since the pandemic.
He was guarded by Rolijah Hardy, a swift and disciplined Navy transfer playing exactly the way IU wants to play defense. Here's a photo of that play. Do you notice anything else beside Hardy in great position?
Four Tight Ends and Zero Wide Receivers: Jelani Thurman (15), Nate Roberts (83) and Will Kacmarek (89) look on as Bennett Christian fails to secure a touchdown against Indiana in the 4th quarter during the 2025 Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
There are four tight ends in that picture and none of them are Max Klare, that unit's best receiver. Ohio State's Bison package, as it's called in the practice facility. If you're a fan of irony, go look up what IU's new mascot is named.
Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate were both on the sideline. This wasn't 2nd gear. This was an immediate breathalyzer test. The only receiver not yet mentioned who played on Saturday was walk-on and program legacy Dave Adolph, who got on the field for one snap.
At risk of driving our car metaphor off a cliff, any gear faster than 2nd should feature tempo, more than two wide receivers - or both. Five tight ends played against Indiana, which allowed IU's defense to play as the best version of itself and IU coaches to exhale in relief.
Is the best version of Ohio State's offense the one where the first receiver who will be taken in the 2026 NFL Draft is on the sideline standing next to the first receiver and possibly the first player taken in 2027? Choosing to operate this way had to bring a huge sense of relief to Indiana's coaching staff.
This wasn't frightened football. Ohio State's disrespect for the Indiana defense was Biblically metaphorical on Saturday night. Indiana was a 12-0 opponent playing the biggest game in program history and the Buckeyes rolled with a Hello Kitty game plan thinking that would be enough to beat them.
Of course there are distractions that come with your play-caller taking a promotion in Tampa, your top recruit's commitment wobbling for 48 hours during game prep and Michigan Eating That Shit afterglow all softening a proper game plan. Requiring full operational capacity to remember your starting receivers are an unfair advantage is a non-starter. This was a deliberate choice.
Ryan Day and OSU TE coach Keenan Bailey walk along the sideline during the B1G championship game in Indianapolis on Dec. 6, 2025. © Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
What's potentially frightening is the idea that Ohio State's coaches don't appear to trust a single receiver coming off the bench. This includes recruiting triumphs like Mylan Graham, Quincy Porter, Bryson Rodgers, De'Zie Jones, Phillip Bell, Dorian Williams and Damarion Witten - all of whom have shed their Black Stripes and none of whom played as much as the Buckeyes' 5th string tight end did on Saturday.
At worst, any of them could have served as decoys which might have forced IU into a defensive set it prefers to avoid. At best, hey - maybe they can find out next month. Any team taking Indiana lightly at this stage of Cignetti's tenure is actively and passionately trying to lose to the Hoosiers, and the Buckeyes were still a play away from taking the lead despite being so cute.
Indianapolis was the most expendable goal of the three the program has for itself, so perhaps this was one Day decided was worth burning to preserve transmission fluid they'll need, starting on New Year's Eve.
You'll know no later than halftime how the postseason will go. If the Buckeyes take the field in Arlington in 2nd gear cruise control again, the parallels between last year's title run and this year's playoff will officially be over. A 16-game journey doesn't require 15 games of active preservation, and Ohio State's playoff route doesn't have any softness in it. All of the school zones were during the regular season.
If the Buckeyes decide to show the world what the fully-functional and thus far imaginary version of this behemoth looks like, we could be in for another treat. And that should be the only strategy remaining for what's scheduled to be the final three games of the season.
Otherwise, they will have spent four months keeping the roster fresh for February workouts. IU and OSU have plenty in common this season. Both programs have a winning culture and elite coaching. The right sides of their OLs are a little rickety. They both have Heisman candidate quarterbacks and defenses good enough to win a national title.
And both teams were prepared to neutralize Ohio State on Saturday night in Indianapolis.
