The one thing Ohio State needs to do to beat Indiana on the road this season

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As preseason camp begins this week, Land-Grant Holy Land is diving into its final theme every week of the off-season. This week is all about identifying one specific thing sure to make a difference for the Buckeyes this fall. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”The One Thing” articles here.

When the Buckeyes head to Bloomington on Oct. 17, the biggest matchup won’t be Julian Sayin vs. Josh Hoover, Ohio State’s elite defense vs. Indiana’s elite offensive line, or Jeremiah Smith vs. Indiana’s secondary. 

All of those battles are compelling, of course—it’s part of why this matchup stands out on the Buckeyes’ schedule. But if this game between two evenly matched opponents is going to come down to just one thing, as is the prompt of this piece, it will be Ohio State’s five offensive linemen. 

Heading into 2026, expectations for quarterback Julian Sayin are sky-high coming off last season, which ended with him being named a Heisman finalist. Of course, along with Sayin, Jeremiah Smith returns as well, opening the floodgates of possibility for the passing game—if Sayin has enough protection. 

In 2025, the Buckeyes allowed just six sacks in the regular season, an average of just 0.5 sacks per game. Against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship, they allowed five in one game. Then they turned around and did it again, allowing five sacks against Miami in the Cotton Bowl. It was such an uncharacteristically abysmal pair of outings that it’s hard to look ahead to 2026 without ruminating a bit about the postseason breakdown. 

The Hoosiers, for their part, averaged 2.85 sacks per game in 2025, and junior linebacker Rolijah Hardy returns after logging 8 sacks last season. The Buckeyes are returning four starters from their front five, and nearly all nine of the linemen who took meaningful snaps will be back (though some position shuffling is in order and the final lineup has yet to be decided). Ohio State will need to combat the Hoosiers’ defensive front to give Sayin a clean pocket. If Sayin has the pass protection he needs, it opens the field for him and Smith to get something going. If he’s under pressure for most of the game, it could disrupt OSU’s whole rhythm. 

While pass protection will certainly be a major factor in the Buckeyes’ ability to beat the Hoosiers on the road, the offensive line’s job doesn’t start and stop there. Under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the Buckeyes will likely lean more heavily on a physical rushing attack, with play-action factoring in much more than it has in recent years. Last season, OSU ran for just 58 total yards in the Big Ten Championship game. 

In large part, whether Smith’s offense takes hold in Columbus will come down to whether the offensive line wins on first down, something that is even more critical against the Hoosiers than against lesser defenses. 

Despite losing quarterback Fernando Mendoza—the eventual Heisman winner—to the NFL, Indiana will have Josh Hoover (who previously played for TCU) to help the team reload. They’ve also got a threatening offensive line to worry about. While Ohio State’s defense should be talented enough to handle it, the best defense will perhaps come from keeping the Hoosier offense off the field altogether, and that, too, largely comes down to the Buckeye offensive line.

If the O-Line is doing its job, it allows Sayin and Co. to draw up long, methodical drives that extend their time on the field. In doing so, it could ultimately limit Indiana’s possessions, keeping them from finding their rhythm (and possibly keeping them out of the end zone enough to help the Buckeyes win). It also wears the Hoosier defense down over the course of a game.

In this lie the keys to victory for the Buckeyes. If the Buckeyes’ front five can win the battle at the line of scrimmage, the rest of Ohio State’s game should fall into place. If not, it might be deja vu for Buckeye fans. 

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