Enjoy it, Indiana — but don’t count out Ohio State

A few thoughts from the week in sports …

If you live long enough, you’ll see just about everything.

Longtime Ohio State fans like myself, and college sports aficionados across the country, for that matter, witnessed something they never thought they’d see: Indiana win the Big Ten football title.

Indiana’s 13-10 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis Dec. 6 gave the Hoosiers a league championship for the first time since 1967, when they finished in a three-way tie with Minnesota and Purdue.

That was 58 years ago, three years before I was born. The Hoosiers’ last outright Big Ten title came in 1945. The last time Indiana (13-0) beat Ohio State (12-1) was 1988, when I was a senior in high school.

Indiana was known for many decades as a basketball powerhouse, led by Orrville native Bob Knight and his three national titles (1976, 1981, 1987). Football was an afterthought in Hoosier Land.

However, second-year Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has led what former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, now a FOX Sports analyst, called “the greatest turnaround in college football history.”

Meyer said, “It’s the best coaching job I’ve seen in my life.”

The matchup between the then No. 2 Hoosiers and No. 1 Buckeyes lived up to the hype, but it was Indiana that made the key plays down the stretch to pull off the biggest victory in program history.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza showed his toughness by withstanding a huge early hit from Ohio State defensive end Caden Curry to lead the victory. Mendoza likely edged out Ohio State signal caller Julian Sayin for the Heisman Trophy.

It was equal parts disappointing and surreal to watch Mendoza show his excitement in the postgame interviews. Like many athletes in this era, it also was good to see Mendoza praise God.

The setback to Indiana stings, but nothing like losing to Michigan last season.

I actually smiled a little bit listening to Mendoza and Cignetti in the postgame, something I have never done after a Michigan win over Ohio State.

Let the Hoosiers enjoy this rare moment in the sun, but I expect Ohio State to rebound. The Buckeyes will enter the College Football Playoffs in a similar position to last year — coming off a loss.

I don’t think the Buckeyes would have won last year’s national championship if they hadn’t lost to Michigan. Every person connected with the program came together to refocus, give it their all and prove the naysayers wrong.

The 2025 Buckeyes had faced virtually no adversity entering the Big Ten Championship game. Incredibly, they hadn’t even trailed in the second half all season.

Ohio State, which still earned the No. 2 CFP seed, will have several weeks to prepare for the Cotton Bowl Dec. 31, when it will face the winner of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami.

Day and his staff will have to work similar magic to maximize the Buckeyes’ talent, led by Sayin and wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. They are too good to only score one touchdown in a game as they did against Indiana.

The timing of offensive coordinator Brian Hartline accepting the South Florida job and continuing to call the Ohio State plays stinks.

College football should make coaches wait until their present team’s season is over before accepting different jobs.

Day said this week it will be a group effort calling the offense, but Hartline will still be involved. As a Buckeyes alum, Hartline will obviously want to go out as a champion.

Enjoy the Big Ten moment, Indiana, because if there’s a playoff rematch with Ohio State, I can’t imagine lightning striking twice for the Hoosiers.

Parting shots

The South Florida position opened up after Alex Golesh left to take the head coaching job at Auburn.

Triway graduate Parker Carmichael will follow Golesh to Auburn as part of the coaching staff in a yet-to-be-announced role. Carmichael, 28, was a wide receivers assistant coach for South Florida.

Congrats to Parker on working his way up to the SEC.

—Congratulations to Hillsdale, head coach Trevor Cline, his assistant coaches and players on a second straight Division VII state runner-up season.

The Falcons fell to St. Henry 37-3 in the state title game in Canton Dec. 6. This is the seventh straight year a team from the Midwest Athletic Conference won a state title including Marion Local knocking off the Falcons last year.

Hillsdale became the first team in area history to reach a state football title game in two straight seasons.

The senior class set a program record with 42 wins from 2022-25. Senior Owen Sloan set school rushing records in 2025 for yards in a season (2,108) and TDs (32) while also setting career marks in those categories (5,087/72).

Classmate Hayden McFadden set career receiving records for receptions (142), yards (2,969) and TDs (41).

Junior quarterback Kael Lewis has career records for passing yards (5,516) and TDs (62) with his senior year still ahead of him.

—Shedeur Sanders has shown enough for the Browns (3-10) to name him the starting quarterback for the season’s final four games. If the rookie can finish strong, it might lead the Browns to forego drafting a quarterback in 2026 and go after much-needed help at wide receiver and on the offensive line in the early rounds.

I really like what I’ve seen out of Sanders and fellow rookies Carson Schwesinger, Mason Graham, Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin Jr.

The future could be bright if the front office and coaching staff don’t screw things up. But that’s a big “if." Look at their ill-advised two-point conversion play calls as the latest examples in last week’s 31-29 loss to the Titans.

Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com.