Indiana's 22-Game Winning Streak Ends Against Ohio State

Indiana lost to Ohio State, 19-15, ending its 22-game winning streak and handing coach Curt Cignetti his first home defeat. With 1:02 left, quarterback Josh Hoover looked for receiver Nick Marsh on fourth-and-4 from Ohio State’s 27-yard line. Marsh caught the ball while crossing the goal line, but his left foot went out of bounds before his right foot came down in bounds. That ended Indiana’s bid to keep the streak alive.

The Final Drive

Hoover said Marsh ran a good route, though he didn’t have time to see where the receiver was headed. “I just tried to put it up in the air, put to a spot. Shoot, it’s a game of inches, right?” he said. According to the account of the play, a throw slightly farther inside could have resulted in a touchdown.

The fourth-down try came after another turnover on the same drive. A backside blitz forced Hoover to fumble on fourth-and-4 from the 27. Indiana had receivers open, but Hoover couldn’t get the throw off in time. The team got another chance to take the lead with its final pass to Marsh, but the catch wasn’t enough to preserve the streak.

Indiana receiver Davion Chandler fumbled two plays after halftime, after gaining 19 yards. Ohio State turned that turnover into a field goal. On Indiana’s next drive, the blitz made Hoover fumble. Cignetti also cited missed passes and a field goal that struck the crossbar as chances Indiana failed to convert.

“We had a lot of opportunities out there we didn’t cash in on, especially in the second half,” Cignetti said. He identified offensive execution as the main problem. “Hmm. I think we kind of learned our lessons before this game, and we just weren’t good enough today to seize it.”

Players’ Accounts

Indiana receiver Charlie Becker hauled in nine passes for 165 yards. “It sucks. But the sun’s going to rise tomorrow. We’re going to get better,” Becker said. Safety Amare Ferrell, who made two interceptions, said, “One loss doesn’t define the whole season.”

The defeat marked Indiana’s first loss since the final game of the 2024 season and its first home loss since 2023. Its 22-game winning streak ranked seventh-longest in Big Ten history. Cignetti’s first home defeat came in a rematch of the Big Ten title game from the previous December.

The Program After the Loss

Indiana entered the game as defending national champion. The contest took place at home in what the report described as perhaps the biggest event in Bloomington history. Ohio State won the College Football Playoff in 2024. Before Indiana’s rise, people had described the program as the losingest in college football history.

Cignetti said he’d let the team sit with the loss for 24 hours before turning its attention to Michigan. He said the team could still reach its goals, with one exception: “(We can) accomplish anything we want. All of our goals, except going undefeated.”

The account covers the players’ performance, turnovers and missed scoring chances. It gives no figures on revenue, player compensation, ownership, government action or organized labor connected to the game.