FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Big Ten Championship Game
GAME 13
Big Ten Championship Game
No. 1/1/1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 B1G) vs. No. 2/2/2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0 B1G)
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Ind.
Setting The Scene
• No. 2/2/2 Indiana will head to the state capital to face No. 1/1/1 Ohio State in the Discover Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday (Dec. 6) at 8 p.m. inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on FOX.
• The game marks Indiana's first appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game and the first time Indiana has won a share of the Big Ten regular season championship since 1967.
• Ohio State won last year's game in Columbus, 38-15, and leads the series, 81-12-5. Indiana is seeking its first win over Ohio State since 1988.
• Saturday's contest will be the 52nd time ever that the No. 1 and No. 2 team in the AP poll (since 1936) face off. It is the third time in a conference championship game and 10th time that two teams from the same conference will meet. The last No. 1 versus No. 2 game was in 2022 between Georgia and Tennessee. There have been two previous iterations amongst Big Ten teams (Iowa-Michigan, 1985; Ohio State-Michigan, 2006).
News & Notes
• Indiana's ranking in the AP and USA Today/US LBM Coaches Poll is No. 2 for the seventh-straight week. The Hoosiers also have been ranked at No. 2 in each of the four editions of the College Football Playoff rankings this season.
• The 23 victories since the beginning of the 2024 season are the most in any two-year span in program history and rank tied for No. 4 nationally in that time. The 17 Big Ten wins during that span are also the most in a two-year stretch in IU history. MORE ON PAGE 4
• Curt Cignetti's 23 victories in his first two seasons at Indiana are the second most in Big Ten history by a coach in his first two seasons at a school. The victory over Purdue broke a tie with Fielding Yost (22, 1901-02; Michigan) and he trails only Urban Meyer (24, 2012-13; Ohio State).
• Cignetti's 23 wins are tied for No. 6 in FBS history by a coach in his first two seasons at a school.
• Indiana capped the first perfect regular season in program history with a 12-0 record. The only other IU team to finish without a loss is the 1945 team at 9-0-1. The 12 victories are the most in a single season.
• The nine Big Ten wins are the most in program history and the 9-0 mark is the first time IU has won each of its conference games in a single season.
• Since 1980, there have only been 12 perfect regular seasons in the Big Ten (6, Ohio State; 3, Michigan; 1, Penn State; 1, Oregon; 1 Indiana).
• The Hoosiers are 43-27-1 all-time as a ranked team, which includes a 36-20-1 mark in Big Ten play.
• Indiana finished the regular season with an unblemished record on the road for just the third time in program history: 2025 (5-0), 1920 (3-0) and 1910 (2-0). The 1945 team went 5-0-1.
• The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an unblemished record at Memorial Stadium, its sixth such season since the venue opened in 1960. The other seasons include 1967 (5-0), 1987 (6-0), 1991 (5-0), 2020 (3-0), and 2024 (8-0).
• Head coach Curt Cignetti started a season with a 12-0 mark for the first time in his head coaching tenure, after he started back-to-back seasons at 10-0 (Indiana, 2024; James Madison, 2023).
• The 56-3 win over Purdue marked the sixth time in program history that Indiana has won by 50-or-more points with three of those coming in Big Ten play. The three 50-plus point wins in conference play are the only such wins in program history.
• Fernando Mendoza threw two touchdown passes in the win over the Boilermakers to move him to 32 on the year, the most of any Hoosier in a single season and is No. 1 in the FBS and Big Ten. MORE ON PAGE 7
• Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. are tied for the Big Ten lead with 11 touchdown receptions with Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) and Makai Lemon (USC). The Hoosier duo is also among the top-10 of the program's career receiving touchdowns charts. MORE ON PAGE 9
• Stephen Daley had 4.5 tackles for loss versus the Boilermakers to put him at No. 1 in the Big Ten with 18.0. MORE ON PAGE 13
Big Ten Championship Game Links
Preparation Fuels IU’s Big Ten Title Game Opportunity (FEATURE)
Media Monday: Big Ten Championship Game (VIDEO)
Indiana Game Notes (PDF)
Keep up with all of the Indiana football insight from IUHoosiers.com staff writer Pete DiPrimio on Don't Miss a Pete.