Dec. 5, 2025, 8:26 a.m. PT
It’s an immovable force versus an immovable object. Indiana, Ohio State, and the two teams’ elite defenses will square off in Indianapolis this Saturday, and one of them will finally lose in 2025.
The stakes are clear: the winner locks down the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The loser could see its seed shift significantly based on what happens in other league championship games across the country.
It’s the kind of epic football game you don’t want to miss. And for Trojan fans, it’s the kind of game that could have an effect on USC’s football future. So, from a USC perspective, here is some things to watch during the game on Saturday.
Julian Sayin’s performance
Indiana star quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, is likely headed for the NFL draft after Indiana’s playoff run ends. But Julian Sayin is just a sophomore, and USC will have to play him next season. The Trojans hope that USC-Ohio State in 2026 will have even comparable stakes to this game.
How will Sayin fare in the biggest game of his career? Will Indiana’s elite pass rush force him into the worst game of his collegiate career, or will he show that he’s more than just the weapons around him?
USC needs to learn from how Indiana attacks Sayin, taking stock both of what does and does not work.
The coaching matchup
Curt Cignetti has been brilliant ever since he arrived on campus ahead of the 2024 season. But, by virtue of Indiana’s relatively manageable schedules, he hasn’t found himself in too many elite coaching matchups in the last two seasons.
That’s plenty of credit to Cignetti that he’s been just far and away better than everyone else. And, he has beaten guys like Kirk Ferentz and Dan Lanning.
But Cigetti’s two losses are two two coaches who were in the CFP title game last season: Marcus Freeman and of course, Ryan Day himself.
Can Cignetti win the rematch with Ryan Day, and if he does, does that mean he is the best coach in the Big Ten? What does that say for Ryan Day’s legacy? Very intriguing questions indeed.
USC fans can also compare/contrast how well these teams do the fundamentals and intangibles compared to USC and get a better idea of where some of the Trojans’ coaching shortcomings may be.
Jeremiah Smith hate watch?
Okay, maybe not. We can’t blame Jeremiah Smith for the media’s shortcomings, that’s on the media.
But still, it is frustrating that Smith just won the Richter-Howard Big Ten receiver of the year award for the second straight season when Makai Lemon clearly had a statistically superior season. Lemon had more catches, yards and yards per catch than Smith this year, and each receiver had 11 touchdowns. It’s simple math. There’s no reason why Jeremiah Smith’s season should be considered better. And to make this all worse, it just feels like foreshadowing of what’s to come with the Biletnkioff.
I am not advocating for a full on hate-watch, that’s not actually my style. But if Smith makes a bad play and you let loose a few grumbles about how Makai Lemon is better, I won’t blame you.
Indiana’s receivers
I think Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt are even better than everyone says they are. Their elite play was a big reason why Indiana was able to dissect Oregon’s elite pass defense and win in Eugene.
I bet they shine again against a very good Buckeye pass defense. I think either one of them could have a better day than Jeremiah Smith, and when the dust settles on this game, Indiana’s clutch receiver play could be the reason we are talking about the Hoosiers as the winners.
Mistakes, turnovers
In USC’s three losses to Illinois, Notre Dame and Oregon, there was a common theme: none of the teams did a particularly good job at playing mistake free football.
Penalties. Turnovers. Inexplicable decision making. The Illini, Irish and Ducks practically begged USC to stay in the game, but the Trojans made more mistakes and got dominated on the ground in each of those three losses.
Ohio State and Indiana have dominant records, but it hasn’t been pretty 24/7. Obviously these are college kids who are going to make mistakes, but neither of these teams seem to be 2019 LSU.
What mistakes will each team make? How will they respond. Will it look like USC-Oregon, leaving Trojan fans all the more frustrated at how close USC came to a College Football Playoff berth? Or will these two teams prove why they are a cut above and put a blueprint on tape for the kind of mistake-free football that the Trojans need to play next season.