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The Indiana Hoosiers’ potential result against the Ohio State Buckeyes has been the No. 1 topic of discussion in college football circles leading into Week 13.
Indiana enters Columbus with an undefeated record, but its College Football Playoff position could be in peril with a loss.
At minimum, Indiana must keep the game within the point spread to feel like it competed with the second-ranked Buckeyes.
Some would argue that a 10-point loss would not be good enough to save Indiana from falling behind the collection of two-loss SEC teams.
All of the college football focus in Week 13 will be on Ohio Stadium, but there are a few other important clashes that will take place later in the day, especially in the Big 12.
Week 13 Top 25 Schedule and Odds
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Friday, November 22
No. 24 UNLV (-7.5) at San Jose State (10 p.m. ET, FS1)
Saturday, November 23
No. 5 Indiana at No. 2 Ohio State (-10) (Noon ET, Fox)
Wake Forest at No. 8 Miami (-24) (Noon ET, ESPN)
No. 9 Ole Miss (-11.5) at Florida (Noon ET, ABC)
No. 13 SMU (-9.5) at Virginia (Noon ET, ESPN2)
No. 25 Illinois at Rutgers (-1.5) (Noon ET, Peacock)
UMass at No. 10 Georgia (-42) (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
UTEP at No. 11 Tennessee (-41) (1 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Kentucky at No. 3 Texas (-20) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 4 Penn State (-11) at Minnesota (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 14 BYU at No. 21 Arizona State (-3) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 16 Colorado (-3) at Kansas (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
The Citadel at No. 17 Clemson (3:30 p.m. ET, CW)
Wofford at No. 18 South Carolina (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 19 Army vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (-14) (7 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 12 Boise State (-22.5) at Wyoming (7 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
No. 7 Alabama (-13.5) at Oklahoma (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 15 Texas A&M (-2.5) at Auburn (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 22 Iowa State (-7) at Utah (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
No. 5 Indiana (+10) at No. 2 Ohio State
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The undefeated Hoosiers have had two weeks to prepare for the biggest game in the program’s history in quite some time.
Indiana’s offense has eclipsed the 30-point mark in nine of its 10 wins. A 30-point performance might be enough to give it the win inside Ohio Stadium.
However, the Hoosiers’ point total is more likely to be in the high teens or the 20s because of how strong the Buckeyes defense is.
Ohio State gave up seven points in its last two games and held the Penn State Nittany Lions to 13 points in its last top-five showdown.
The Oregon Ducks were able to put 32 points on the Buckeyes defense, so there is hope for Kurtis Rourke and the Hoosiers to have a big day, but that result was more of an exception than the trend for Ohio State’s season.
Under 53 may be the best bet for the entire game because of how impressive the Buckeyes have been on defense.
While OSU’s defense is the strongest unit on paper in the game, Indiana has found ways to score against all sorts of Big Ten opponents. Rourke is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the FBS, so he should not be fazed by the environment in Columbus.
The Hoosiers will need a few big plays to open up the Ohio State defense, and if they can get that and find the end zone two or three times, they should at least stay within the number.
A competitive loss is the minimum result required for the Hoosiers to avoid a massive tumble in Tuesday’s CFB Playoff rankings.
No. 14 BYU at No. 21 Arizona State (-3)
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The BYU Cougars’ CFB Playoff hopes were dashed in Week 12 by the Kansas Jayhawks.
They can be buried by the Arizona State Sun Devils, who have playoff aspirations of their own, in Week 13.
Arizona State has played the better football than BYU over the last month and that will continue to show on Saturday.
BYU’s offense was stuck in neutral in the last two weeks against Kansas and the Utah Utes, both of whom experienced their share of struggles in 2024.
Arizona State has been arguably the most consistent team in the Big 12, and it is coming off a 24-14 road win over the Kansas State Wildcats that was over by halftime.
Last week’s defensive showing was the best ASU’s defense has looked all year, and if the unit can replicate that performance on Saturday, the Sun Devils should cruise past a sinking BYU team.
A win would put ASU in a great position to advance to the Big 12 Championship Game and play for the league’s lone bid into the CFB Playoff.
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