No. 4 Ohio State survived a late scare Saturday, escaping Bloomington with a 19-15 win over No. 5 Indiana after a would-be go-ahead touchdown pass was ruled incomplete because receiver Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds before making the catch.
The play, with just over a minute left, ended Indiana's 22-game winning streak and its 19-game home winning streak, both the longest active runs in the Football Bowl Subdivision. It also handed Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti his first home loss in three seasons at Memorial Stadium, on a day that featured the first top-five matchup ever played there, according to Yahoo Sports.
How the final play unfolded
Facing fourth down with the season's two streaks on the line, Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover lobbed a pass down the sideline to a sprinting, wide-open Marsh. The sellout crowd roared, fireworks went off, and even the Buckeyes briefly thought the Hoosiers had done it again. Officials ruled Marsh's left foot came down out of bounds before he secured the catch, and Ohio State ran out the clock.
Hoover's fingerprints were all over the near miss, and the quarterback took the blame afterward. He finished 20 of 40 for 296 yards with one touchdown and his first turnover of the season, a lost fumble. He also left for one play in the third quarter with an apparent right arm injury, wincing through the rest of that drive before getting checked in the medical tent and returning with a thumbs-up for Cignetti.
According to AP News, Ohio State's decisive score came earlier in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Julian Sayin hit Jeremiah Smith for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth down. 247Sports reported that Sayin was knocked out of the game at one point during the physical Big Ten showdown.
Hoover and Cignetti face the loss head-on
Marsh did not speak with reporters after the game, but Hoover defended his teammate without hesitation.
It's not Nick's fault at all, right? Like, if I put it a little bit further inside, it's an easy catch, right? Nick's an unbelievable player but the best thing about Nick is who he is as a guy. I'm glad he's my teammate. I know he's got my back, and I've got his back, too, and we're all going to go back and learn from this tape, try to get better every way we can and we're going to use this to fuel us going forward.
Cignetti, the two-time Associated Press Coach of the Year, said Ohio State's all-out blitz on the final play was something Indiana had prepared for, and the throw simply missed.
Marsh really cooked that guy and Josh just couldn't quite make the throw. It's the kind of game we normally win. We just fell short.
It was a rare stumble for a program that has built a reputation on late-game heroics. Last year's run included a Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza, finding Elijah Sarrat to win at Iowa, a tiebreaking drive immediately after a late pick-6 at Oregon, and Omar Cooper Jr.'s toe-tap winner at Penn State. Just last week, Hoover and Marsh connected on two long touchdown passes to erase an 11-point deficit at Nebraska.
Ohio State thought it was beaten
Buckeyes defensive back Jaylen McClain admitted the miss caught Ohio State off guard.
I thought he caught it at first. But they called it incomplete, so I'll take it.
Coach Ryan Day said he was already mentally preparing for overtime-style pressure.
When the ball was in the air, I started thinking about getting the 2-minute drill ready to go.
The Buckeyes improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in Big Ten play, strengthening their position in the conference race and the College Football Playoff picture. Indiana fell to its first loss since Nov. 23, 2024, when it also lost to Ohio State.
What it means for Indiana and the Big Ten race
Cignetti made clear the loss, however painful, does not derail the season.
It was right there for the taking and we've got to be able to take that one. We've still got to get ready for Michigan. It's still all ahead of us. We can still accomplish all of our goals -- except going undefeated.
The stakes were high given the playoff landscape, where every ranked loss matters for the selection committee. A