Greg McElroy predicts Big Ten Championship between Indiana, Ohio State

No. 1 getting pitted against No. 2 does not happen too often in college football, let alone a conference championship game. But the Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers face off Saturday night in Indianapolis. Both seemingly already have spots in the College Football Playoff locked down, now just fighting for the top spot on Selection Sunday.

ESPN’s Greg McElroy decided to make a prediction on the game, rolling with Ohio State. He cited the matchup between Ohio State’s wide receivers and the IU secondary. Covering the likes of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate will be too much for the Hoosiers to overcome, in McElroy’s opinion.

“I think Indiana is far more capable this year to pull off the upset,” McElroy said. “But I think their secondary is going to struggle with Ohio State’s length at wide receiver. I think they need a couple of turnovers to steal it. I don’t think they will. Give me the Buckeyes, I think they get it done.”

In fairness, almost every team out there runs into trouble when looking to match up against Smith and Tate. They are the best one-two combo in the sport, making the job of quarterback Julian Sayin pretty simple — get the ball to 4 and 17.

Smith had 34 yards against Indiana last season on just three catches. Tate put together a slightly more productive day, hauling four passes for 68 yards. Of course, now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Emeka Egbuka was still on the roster. He brought in the lone receiving touchdown on the afternoon.

Ohio State winning would break a mini-drought the program is currently on. Ryan Day‘s squad last brought home a Big Ten title back in 2020. It’s been five seasons since winning the conference after previously winning four straight. Yes, bigger-picture goals are still on the table, but the Big Ten remains important.

As for Indiana, they have not taken a Big Ten crown back to Bloomington since 1967. Only two exist in IU’s history, with the other occurring in 1945. Head coach Curt Cignetti has already done a lot to etch himself into the record books — winning on Saturday would be his greatest accomplishment thus far.

Unfortunately, McElroy is taking Ohio State to win. A fun game should take place inside Lucas Oil Stadium either way. Two of the more dominant teams throughout the season now get a final test before the CFP.