No. 2 Indiana beats No. 1 Ohio St. 13-10, winning first Big Ten title since 1967

Fernando Mendoza’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt gave No. 2 Indiana the lead midway through the third quarter and the Hoosiers’ stingy defense shut down No. 1 Ohio State the rest of the way in a 13-10 victory on Saturday night for their first Big Ten championship since 1967.

INDIANAPOLIS — Fernando Mendoza’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt gave No. 2 Indiana the lead midway through the third quarter and the Hoosiers’ stingy defense shut down No. 1 Ohio State the rest of the way in a 13-10 victory on Saturday night for their first Big Ten championship since 1967.

Indiana likely locked up the top seed in the College Football Playoff while extending the best record in school history to 13-0. The Hoosiers are also now poised to claim the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time.

They did it by snapping a 30-game losing streak against the Buckeyes that stretched to 1988. Indiana also ended major college football’s longest winning streak at 16 games, sealing the win with a 33-yard pass from Mendoza to Charlie Becker on third down, a play that took the clock down to the 2-minute timeout.

Ohio State fell to 12-1 overall though its quest to win back-to-back national championships for the first time will likely begin with the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.

The Buckeyes had a chance to retake the lead on fourth-and-1 from the Indiana 5-yard line late in the third quarter. But a replay review overturned the call on the field, determining Julian Sayin came up short. They also had a chance to tie the score with 2:48 to play, but Jayden Fielding missed a 29-yard field goal wide left.