Charlie Becker explains his apology to Ryan Day

On Tuesday Becker explained why he walked into a crowd of Buckeyes to say sorry, and when he decided to do it.

Some background. When Indiana beat Ohio State in last year's Big Ten Championship, Becker joined the O-H-I-O chant at the trophy presentation. He flashed the "O-H" and then finished it with an obscene gesture aimed at Buckeye fans. The clip went viral. In Indiana, nobody minded. In Columbus, people minded a lot.

It's personal for Becker because his dad, Dave Becker, played linebacker at Ohio State in 1995. Charlie has said he grew up in an Ohio State house with posters everywhere, watching the Buckeyes every Saturday. So the guy who flipped off Buckeye Nation at the biggest moment in Indiana football history was also a kid who grew up a Buckeye fan. You can see why that ate at him for most of a year.

He finally said it after Ohio State's 19-15 win Saturday. Becker found Day on the field, surrounded by Buckeyes, and told him: "That was uncharacteristic of me. I've been thinking a lot about it, and I'm sorry to you and Ohio State." Day gave him a friendly slap on the helmet and that was it. Becker had also just put up a career-high 9 catches for 165 yards in a game his team lost, which makes it harder to apologize, not easier.

Beat writers asked about it Tuesday, and the apology was only one of the topics. Becker also talked about his partnership with Nick Marsh and about a week with no time to dwell on it.

There's plenty to deal with this week. Saturday's loss ended Indiana's 22-game win streak, and it was the program's first regular-season loss since November 2024. That one also came against Ohio State. No. 6 Indiana doesn't get a soft landing either: the Hoosiers play at Michigan on Saturday at noon ET on FOX, and the Wolverines are 4-2 and fighting to stay relevant in the Big Ten.

Give the kid credit. Most college players would've let the gesture live on as a highlight and moved on. Becker spent 10 months thinking about it, then said sorry face to face to the head coach of the team that had just beaten him. Now he gets to take his anti-Buckeye villain arc into Ann Arbor, where it will play better than it ever did in Columbus.