Indiana hosts Ohio State in 100th meeting at noon ET

Kickoff is hours away, but Bloomington started early. Very early.

That makes sense when you look at what's on the line. This is the first top-5 matchup Memorial Stadium has ever hosted, it's a rematch of last year's Big Ten Championship Game, and the last 2 national champions are on the same field. Indiana comes in 6-0 and Ohio State 5-1, both 3-0 in the Big Ten, so the winner gets a big edge in the race back to Indianapolis.

The history is the other reason. Ohio State owned this series for most of a century. Indiana's 13-10 win in last year's title game was its first win over the Buckeyes since 1988. A loss could still get written off as a fluke. A second straight win, at home, changes what this series is.

Curt Cignetti's staff knows exactly what kind of recruiting pitch a sold-out top-5 game is. IU is hosting what the Hoosiers' beat called an insane list of recruits and prospects, so a lot of high schoolers are getting a first-hand look at what Bloomington football looks like now.

Vegas still likes the Buckeyes. Ohio State is a 3.5-point favorite with the total at 50.5, and SP+ calls it a dead 26-26 tie. The matchup to watch is up front. Indiana ranks 3rd nationally in sacks and 7th in rushing yards allowed, while Ohio State sits 89th in sacks and will be without starting right tackle Austin Siereveld and running back Jakobi Jackson. If the Buckeyes can't keep Julian Sayin upright, it's going to be hard to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith, who has 8 touchdowns over his last 3 games.

Columbus is talking about it too. The Ohio State press has been on the game all morning, and the Indiana side has its own previews and predictions out ahead of kickoff.

Kickoff is noon ET on FOX. Indiana has spent 2 years proving it isn't a fluke, and a win today would make 2 straight over the program that used to beat it every year. Ohio State wins and it's back on top of the Big Ten, with a title-game rematch looking likely. Either way, the people lined up before sunrise are getting their money's worth.