2025 College Football Week 15 Picks: Back Buckeyes Outright, Low-Scoring 1st Half

The two best teams in the country — Ohio State and Indiana — meet in the Big Ten title game to determine the conference champion and the No. 1-seed in the College Football Playoff. 

In other words, it's on.

Both teams finished 12-0 in the regular season and this should be an outstanding matchup. Both will face the best team they’ve played all season. Ohio State played Texas in Week 1 and Michigan last week. Indiana is better than those two teams. Indiana played at Oregon and Iowa and won both those close contests. Ohio State is better than either of those teams. 

This game will be fantastic.

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No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana

These teams mirror each other in how they’d like to score on offense. It’s a controlled offensive tempo. Win at the line of scrimmage. Run the ball. Play action pass or, in Indiana’s case, a bunch of RPOs. These offenses will take shots, but they don’t need them to move the ball. 

Both of these offenses are facing defenses that will challenge them. Ohio State’s defense is the best in the country and will make it hard on Indiana’s offensive line and receivers. 

Indiana’s offense is not complicated: inside zone, RPOs, and it throws outside the numbers. Can the Hoosiers scale up against Ohio State? 

On the other hand is Indiana’s defense, which is sound as can be. The Hoosiers play a ton of zone coverage, keep things in front of them, making little to no mistakes and remaining physical upfront. They strike the opposing offensive lines and the Buckeyes' offensive line is in for a test. It can be a shaky unit compared to previous groups.

With all this in mind, I like two wagers for this game. 

My favorite is the first-half Under of 23.5. 

The first couple of drives will feature both offenses trying to figure out what the opposing defense has planned for them. Ohio State is not a team that starts fast on offense this season. It’s not how the Buckeyes play with Julian Sayin. Some of that is lack of execution on fourth down, which hurt them early against Washington and Rutgers. Convert those and it’s better. Anyway, I think the Hoosiers are just going to sit in their zone and dare Ohio State to stay patient with the run game. 

On the other hand is Indiana’s offense, which is facing the best defense it has played all year. I believe it's going to take time for the Hoosiers to figure out how Ohio State is going to play them. Once the Hoosiers figure it out, they will attack. However, I don’t believe Indiana is going to overpower OSU in the first half, if at all. Indiana scored 13 at Oregon in the first half and just 10 against Iowa.

I’m also riding with Ohio State to win and cover this game. 

The Buckeyes have covered 11 of 12 games this season. I fail to see an edge for Indiana, unless you believe Sayin is going to combust. Sayin threw an early interception against Michigan last week, and it did not affect his performance in the slightest. I don’t see him being phased by the moment. 

Indiana is probably better at offensive line, but that’s the Hoosiers' only advantage roster-wise.

I think Ohio State wins this game by about a touchdown.

PICK: First half Under 23.5 points scored by both teams combined
PICK: Ohio State (-4) to win by more than 4 points

Geoff Schwartz is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz.

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