Nick Marsh strides through the west side of the north end zone at Memorial Stadium, knowing there is nothing more he can do.
His defender follows five yards behind him. A sellout crowd roars and throws its hands in the air in celebration. Marsh also raises his hands, but stops short of full extension.
He puts them on the sides of his helmet in disbelief.
His left hand meets the shell of his crimson helmet. His right hand does not. It has a football in between – a football that was inches away from having a different life.
Celebrations of victory become acknowledgements of defeat. Roars become silence.
Marsh’s white cleat on his left foot was four inches out of bounds as the ball fell into his hands.
A potential game-winning touchdown became a game-losing turnover-on-downs.
No. 5 Indiana’s 19-15 loss to No. 4 Ohio State is the first in the Curt Cignetti era at home. It is the first overall loss in 23 games. It does not fall on Marsh. It does not fall on quarterback Josh Hoover. It does not fall on any individual.
It falls on the amalgamation of missed opportunities as a group.
“That was a tough one not to win,” Cignetti said. “I thought our kids gave great effort and fight and hung in there and put ourselves in position to win the close game. Had so many opportunities to get it done, not only at the end of the game, but throughout the game.”
Cignetti’s teams are defined by mistake-free fundamental football. They do not beat themselves. They had not beaten themselves for 22 consecutive games.
That was not the case on Saturday.
Indiana had not lost a fumble since Week 1 of the 2025 season, equivalent to over 1400 plays. Each of its first two drives in the second half ended with a fumble.
Indiana has consistently had ultra-efficient quarterback play in the Cignetti era. Hoover threw 20 incompletions on 40 attempts – the most by any Indiana quarterback in a game under Cignetti.
Indiana’s kicker, Nico Radicic, has never missed two field goals in the same season. He missed both of his field goal attempts against the Buckeyes.
Indiana prides itself on establishing the run and builds its offense around the success of the ground game. The Hoosiers ran for 73 yards on 29 carries – 2.5 yards per carry.
Indiana has consistently turned games in its favor with fourth down stops. Ohio State was 2-for-2 on fourth downs. Both plays were touchdowns – the only two touchdowns the Buckeyes scored.
There were bright spots.
Its defense held Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin to a 15-for-29 passing mark with two touchdowns and two interceptions, both by Amare Ferrell. Indiana also sacked Sayin four times and had six tackles for loss. Ohio State ran the ball 37 times for only 78 yards. Indiana wide receiver Charlie Becker had nine catches for 165 yards and Hoover threw for nearly 300.
Indiana did many things well in this game. It also did many things poorly.
Missed opportunities and mistakes put Indiana in the position to have Marsh’s cleat location decide the game. That could have been avoided with cleaner play.
“Unfortunately, the last play, when it comes down like that, it does stink,” Hoover said. “But shoot, we ran 75 plays and we had a lot of opportunities to score at other moments.”
“We’re a team,” Ferrell added. “We all didn’t play perfectly. We all made mistakes. That was just unfortunate that he didn’t get a foot down, but we’re going to tell him to keep his head up and just keep playing.”
Indiana might have suffered its first loss in 666 days, but it can be framed differently.
The Hoosiers made tons of mistakes, did not play to their standard and missed crucial opportunities all game long. They could not run the ball. Their passing attack was shaky. The defense could not get off the field at important moments.
And even so, they were four inches away from potentially beating No. 4 Ohio State.
Yes, it is a loss. Yes, it will be painful to the team and fans.
It is also a sign that Indiana can still compete with the best teams in college football because it is one of them.
“The sun comes up tomorrow and we’ll get ready for Michigan,” Cignetti said.
The sun sets after an Indiana loss for the first time in 666 days. It will rise again tomorrow with Indiana still being one of the best teams in college football, as it has done day after day.
