Ohio State climbs to No. 3 after win at Indiana as Sayin injury clouds the bye week

Ohio State moved up in both major polls after its 19-15 win at Indiana on Saturday, WHIO reported. The Buckeyes are now No. 3 in the AP Top 25, one spot higher than last week. A week full of upsets near the top would normally have lifted a road winner over a top-five opponent further than that.

The reason it didn't is quarterback Julian Sayin. Yahoo Sports reported that Sayin hurt his right shoulder in the fourth quarter in Bloomington and that coach Ryan Day expects him to miss several weeks. Yahoo's Nick Bromberg wrote that the injury is the likely reason BYU passed Ohio State. The Cougars climbed six spots to No. 2 after beating Notre Dame. Miami is No. 1 in both polls after a double-overtime win over Florida State. Notre Dame fell to No. 4 in the AP poll, and Georgia dropped from No. 1 to No. 5 after losing to Auburn.

Indiana slipped only one spot, to No. 6, after the four-point loss. That still leaves two Big Ten teams in the top six. Iowa (No. 15), USC (No. 16) and Northwestern (No. 24) are also ranked.

Ohio State's résumé holds up well against the teams around it. The Buckeyes are 6-1, and their only loss was 24-23 at Texas in September. Since then they have won five straight, including road wins over Iowa (31-14) and Indiana. They are also winning low-scoring games now. The 19 points in Bloomington were their fewest of the season, and the defense held an Indiana offense that had scored 47 at Rutgers and 52 against North Texas to 15.

What it means for the next games

Ohio State has a bye in Week 8, which gives the staff two weeks to settle the quarterback plan before the Buckeyes play at No. 16 USC on Oct. 31 in Los Angeles. Whoever starts there will face a ranked opponent on the road without the player who started the first seven games. That makes the USC trip the first real test of how much the defense can carry the team.

Indiana gets no break. The Hoosiers, also 6-1, play at unranked Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 24, on Fox. Their last two games were close: a 20-17 win at Nebraska and the four-point loss to Ohio State. Before that they had won their first five games by an average of more than 30 points.

The market still has Indiana well ahead. Across the 12 venues on this site's board, the Hoosiers are favored at -270 on Novig's moneyline. Michigan is +257 on Novig, and the best price anywhere is +262 on Polymarket, so the venues are only a few cents apart on the underdog. Novig has Indiana at -7.5 on the spread at +111, while some sportsbooks have the line at 6.5. The total is 41.5 at most venues, which fits Indiana's last two low-scoring games. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.6% to 5.6%.

A win in Ann Arbor would keep Indiana in the playoff picture with a single loss, by four points to a top-three team. A second straight loss would be the first real dent in a season that looked unbeatable two weeks ago.