URBAN MEYER TIPS OHIO STATE OVER INDIANA FOR BIG TEN TITLE

Urban Meyer named Ohio State as the Big Ten team to beat, ahead of Saturday's Week Four games, picking the Buckeyes over unbeaten Indiana on a Fox panel. He said Indiana, despite its 4-0 record, "still don't know their weaknesses," citing their narrow 29-23 win over Northwestern. Meyer argued Ohio State's best form is still to come, noting the team has fielded 60 new players this season after departures to the NFL. Indiana's coach, Curt Cignetti, has separately responded to complaints from fans that the team is too good, according to reports.

Indiana needed a fourth-quarter rally to beat Northwestern, with starting running back Turbo Richard sidelined by a lower-leg injury. Backup Lee Beebe Jr carried the ball 24 times for 203 yards, including a 70-yard run in the final two minutes that set up the winning score. Northwestern closed to within two points twice, including after a failed two-point conversion, before Beebe's late runs sealed the win. In the final minute, Northwestern drove to Indiana's 24-yard line, kicked a field goal to make it a one-score game, and attempted to recover their own kickoff.

Meyer's comments came with Ohio State still chasing its first Big Ten title in five years, while Michigan has won one of the conference's last three championships. He said the choice for Big Ten favourite "has to be Ohio State or Indiana," but backed the Buckeyes given the scale of roster turnover since NFL departures. Meyer noted Indiana's wins this season had included 100-point and 45-point scoring performances, but said the Northwestern game exposed weaknesses. Northwestern's coach, David Braun, said his side "beat ourselves" and had chances to win outright before Indiana's late runs decided the game.