Ohio State freshman cornerback Jay Timmons was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday, the league announced, after a breakout performance that helped the Buckeyes hand Indiana its first loss in a signature road win.
Timmons totaled seven tackles and two pass breakups, and his forced fumble in the third quarter carried historic weight. The takeaway marked the first fumble by the Indiana offense in 1,473 snaps, the longest such streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision, according to Ohio State.
The performance also earned Timmons national freshman honors for the week from 247Sports and On3, Ohio State said. Before the season, he had been named to the watch list for the Alexander Freshman of the Year Award.
Ohio State said the win was its second ranked road victory of the season, making the Buckeyes one of just two teams nationally with multiple ranked road wins. It ended Indiana’s 22-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the country and the longest since Georgia won 29 straight from 2021 to 2023.
The Buckeyes also snapped Indiana’s 19-game home winning streak and its 15-game winning streak in Big Ten play. Since the start of the 2024 season, Ohio State is 2-1 against Indiana, while all other opponents are a combined 1-32 against the Hoosiers, the school noted.
For a freshman to deliver that kind of production in that kind of game is the sort of development Ohio State’s staff points to when it talks about depth in the secondary. Timmons did not just fill snaps — he changed the game with the forced fumble and held up in coverage throughout.
Ohio State will look for Timmons and the defense to carry that momentum forward as conference play continues, with the freshman now established as a regular contributor rather than an emergency option.
The Big Ten weekly honor is the latest sign that Ohio State’s win at Indiana was built on more than its veteran stars. A true freshman delivering seven tackles, two pass breakups and a streak-breaking takeaway on the road gives the Buckeyes both a result for this season and a building block for the seasons that follow, as Timmons continues to earn trust in high-leverage snaps.
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