Today, it’s up to Indiana to earn college football’s respect: ‘They have to look good.’

A late November top-5 matchup in Columbus, Ohio doesn’t tend to include Indiana football. But here we are. The 10-0 Hoosiers are ranked No. 5 in the College Football Playoff and head to Ohio State to face the No. 2 Buckeyes in the biggest game in IU history.

The debate about the Hoosiers has consumed college football media the past few weeks, primarily people dumping on IU’s strength of schedule.

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On Saturday’s ESPN College GameDay, outside Ohio Stadium, the debate continued. And it’s up to Indiana to convince the nation this season is no fluke.

Kirk Herbstreit: “Here’s what Indiana has at stake. How many games have they played? (10-0.) So they’ve played 10 games. They have 60 minutes and they can get more credibility than what they’ve done in 10 weeks. In 60 minutes.”

Desmond Howard: “Respect in college football is not given, it’s earned. In that stadium right there, if you take care of the Buckeyes, you’ve earned everybody’s respect in the sport.”

Nick Saban: “If they lose this game, they’ll get into the Playoff potentially, and never have beaten a top-25 team. That’s my issue… How close does it have to be for Indiana vs. Ohio State for Indiana to gain credibility?”

Herbstreit: “I don’t even care what the score is. If you walk out of the stadium and you’re like, ‘Indiana is pretty good. That’s all. I don’t care what the score is. They have to look good.”

We’ll find out later today. Kickoff is at noon. Follow our live blog for instant updates and analysis.

More: IU is 2-TD underdogs vs. Ohio State. Don’t expect Hoosiers to care.

Here’s a portion of that exchange:

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana vs Ohio State: How close does score have to be for Hoosiers