247 Sports’ Composite Ratings<\/a>, which capture the talent rankings of both incoming freshman and incoming transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2026 Indiana Football Outlook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Okay, Hoosiers, we know you\u2019re good. Point proven. We\u2019ll get around to the remarkable IU transformation from traditional doormat to national title (in short order) in just a second. Now that you\u2019re the champ, however, start acting like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re referring to this embarrassing practice of scaled-back non-conference scheduling. The Hoosiers aren\u2019t the only culprits these days. Texas Tech, for one, deserves equal scorn. Perhaps it\u2019s all immaterial if you can win a crown. It\u2019s just unsightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indiana’s Non-Conference Scheduling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n As noted, deliberately downgrading the non-league schedule is nothing new. Coaches would almost unanimously support the concept; so, too, would most athletic directors. After all, a win is a win and it\u2019s better than risking a loss, no matter who you happen to beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This particular scheduling template was perfected in the early 90s by Bill Snyder at Kansas State, after decades of gridiron futility for the Wildcats. Snyder, willing to do anything to help the Wildcats shed their losing mindset, began to buy out of any challenging non-Big 8 (Big 12 beginning \u201896) dates for a succession of lesser, sometimes far-lesser, foes, as a chance for K-State to at least start to experience victories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One date Snyder, tried, but couldn\u2019t escape, was a 1991 trip to Seattle to face Don James\u2019 Washington Huskies, on their way to a national title (split with Miami), and the \u2018Cats were buried, 56-3. Further emboldened, Snyder doubled-down on his non-conference scheduling plan until the \u2018Cats began to turn the corner and started to reach bowls, thereafter usually sprinkling in at least one challenging non-conference date. The likes of Iowa and USC began to appear on K-State schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which brings us to the Hoosiers, whose long-standing plight wasn\u2019t much different than pre-Bill Snyder K-State, so buying out of dates vs. Power 4 non-Big Ten foes and scaling back the non-conference slate was totally understandable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet even Snyder, as noted, began to schedule with a bit more bravery once the Wildcats became bowl-caliber. Indiana? Not only are the Hoosiers desirous to keep their soft non-slate slates in upcoming years, they\u2019ve gone to extremes to keep it that way\u2026and bragging about it. \u201cYou can’t afford a bad scheduling year,\u201d Indiana AD Scott Dolson recently said. \u201cYou have to schedule strategically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bloomington sources also say that with the Big Ten\u2019s schedule enough, why make it tougher on yourself in non-conference play? In IU\u2019s case, that means recently buying out of home-and-home dates vs. Power 4 foes Louisville and Virginia, and, most recently, Notre Dame, which would have been a tremendous treat for Hoosier fans in 2030-31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, Indiana\u2019s upcoming non-league slates include no Power 4 foes\u2026North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky show up this season. In 2027, it\u2019s Kennesaw State, Indiana State, and UMass; in 2028, it\u2019s Austin Peay, Eastern Michigan, and Miami-Ohio; in 2029, it\u2019s Ball State, Eastern Illinois, and Western Kentucky; in 2020, Indiana State and Delaware, with one date still to be filled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s worth noting, at least we think, that you’ll never see an Ohio State (completing a home-and-home vs. Texas this September) or Michigan (completing a home-and-home vs. Oklahoma on September 12) stooping to these levels. Word to Dolson and HC Curt Cignetti; you might be able to beat Ohio State and Michigan these days, but you\u2019ll never be like the Buckeyes or Wolverines if you keep scheduling in this manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can the Hoosiers Repeat?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Now, to business, and the miraculous Hoosier-land turnaround authored by Cignetti, who out-of-the-blue got IU into the first 12-team playoff in his first autumn on the job of 2024, and to prove that wasn\u2019t a fluke, won the whole thing last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even in the era of potential quick turnarounds with the modern transfer portal, Cignetti\u2019s ability to get IU to change course this dramatically remains hard to fathom. He was aided by a solid core of players he brought to Bloomington from his previous decorated stint at James Madison, but even beyond that, the way the Hoosiers have maneuvered in the portal has been extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cignetti\u2019s ability to spot talent and fit into his template are quickly becoming legendary; last year\u2019s add of QB Fernando Mendoza from Cal was considered a good move at the time, but Mendoza went above-and-beyond, all of the way to the Heisman Trophy and the first pick in the NFL Draft by the Raiders, not to mention piloting a national title offense..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What can Cignetti do for an encore? After luring QBs Kurtis Rourke (via Ohio U) and Mendoza from the portal the past two years, IU has become a prime destination for QBs, and Josh Hoover, who passed for 9,529 yards and 71 TDs the past three years at TCU to become perhaps the top signal-caller in the portal, was quick to commit to Bloomington. Hoover sits in an enviable spot, stepping into an offense that scored almost 42 points per game last year and with a veteran offensive line in front of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A well-regarded transfer class adds depth to a wide receiver corps that returns big-play Charlie Becker, whose clutch catches were highlight points of the biggest IU wins on the march to the title. Ex-Boston College RB Turbo Richard, who gained over 1,000 yards rushing without much help across the past two seasons for Bill O\u2019Brien\u2019s Eagles, could flourish in new surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big Ten insiders, however, warn that a fly in the ointment might be that Hoover doesn\u2019t have the mobility of Mendoza, who despite his gangly frame and lack of sprinter speed, was still an elusive target and better-than-average scrambler out of the pocket. If that was the extra dimension that IU needed to get over the top last season, it might be absent that same this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t all about offense last year for IU, as the defense ranked fourth nationally overall and second in scoring, allowing only a miserly 11.7 points per game. Bad news for Howard, Western Kentucky, and the Big Ten foes upcoming is that more than half of the starting lineup (six, a big returning starter number these days) is back in the fold for vet coordinator Bryant Haines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The departures weren\u2019t insignificant, including NFL draftees CB D\u2019Angelo Ponds (Jets) and LB Iaden Fisher (Texans). Still, several playmakers remain from one of the nation\u2019s most physical defenses a year ago, including defensive tackles Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino, who have been joined up front by the Kansas State DE pair of Chiddi Obiazor and Tobi Osunsanmi, two of the highest-profile portal adds. Other well-regarded defensive transfers ticketed for the starting lineup are ex-Penn State CB AJ Harris and ex-Wisconsin S Preston Zachman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indiana Win Total Prediction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The Hoosiers were overwhelming last season and beat their first two playoff foes Alabama and Oregon by a combined 94-25\u2026and it could have been worse. Yet we have watched college football for decades and this sort of breathtaking domination is hard to sustain in back-to-back seasons. Remember, the Hoosiers were still pressed hard in a couple of Big Ten road dates last fall at Iowa and Penn State, and needed a late interception to finally quell Miami in the title game. They didn\u2019t lose last season, but this wasn’t quite Tom Osborne’s 1995 Nebraska, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mendoza provided the added ingredient to keep IU undefeated and on course for the national title, and despite Hoover\u2019s gaudy previous stats, we don\u2019t think he is going to provide that sort of dimension. Late-season road dates at Michigan and Washington loom as dangerous, while a vengeful Ohio State, eager to atone for a 13-10 Big Ten title game loss, plus explosive USC, visit Bloomington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 10-2 mark likely still gets Indiana to the playoffs, but it wouldn\u2019t clear this 10.5 win total. UNDER 10.5 Wins<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n2026 Indiana Football Schedule<\/h3>\n\n\n\nDate<\/th> Day<\/th> Home\/Away<\/th> Opponent<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> September 5<\/td> Sat<\/td> Home<\/td> North Texas<\/td><\/tr> September 12<\/td> Sat<\/td> Home<\/td> Howard<\/td><\/tr> September 19<\/td> Sat<\/td> Home<\/td> Western Kentucky<\/td><\/tr> September 25<\/td> Fri<\/td> Home<\/td> Northwestern<\/td><\/tr> October 3<\/td> Sat<\/td> Road<\/td> Rutgers<\/td><\/tr> October 10<\/td> Sat<\/td> Road<\/td> Nebraska<\/td><\/tr> October 17<\/td> Sat<\/td> Home<\/td> Ohio State<\/td><\/tr> October 24<\/td> Sat<\/td> Road<\/td> Michigan<\/td><\/tr> October 31<\/td> Sat<\/td> Home<\/td> Minnesota<\/td><\/tr> Bye<\/td> <\/td> <\/td> <\/td><\/tr> November 14<\/td> Sat<\/td> Home<\/td> USC<\/td><\/tr> November 21<\/td> Sat<\/td> Road<\/td> Washington<\/td><\/tr> November 28<\/td> Sat<\/td> Home<\/td> Purdue<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
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