Curt Cignetti keeps stacking milestones at Indiana, and the next one is sitting right in front of him.
The Hoosiers have gone from college football’s cautionary tale to a national force in a hurry under Cignetti, and now the 5th-ranked group is staring down a massive test at home against No. 4 Ohio State. Saturday’s showdown at Memorial Stadium has all the feel of a season-defining game, and if Indiana gets the win, Cignetti will move one step farther into rare company by passing Tom Allen’s total victories at IU.
That’s where this gets even more striking: Cignetti is already level with the man he replaced.
Allen coached Indiana from 2016 through 2023 and delivered some real progress, including an 8-5 season in 2019 and a 6-2 mark in the shortened 2020 campaign. But his overall record in Bloomington finished at 33-49, and he went 18-43 in Big Ten play.
Cignetti has matched that 33-win total in just 35 games, while Allen needed 82 to get there. Cignetti’s record with the Hoosiers sits at 33-2 overall and 20-1 in conference games, giving him a .943 winning percentage compared with Allen’s .402.
A win over Ohio State would give Cignetti No. 34 and officially move him past Allen, another landmark in a run that already looks unlike anything Indiana has seen. But the opponent makes the moment even bigger.
Ohio State has been rolling since its Week 2 loss to Texas, and the Buckeyes have looked every bit like a team peaking at the right time. Jeremiah Smith has emerged as arguably the best player in college football, and Julian Sayin has given Ohio State a clean, efficient option at quarterback.
The Buckeyes are also familiar with beating Indiana in conference play. They remain the only Big Ten team to hand Cignetti and the Hoosiers a conference loss, doing it 38-15 in Columbus on November 23, 2024. Indiana answered back when it mattered most, knocking off Ohio State 13-10 in last December’s Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis.
Now the stage shifts to Bloomington, where the atmosphere is expected to be loud from the opening whistle. Ohio State enters as a slight favorite, but Indiana has spent plenty of time living in that role lately. Kickoff is set for Noon ET on Saturday, and the matchup has the look of an instant classic.
In Other News...
Indiana Just Won A Huge NCAA Eligibility Fight For Now
A major eligibility battle has gone Indianas way for the moment, with the Indiana Court of Appeals denying the NCAAs emergency motion to stay a preliminary injunction that keeps several Hoosier athletes on the field and court. For Indiana football players Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt, along with basketball player Sam Alexis, the ruling means they remain eligible to compete while the legal fight plays out, giving the university some immediate relief in a case with broader implications for a much larger group of athletes.
The courts decision also keeps the current status quo for the 97 student athletes covered by the lawsuit while the NCAAs appeal is pending. The association had argued that allowing those athletes to keep competing would create irreparable harm, but the court did not see enough reason to halt the injunction for now, leaving Indiana with a temporary win and the NCAA still searching for a way to reverse it. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas Biggest Test Yet Carries Massive Stakes Against Ohio State
Indianas unbeaten start survived another scare with a 20-17 escape over Nebraska, and the reward is a stage that has been looming for months. The Hoosiers are 6-0 again, just as they have been in each of Curt Cignettis first three seasons, and theyre carrying a 22-game winning streak into a visit from No. 4 Ohio State in Bloomington.
This one brings far more than conference standings into play. Indiana gets the Buckeyes in a rematch of the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game, which means the Hoosiers are not only trying to protect their perfect record, but also see how they stack up against the program standing between them and the top-tier credibility theyve been building toward all season. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Faces Its Biggest Test Since That Ohio State Breakthrough
Indiana gets another shot at proving the Ohio State breakthrough was more than a one-off when the Buckeyes come to Bloomington for a top-five showdown with major national weight. The Hoosiers have put themselves in position for a meaningful late-season stage, and now they get a rematch with the program that has long controlled this series. Both teams arrive with strong records and rankings, which only adds to the sense that this one could help shape the Big Ten race and the wider playoff picture.
For Indiana, the challenge is familiar but the stakes are even bigger. Ohio State has owned this matchup for years, but the Hoosiers already showed last season in the Big Ten Championship that the gap is not as fixed as history suggests. With a College Football Playoff path still in view for both sides, Bloomington is about to find out whether Indiana can back up that recent win and turn one eye-opening result into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]