It has been a busy stretch around Indiana Athletics, and the biggest stories are piling up fast.
On the basketball side, Wednesday brought signing day for both the men’s and women’s programs, with Darian DeVries and Teri Moren adding new talent to Bloomington for 2027. Indiana men’s basketball also had two commits put pen to paper: 2027 center Darius Wabbington and 2027 CG Chase Branham.
Football, meanwhile, is deep into its final prep for USC, a game that could end up deciding whether the Hoosiers reach the playoff. Curt Cignetti has not named a starting quarterback for Saturday, and the quarterback question remains front and center.
Josh Hoover, who has been dealing with an injury since the second half against Ohio State, was not listed on Wednesday’s initial availability report after appearing last week. Grant Wilson started the second half against Minnesota and helped spark a comeback win on Halloween night.
Cignetti also addressed the matchup in his press conference, where he’s set to face Big Ten meetings buddy Lincoln Riley and USC. The forecast is another factor too, with temperatures expected to plummet for USC-Indiana on Saturday.
Indiana men’s soccer is also making noise in the postseason. The No.
3 Hoosiers have advanced to the Big Ten Championship and will host the tournament title game this weekend. Yeagley and Mroz also earned top Big Ten honors, and Indiana’s confident backline has been a major reason for the team’s postseason success.
Elsewhere in the week’s Indiana coverage, men’s basketball drew attention for the “enshittification of college basketball” at Indiana-Syracuse in Indianapolis, while another piece focused on DeVries and the learning curve facing the Hoosiers. On the women’s side, Indiana rolled past Bradley 84-56, and the discussion around future scheduling picked up after the Big Ten’s new rule requiring a power-four non-conference opponent every season starting in 2027.
Indiana volleyball also wrapped up its final road game of the season with a loss to No. 19 Minnesota.
In Other News...
USCs Injury Problems Could Change Everything Against Indiana
USC heads into its Week 11 trip to No. 9 Indiana still trying to sort through injury issues that could reshape the way the Trojans approach one of their biggest games of the season. The situation has opened the door for younger players to matter more than they might have expected this early, with freshman running back Shahn Alston and wide receiver Ethan Feaster among the names drawing attention as USC looks for answers and depth.
For Indiana, the matchup figures to be decided in the trenches as much as anywhere else. The Hoosiers have built a strong defensive line, and that puts extra pressure on USCs running game and its own defensive front seven to hold up on the road. If the Trojans are going to keep pace, they may need those developing pieces to contribute quickly while the injury picture continues to hang over the week. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Gets One Encouraging Sign Before Must Win USC Matchup
Josh Hoover appears set to give Indiana a needed boost heading into a must-win matchup with USC. After being left off the teams initial injury report, the quarterback is expected to be available, and coach Curt Cignetti said he would be in uniform as long as he stays clear of the report. For a Hoosiers team trying to steady itself late in the season, simply having Hoover on hand changes the conversation at the most important position on the field.
The rest of the injury picture is less reassuring. Leading rusher Turbo Richard and defensive end Kellan Wyatt have already been ruled out, while cornerback A.J. Harris and linebacker Rolijah Hardy are listed as questionable. Cignetti has not named a starter, so Indiana still has some decisions to sort through before facing USC, but Hoovers status at least gives the Hoosiers a chance to enter the game with a little more stability than they might have had otherwise. [Read more 🡒]
Urban Meyer Just Reignited Indianas CFP Respect Debate
The latest College Football Playoff rankings gave Indiana a jolt even without the Hoosiers taking the field in Week 10, and Urban Meyer wasted little time turning that into a broader discussion about where they really belong. The FOX analyst and former coach pointed to Indianas slide from No. 4 to No. 9, using it as a springboard to question whether the committee had overvalued the Hoosiers in the first place, especially given the quality of their wins and the strength of schedule they have faced.
Meyers comments land at a time when the playoff picture is tightening around the Big Ten and Big 12, with Notre Dame and UCLA also climbing in the latest rankings. For Indiana, the issue is no longer just where it sits in the poll, but whether its early respect was earned or simply a product of a committee that is still sorting out how to weigh unbeaten records against the week-to-week reality of who teams have actually beaten. [Read more 🡒]