Indiana moved up a spot to No. 5 in the first Associated Press Top 25 Poll of the regular season, and the Hoosiers also picked up eight No. 1 votes when the updated rankings were released Tuesday.
That jump came on the back of a convincing season-opening win. Indiana rolled past the University of North Texas 52-16 on Sept. 5, and redshirt senior quarterback Josh Hoover set the tone in his Indiana debut by throwing for 231 yards and four touchdowns.
The Hoosiers entered the season at No. 6, so Tuesday’s bump was modest but meaningful. Four of the five teams ranked ahead of Indiana in the preseason poll stayed put above it, while Oregon took the biggest tumble near the top. The Ducks fell from No. 2 to No. 6 after barely escaping Boise State University with a 34-27 win over the weekend.
Indiana is one of seven Big Ten teams included in the latest AP Top 25. Ohio State held on to the No. 1 spot after pounding Ball State University 56-3, and USC stayed at No. 14 after opening its 2026 season with two straight double-digit victories.
Penn State climbed two places to No. 16 after a 45-0 rout of Marshall University in head coach Matt Campbell’s debut. Iowa also got a shutout in Week 1, blanking Northern Illinois University 40-0 to move from No. 22 to No. 21.
Washington slipped two spots to No. 19 despite a win last Sunday. The Huskies had some trouble along the way against Washington State University before finishing off a 24-10 victory.
UCLA, Illinois and Minnesota each received Top 25 votes but fell short of making the actual rankings.
Indiana’s next chance to build on its start comes Saturday at noon, when Howard University visits Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The Hoosiers will be trying to get to 2-0.
In Other News...
Indiana Is Gaining Early Momentum With A Tackle Recruit To Watch
The early-season opener at Indiana did more than give fans their first look at Curt Cignettis second act in Bloomington. It also brought in one of the more interesting underclassmen on the recruiting board, as 2028 offensive lineman Jacob Van der Kooy made the trip from Oconomowoc High School to watch the Hoosiers face North Texas and got a closer look at what the program is building.
Van der Kooy came away impressed by the staff, pointing to Cignetti along with Bob Bostad and Zack Leeds, and he also liked the gameday feel around the program as well as the academic side of Indiana. He does not have an offer from the Hoosiers yet, but he left the visit believing that continued strong play could keep him on the schools radar, which is the kind of early traction Indiana is hoping to stack up with young linemen. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Still Faces An Eligibility Fight With Two Key Players
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At the center of the case is an NCAA rule tied to athletes from the high school class of 2022, and two Hoosiers are among the players affected. Indiana is left waiting on a ruling that could matter well beyond one game, since the decision will help define whether those players can keep taking the field while the legal fight unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas Dominant Rise Is Turning Into A Debate Fans Will Hate
Curt Cignettis arrival has completely changed the conversation around Indiana football. Since taking over before the 2024 season, he has pushed the Hoosiers from a breakthrough 11-2 run and a College Football Playoff berth into a full-blown powerhouse, capped by a 16-0 season and a national championship. Even this fall, the expectation level is obvious: Indiana opened ranked No. 6 and wasted little time looking the part in a 52-16 win over North Texas.
Josh Hoover was sharp in that opener, completing 13 of 16 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns, another sign that Indiana already has the kind of offensive punch that makes it feel different from the program fans knew a few years ago. The only problem with this kind of success is what comes with it, because when a team rises this fast, the debate tends to shift from whether it belongs to how long it can stay there. [Read more 🡒]