Indiana’s next trip to the field now has a time and a TV window.
The Hoosiers’ Nov. 14 home game against USC will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and air nationally on CBS, giving Indiana a second straight game in that slot on the network. The Big Ten typically releases kickoff times and television assignments a couple of weeks before each game, and this one is now set for Memorial Stadium.
USC arrives in Bloomington at 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play after a win over Ohio State that has the Trojans trending upward again. The Trojans, who entered 2026 with high expectations, had looked a little shaky through their first eight games before that result. They’ll also be coming off a bye, just like Indiana, and will be trying to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
USC’s résumé includes Power 4 wins over Rutgers, Penn State and Washington. Its losses have come against Oregon and Wisconsin. Indiana has never beaten USC.
While the schedule news landed Monday, Indiana also got individual recognition on the special teams side.
Fifth-year kicker Paddy McAteer was named Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week after drilling a program-record 60-yard field goal against Minnesota. The conference announced McAteer and Minnesota kicker Luke Drzewiecki as co-honorees on Monday, Nov. 2, after both connected on the first 60-plus yard field goals in the Big Ten since 2019.
The kick was a big one in every sense. McAteer’s 60-yarder tied the game at 16-16 with two seconds left in regulation, and Indiana went on to win 23-16 in overtime on a touchdown.
The field goal broke the previous Indiana record of 58 yards, set by Brendan Franke at Oregon in 2025 and matched by Griffin Oakes against Maryland in 2014. It also tied for No. 6 in Big Ten history.
McAteer added four touchbacks on four kickoffs, and his award marks the first time an Indiana specialist has won Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week since Charles Campbell in 2022. He is the 11th place kicker in program history to earn a Big Ten weekly honor.
In Other News...
USC Just Became A Real Threat To Indianas Playoff Hopes
Indianas playoff margin for error is starting to look awfully thin, and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy added to the pressure this week by saying on his podcast that USC can walk into Bloomington on Nov. 14 and win. His reasoning was straightforward enough: Indianas offense has hit a rough patch lately, and when a team is trying to protect a College Football Playoff berth, even one stumble can change the conversation fast.
USCs recent performances have also made the matchup more interesting than it looked a few weeks ago, with McElroy pointing to the Trojans as a team still capable of carving out its own playoff path. For Indiana, the bigger concern is obvious. A loss at home would not just sting in the moment, it could put the Hoosiers in a far more precarious spot when the committee starts sorting out the field. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Faces A Bigger November Question Before Surging USC Arrives
Before USC shows up on Nov. 14, Indiana has a more immediate concern to sort through during the bye week: the health of its quarterback. Josh Hoover is the starter, and the extra time could be important if the Hoosiers want him back to full strength before facing a Trojans team that has already announced itself as a real threat after upsetting Ohio State. The timing matters, too, because Indiana gets a rare breather before a matchup that will carry plenty of attention when it lands on CBS.
The Hoosiers will have nearly two weeks to reset before kickoff in a 12:30 p.m. PT window, but the pause only helps if it leads to clarity under center. USC is coming in rested and confident, and Indianas path in that game may depend on how much Hoover can recover during the break. For a team trying to line up its November, the bye week is less about rest than it is about answering the biggest question on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Still Has One Costly Problem To Fix During The Bye
Paddy McAteer gave Indiana a lift with a program-record 60-yard field goal to tie the game against Minnesota, a kick that underscored just how much the Hoosiers can lean on special teams in tight moments. Even with that highlight, the unit had a rough afternoon overall, with a blocked field goal, a missed field goal and only average production on punts leaving plenty for the staff to sort through during the bye week.
The kicking game was not the only area that needs attention. Indianas offense also came away with just two scores on four red-zone chances, a reminder that the Hoosiers are still leaving points on the field when drives get close to the end zone. With a break in the schedule now, the emphasis has to be on cleaning up those costly details before they show up again in a game that swings on one possession. [Read more 🡒]