Indiana’s first road test of the season looked a lot more like the version of the Hoosiers people have come to expect.
A week after squeezing past Northwestern by six points, Indiana went into Piscataway and rolled Rutgers 47-15 on Saturday night to move to 5-0. The game never really had much mystery to it. Indiana got out in front, stayed in control and walked out with a 32-point win in its first road victory of 2026.
That matters because the bar in Bloomington has changed fast under Curt Cignetti. Winning is no longer the whole story. Indiana has spent the better part of two seasons flattening Big Ten opponents, so when the Hoosiers were pushed in a close one by Northwestern, it stood out.
The numbers show how unusual that kind of game has become. In 2024, Cignetti’s first season, Indiana won its eight Big Ten games by an average of 25.7 points.
That mark jumped to 29.8 during the 2025 regular season, when the eventual national champions won seven of their nine conference games by double digits. Indiana has now won 17 of its last 20 regular-season conference games under Cignetti by double figures.
So yes, a six-point win can register as a letdown around here.
Rutgers, though, brought things back to normal. Indiana scored 47, handled the game from the start and left no real doubt about the result.
The defense wasn’t perfect, but the final margin never felt in danger. That’s part of the standard now: a 32-point road win can almost blend into the background.
The offense, in particular, looks loaded in a way that’s hard to ignore.
Turbo Richard is quickly becoming one of the country’s most dangerous running backs, and Lee Beebe Jr. would be the featured back at a lot of Power Four schools. But the wide receiver room may be even more loaded.
Last season’s national championship team had Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt, who became first- and fourth-round NFL Draft picks, and E.J. Williams also ended up on an NFL roster.
Even with that history, Indiana may have two future first-round receivers on the field right now in Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh. Becker has worked himself into legitimate top-15 territory, while Marsh might be the best No. 2 receiver in the Big Ten, if not the country. And that’s before getting to Shazz Preston, the former four-star recruit who topped 700 receiving yards last season on a College Football Playoff team, Tyler Morris, Davion Chandler and the injured Lebron Bond.
With Josh Hoover running the offense and Richard and Beebe in the backfield, Indiana has a ridiculous amount of talent at the skill spots. The NFL Draft picture is just as intriguing. Between Hoover, Richard, Beebe, Becker, Marsh, offensive lineman Carter Smith and several defensive names, the Hoosiers have a real shot to challenge the program-record eight players drafted last spring.
Now the schedule gets serious.
Indiana heads to Nebraska next Saturday, and that starts what could be the defining two-game stretch of the regular season. Ohio State follows immediately after.
Nebraska is 5-0 and has won its first five games by an average of 29.4 points. The Cornhuskers bring a top-10 offense and a top-15 defense, and they probably should already be ranked.
Northwestern gave Indiana its first true scare of the year, but that was at home and the Hoosiers never trailed. Nebraska is a different kind of test, especially with Ohio State sitting right behind it.
Split those two and Indiana strengthens its case as one of the nation’s elite teams. Lose both and the pressure to run the table would get a lot heavier if the Hoosiers want a College Football Playoff spot. Win both, and January flight searches start sounding a whole lot more serious.
For now, the Rutgers win was a sharp return to form. The real challenge is next.
In Other News...
Indianas Ohio State Showdown Just Lost The Atmosphere Fans Wanted
Indianas Week 7 meeting with Ohio State had been shaping up as one of the most anticipated moments on the schedule, especially with Curt Cignettis team drawing a Top-10 showdown against a program that usually brings out a different level of energy in Bloomington. The buildup still has plenty of weight because the Hoosiers first have Nebraska in Week 6, but the Buckeyes game had been the one penciled in as the marquee home date, the kind that can give a season a different feel.
Instead, the kickoff time has taken some of the edge off. FOXs Big Noon Kickoff slot means the game lands at noon ET, which is fine for television but not ideal for the kind of atmosphere fans were hoping for, especially with a night setting likely to amplify the noise and tension. The matchup still matters plenty, but the timing has shifted it from a potential stadium-rocker into something a little less dramatic than Indiana supporters probably imagined. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Just Landed The Kind Of Recruit Fans Have Been Waiting For
Indiana basketball just landed a major early win on the recruiting trail, securing a commitment from Darius Wabbington, a 2027 five-star center who ranks No. 13 overall in his class. The 7-foot big man chose Indiana over Arizona and Illinois, giving Darian DeVries the kind of headline addition that instantly changes the tone around a young recruiting class.
For DeVries, it is his highest-ranked recruit and his first five-star commitment since taking over, a meaningful milestone for a program trying to build real momentum with elite talent. Wabbington brings the size, skill set and NBA upside that can anchor a class, and his decision gives Indiana a centerpiece prospect to pair with other top names already in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Urban Meyer Just Gave Ohio State Fans A New Indiana Debate
Indianas rise under Curt Cignetti has become one of the sports best early-season stories, with the Hoosiers sitting at 5-0 and ranked No. 7 after a sharp two-year climb. The schedule has already started to shape the conversation around just how far this group can go, especially with ranked matchups against Ohio State and USC still ahead and Oregon not on the slate.
Urban Meyer added another layer to that debate this week by casting doubt on how much weight should be given to Indianas record, arguing that games against lower-tier opponents should not all count the same when measuring the Hoosiers. For Indiana fans, the bigger issue is not the skepticism itself but what comes next, because the real chance to answer it is still waiting on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]