Indiana’s first loss of the season might have sent up the warning siren, but the Hoosiers got a soft landing when the new AP Poll dropped Sunday.
After their 22-game win streak ended in a 19-15 loss to Ohio State, Indiana was staring at the possibility of a bigger tumble. Instead, Week 7 chaos around college football helped keep the damage to a minimum.
The Hoosiers, who entered last week at No. 5, slid only one spot to No. 6.
The shake-up at the top was extreme. Five of the Top-7 teams lost, and that opened the door for major movement all over the poll.
Miami moved into the No. 1 spot after an overtime win against Florida State, while BYU surged from No. 8 to No. 2 after its win over Notre Dame in Provo. Notre Dame dropped to No. 4, and Ohio State climbed to No. 3 after its win over Indiana.
Indiana’s result was close enough that the Hoosiers didn’t get punished like some of the other teams near the top. Georgia lost to Auburn, Alabama fell at Tennessee, and Texas lost to Florida, adding to the wreckage in the upper tier of the rankings.
Even with the setback, Indiana is right back where it started the season: No. 6.
The rest of the Big Ten is still well represented in the poll as well, with Ohio State at No. 3, UCLA at No.
9, Iowa at No. 15, USC at No. 16, and Northwestern at No.
Now the focus shifts to rebound mode. Indiana heads to Ann Arbor in Week 8 to face Michigan, a 4-2 team that is unranked but still brings real problems. This will be Indiana’s first trip to The Big House under Curt Cignetti, and the Wolverines’ defense is being described as arguably the best in the Big Ten.
Michigan’s quarterback situation is also worth watching after backup Tommy Carr gave the offense a boost when Bryce Underwood was benched in last weekend’s loss to Penn State. The Hoosiers and Wolverines are set for a Noon ET kickoff on FOX.
In Other News...
Indiana Showed Enough Against Ohio State To Fuel A Bigger Debate
Indianas unbeaten run ended in Bloomington, but the way the Hoosiers handled Ohio State left plenty more to chew on than the final score. In a 19-15 loss, Indiana stayed in the fight from start to finish and gave the Buckeyes enough problems to make the game feel far closer than the records suggested, even if the margin never quite turned in its favor.
The late failure to convert on fourth down loomed over everything after the final whistle, the kind of moment that turns a strong showing into a what-if discussion. Charlie Beckers 9 catches for 165 yards kept Indiana moving, while Jeremiah Smith finished with 4 receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown, and the Hoosiers now head into the aftermath with one loss and a much bigger conversation about how close they are to the sports elite. [Read more 🡒]
Cignetti Reveals What Cost Indiana In Painful Ohio State Loss
Curt Cignetti left the postgame podium sounding equal parts frustrated and encouraged after Indianas 19-15 loss to Ohio State, a game in which the Hoosiers had enough defensive resistance to stay in it but could not cash in on the offensive chances that came their way. He pointed to missed opportunities as the difference, with third-quarter turnovers helping swing the flow of the night, even as the defense kept finding ways to make life difficult for the Buckeyes.
Ferrells interceptions were among the standout moments Cignetti mentioned, part of a defensive effort that gave Indiana a chance deep into the game. The next step, he said, is turning a painful finish into a lesson and moving on quickly to Michigan, where the Hoosiers will need a cleaner performance if they want the result to go the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Fans Have One Big AP Poll Debate After Costly Loss
Indianas setback on Oct. 18 came in a wild day around the AP Top 25, one that saw five teams inside the top seven go down, including Notre Dame, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. For Hoosier fans, the immediate concern is less about the national chaos and more about where Indiana lands when the next poll comes out, especially with the rankings likely to get a major shakeup after a Saturday that turned the top of the bracket upside down.
The ripple effects could reach well beyond Bloomington, with other movers such as BYU, Oregon and Oklahoma State also in the mix depending on how the voters sort out the weekends results. Indianas own drop is the obvious subplot, but the broader debate is whether the committee-style scramble around the AP voters leaves the Hoosiers punished more for one costly loss than for what happened everywhere else around them. [Read more 🡒]