Barry Odom didn’t have to look far at Big Ten Media Days to find the program shaping the conversation around him. When the Purdue coach was asked about Indiana, he answered with a clear nod to what Curt Cignetti has built in Bloomington.
Odom opened his remarks by talking about Purdue, his first year on the job and the offseason work aimed at getting winning football back to West Lafayette. But the first question that followed cut straight to the Hoosiers and their rapid climb.
Purdue has lost both games it has played against Indiana under Cignetti, and the rivalry now carries even more weight because of what the Hoosiers have become. Indiana has always mattered to the Boilermakers in recruiting, branding and the schedule. With Cignetti’s program rising to heights it had not reached before, that relevance has only grown.
Odom didn’t dodge the topic. He praised Cignetti and his staff for the job they’ve done and pointed to Indiana as an example of what can happen when a program gets the right formula in place.
“Yeah, number one, Coach Cignetti and his entire department did such a tremendous job on taking that over and elevating it to where they are today,” Odom said. “I think that gives -- if you look at it in the landscape of college football, it should give every player, every coach, every fan base hope, vision and belief that it can happen.
It’s sped things up for everyone, but you also look at how they pieced it together. It worked for them.
It’s not the same for every team and program. We certainly feel strongly about how we’ve built this roster going into the year, and also understand if we get the opportunity to playing meaningful games in the month of November and you get a chance to play with extended time, anything can happen.”
The message was respectful, but the reality remains the same: Odom is trying to build Purdue into something different, and Indiana has become the team everyone keeps bringing up while asking whether that kind of leap can be made elsewhere. For now, that shadow is part of the job.
In Other News...
Indianas Roster Outlook Just Changed After Surprise Eligibility Ruling
A federal court ruling out of Colorado has added a fresh layer of uncertainty to roster planning across college sports, and Indiana is no exception. Judge Charlotte Sweeney granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to treat all athletes from the high school class of 2022 as eligible for the 2026-27 collegiate sports year, a move that reaches well beyond one program and forces schools to reassess how they approach the next cycle of roster building.
For the Hoosiers, the timing matters because the ruling opens the door to a new transfer portal window for affected athletes from Aug. 3-10, creating another variable for coaches and players already navigating an ever-shifting eligibility landscape. NCAA president Charlie Baker and the Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences have already voiced support for the Protect College Sports Act in response, a sign that the legal and legislative back-and-forth around college eligibility is far from settled. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas New-Look Roster Faces Three Pressure Points In Year 2
Darian DeVries heads into his second season at Indiana with a roster that looks very different from the one that faded late and missed the NCAA Tournament last spring. The Hoosiers brought in several transfers and a promising freshman class, leaving the coach with a group that is almost entirely new outside of one returner, a setup that brings both fresh upside and the usual challenge of getting everyone on the same page quickly.
For Indiana, the early pressure points are easy to spot: chemistry, more reliable offense, and enough scoring depth to avoid the droughts that hurt last year. Rebounding is part of that equation too, with new additions expected to help on the glass, but the bigger question is how fast this revamped group can turn talent into a rotation that actually fits, especially when the schedule starts asking for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Fans Already Have A New Rotation Debate To Watch
The FISU America Games in Peru gave Indiana fans an early look at several players who could factor into the Hoosiers 2026-27 rotation, and it offered a useful snapshot of what that group might become. Team USA brought home the gold, but the more relevant takeaway for Indiana was how a handful of future contributors looked against international competition, with some players flashing clear upside while others showed areas that will need smoothing out before Big Ten play arrives.
Markus Burton had stretches that underscored both his talent and the challenge of turning it into consistent production, as efficiency and turnovers stood out in less encouraging ways. On the other side of the ledger, freshmen such as Prince-Alexander Moody made a strong impression on both ends of the floor, giving Indiana plenty to think about as the next rotation debate starts to take shape well before that season actually begins. [Read more 🡒]