Following a frustrating draw at home against then-No. 18 Michigan and a 2-0 road win at Northwestern for its first Big Ten Conference win of the season, IU dropped one spot to No. 2 in the latest release of the United Soccer Coaches poll Tuesday.
The Hoosiers earned the No. 1 ranking last week for the first time since the 2013 preseason poll, and after just one week, Notre Dame overtook them.
There wasn’t much movement among the rest of the Big Ten teams. Maryland and Michigan State sit firmly at No. 3 and No. 6 after both teams won games in the past week. One of Michigan State’s wins was on the road against rival Michigan, which resulted in Michigan's tumbling back to the No. 22 spot.
IU enters the week in fourth place in the Big Ten standings. The Hoosiers will face eighth-place Rutgers at Bill Armstrong Stadium on Friday. The Scarlet Knights are coming off three straight losses to Michigan State, Maryland and Ohio State.
Barring a significant change in the rankings next week, IU is lined up for a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup at home on Sept. 26 against Notre Dame, which would be the highest-ranked team the Hoosiers have faced all season.
Michael Ramirez
