Indiana football dropped three spots in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll, which was released Tuesday. Now at No. 23, the Hoosiers opened the season at No. 20.
The Cream and Crimson struggled to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns and allowed two 75-plus yard touchdowns against Old Dominion University on Aug. 30. Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti wasn’t pleased with the result, and he said during a press conference Monday that he couldn’t imagine anyone on the team was.
Still, the win counts the same.
“I'm never going to apologize for a win,” Cignetti said. “They're too hard to get. Same team (ODU) that should have beat South Carolina last year in the opener. Really dominated the game. Not reflected in the score.”
The Hoosiers were in “total control” of the game, Cignetti said, but settling for field goals and a couple turnovers on downs — and a fumble — prohibited them from putting more points on the scoreboard.
Indiana will host Kennesaw State University at noon Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington as it looks to clean up its mistakes and improve to 2-0.
Five other Big Ten teams in the poll
No. 1 Ohio State
After defeating then-No. 1 University of Texas on Aug. 30, Ohio State jumped to No. 1 in the poll. Sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin made his collegiate debut, finishing 13 for 20 for 126 yards passing and a touchdown as the Buckeyes won by 7 points.
No. 2 Penn State
Penn State began its season with a dominant 46-11 victory over the University of Nevada. Senior quarterback Drew Allar went 22 for 26 for 217 yards passing and a touchdown in the win. The Nittany Lions returned 10 starters on offense and six on defense from their 2024 squad, which fell in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Indiana will look to notch its first victory over Penn State since 2020 on Nov. 8 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
No. 6 Oregon
Oregon opened its campaign with a 46-point win over Montana State University. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dante Moore, who began his career at UCLA in 2023 before sitting behind now-Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel in 2024, made his first start with the Ducks. He went 18 for 23, totaling 213 yards passing and three touchdowns in the victory.
Indiana will travel to Autzen Stadium to take on Oregon on Oct. 11.
No. 11 Illinois
Illinois, which will travel to Indiana on Sept. 20 in front of a sold-out crowd, started its season with a dominant 49-point win over Western Illinois University — a team the Hoosiers defeated 77-3 in 2024.
Redshirt senior quarterback Luke Altmeyer, who began his career at the University of Mississippi, went 17 for 21 for 217 yards passing and three touchdowns.
No. 15 Michigan
Prized recruit Bryce Underwood impressed in his collegiate debut as Michigan defeated New Mexico State University by 17 points in Week 1. The freshman quarterback finished 21 for 31 for 251 yards passing and a touchdown.
Graduate student wide receiver Donaven McCulley, who left Indiana and entered the transfer portal midway through the 2024 season, caught four passes for 31 yards in the contest.
The Hoosiers and the Wolverines aren’t slated to face off this season, barring a meeting in the postseason.
Two others receiving votes
Southern California earned 64 votes in the poll while Nebraska received 13. Both schools won their respective Week 1 matchups. Neither school is on Indiana’s 2025 schedule.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
