Indiana football jumped three spots in the Associated Press’ Top 25 Poll released Sunday. The Hoosiers now own the No. 8 spot — the highest mark since their top five ranking in 2024.
The shift in the rankings follows the Hoosiers’ 20-15 victory over Iowa on Sept. 27. Senior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt hauled in the go-ahead touchdown to propel the Cream and Crimson to the road-win at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.
While the Indiana offense stalled for much of the afternoon, redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza connected with Sarratt on a 49-yard touchdown pass to break a 13-13 tie and grant the Hoosiers a 20-13 lead with under two minutes remaining.
Sarratt finished the game with a team-high six catches for 132 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Mendoza tossed the first interception of his Indiana career, but still managed to throw for 233 yards and two touchdowns against the Hawkeyes.
Six Big Ten programs broke the top 25, while USC got knocked out of the rankings. The Trojans suffered a 34-32 loss to Illinois, and Ohio State remains at No. 1 after earning a 24-6 victory over Washington over the weekend.
Oregon jumped four spots in the rankings to No. 2 after handing Penn State a 30-24 loss, and the Nittany Lions dropped four slots to No. 7 as a result. Despite a bye week, Michigan slid down one spot to No. 20 in the poll, while Illinois rose one position to No. 22 following its victory over then-No. 21 USC.
No. 8 Indiana now receives a week six bye-week before heading to Eugene, Oregon, for a matchup against No. 2 Oregon.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
