Indiana football improved to No. 4 in the Associated Press’ Top 25 Poll released Sunday. The Hoosiers also received three No. 1 votes.
The Hoosiers entered their matchup against Howard University on Saturday as the No. 5 team in the country. But after a 55-0 victory over the Bison, Indiana rose one spot in the rankings.
Redshirt senior quarterback Josh Hoover and junior wide receiver Charlie Becker connected for three touchdowns through the air Saturday. The Hoosiers also found success in the run game, rushing for 296 yards and averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
Defensively, Indiana held Howard to just 57 total yards of offense, collecting 12 tackles for loss and five sacks.
Indiana’s rise in the AP Poll was helped by Ohio State’s 24-23 loss to the University of Texas at Austin on Saturday night. The Buckeyes held a 23-3 lead in the second half, which Texas erased with three consecutive scoring drives.
Ohio State entered Saturday at No. 1 but fell to No. 6 after its loss. Oregon also dropped significantly in the rankings Sunday after a 39-31 loss to Oklahoma State University on Saturday afternoon. The Ducks fell 15 spots to No. 21.
USC rose two spots to No. 12 after a 49-30 victory against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Penn State also improved two slots, jumping to No. 14 with a 27-9 win over Temple University.
After being ranked No. 21 in last week’s poll, Iowa defeated Iowa State University 16-13 and vaulted to No. 18 in the rankings Sunday.
Despite a 2-0 start, Washington fell out of the poll following a close 16-14 win over Utah State University.
After falling from No. 16 to out of the rankings entirely Sept. 8, Michigan re-entered the poll at No. 19 Sunday. The Wolverines defeated then-No. 11 University of Oklahoma 17-10 on Saturday.
Indiana will look to improve to 3-0 in its final nonconference game against Western Kentucky University at 4 p.m. Sept. 19.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
