BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It’s amazing the more things change, the more they stay the same in college football. When it says Indiana on the front of the shirt, it’s not always easy to earn the right respect.
Even this year that’s true. The Hoosiers – the worst program in college football history with 713 losses – are 9-0 for the first time ever. They have won every game by 14 points or more and lead the nation in scoring margin, a stunning plus-296 in nine games.
Still, when the first twelve-team College Football Playoff round came out, they were the No. 9 seed, and had they started today, the Hoosiers would have had to play a first-round game on the road at No. 8. Tennessee.
Sure, Indiana fans think they’re underrated, but they’re not the only ones. National voices like Joel Klatt and Barrett Sallee have voiced their opinions loud and clear that Indiana is being slighted in this year’s rankings.
And their points are valid. If this were Ohio State, which was 9-0 and everyone was boat racing, they would definitely be in the top three or four teams. Indiana is ranked No. 8 in the first CFP top-25 rankings.
That’s too low.
It’s no surprise either. Even with all the great things Curt Cignetti has done in his first year in Bloomington – and it has been incredible – there is still some doubt about how good this team is. They didn’t play anyone, right? Well, that’s partly true, there are no ranked teams on the schedule and all nine opponents have at least four losses each.
But the beatdowns must be taken into account. That’s how impressive they’ve been.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen this before – and just four years ago. I know most Indiana fans don’t think about Tom Allen much because of how the last three years of his tenure went, but his 2020 team did great things and was also often overlooked.
They were the best team you were NEVER saw.
As we all know, 2020 was the COVID year. The Big Ten didn’t want to play the season at all, but when almost everyone else — especially the SEC and ACC — carried on as if no one was dying, the Big Ten agreed to play an abbreviated schedule without fans.
That part was the biggest shame. I was very fortunate to cover Indiana my second year at Sports Illustrated and was able to watch every game. It was great.
They defeated No. 8 Penn State in overtime in their opener at Memorial Stadium without fans, with Michael Penix Jr. dove toward the pylon after a two-point conversion in one of the most iconic plays in IU football history. It was only their second win in 22 tries against the Nittany Lions.
Indiana went on to beat Rutgers and then host No. 23 Michigan at home. The Hoosiers were underdogs and got no respect.
I couldn’t believe it.
The Michigan program was on the rocks and Indiana seemed like a team on the rise. I wrote my prediction column that Friday that Indiana was – probably for the first time ever – better than Michigan at every key position.
Of course, Michigan fans roasted me on Twitter.
But I said what I believed: that Penix was a much better quarterback than Joe Milton. I was right. I said Indiana had better receivers, and Ty Fryfogle and Whop Philyor tore them apart all day. I said Indiana’s defense was better, and they held Michigan to 13 yards rushing all day.
Indiana defeated Michigan on November 7, 2020en route to a 38-21 win that wasn’t exactly close. It ended a 24-game losing streak against the Wolverines.
Indiana would finish 6-1 that year, with its only loss coming against Ohio State, losing 42-35 in the greatest college football game I have ever seen. Penix threw for 491 yards and five touchdowns that day, but the Hoosiers were seven points away from a perfect season. It was the best Indiana team I’ve ever seen.
COVID ruined the end of the season. After beating Wisconsin to get to 6-1, they were never able to get their game with Purdue. COVID ran rampant through both programs and the game was postponed on December 12, then again a week later. The Hoosiers felt like they had done enough to earn the top New Year’s Six bowl game, but were instead shipped off to Tampa for an Outback Bowl matchup with Ole Miss.
Allen was angry about the slight and felt the Big Ten hierarchy had something to do with it. He covered the Big Ten logo on their jerseys with the Outback Bowl logo and the LEO mantra that was a staple of the program in his day. Ole Miss won, with an injured Jack Tuttle trying to play quarterback with a separated shoulder. So many Indiana players — over 40 — had COVID-19 in December that they never practiced as a full team before the Outback Bowl
They finished in twelfth place in the overall standings in 2020, but that could have been even better.
It’s amazing what has happened in the four years since Michigan lost at Memorial Stadium in Indiana. The Hoosiers completely fell apart after that season. Penix injuries in 2021 – his fourth straight year with season-ending injuries – contributed to a 2-10 season that started with a No. 17 preseason ranking. Indiana’s offensive line was terrible, and players admitted — to a man — that they didn’t come into that season with the same preparation and effort.
The Hoosiers went 4-8 in 2022 and 3-9 in 2023 and Allen was fired.
Michigan, meanwhile, came close to firing coach Jim Harbaugh after that 2020 season. where they went 2-4 and had their final three games canceled due to COVID. But they decided to stick with him because they knew they had a lot of young talent that could change things.
They did exactly that.
In 2021, they went 12-1 in the regular season, eventually beating Ohio State and winning the Big Ten title with a win over Iowa. They made the four-team College Football Playoff, but lost to Georgia.
They did the same in 2022, going 13-0, beating Ohio State again and defeating Purdue in the Big Ten title game, but then being upset by TCU in the playoffs. In 2023, they finally got it right and won the league title 15-0. They defeated the Buckeyes for the third straight time, topped Iowa to win the league, and then defeated Alabamana and a Michael Penix Washington team to claim the national championship.
Indiana won nine games from 2021 to 2023, while Michigan won 40!!! Forty.
But here we are on November 9, 2024 and things have come full circle. Suddenly – and stunningly – Indiana is back in the national spotlight and Michigan is just 5-4 and reeling with Harbaugh gone.
The Hoosiers have not been favored to beat Michigan in the past 42 games. That’s a generation or two. But they are on Saturday, The line opened at 10.5 points, but is now above 14. That’s great.
But on Saturday evening you also know what that means. If the Hoosiers beat Michigan, the win will also diminish because the Wolverines just aren’t very good.
All we know is this. The Hoosiers just have to keep winning and everything will work itself out. The disrespect? It’s real. But it is also irrelevant. Keep winning and everything will take care of itself.
All we know is this. Memorial Stadium will be sold out on Saturday and the scene will be electric. The same applies to the national TV broadcast on CBS. Indiana football is in full swing, and they were the best story in college football this year.
But there are still more chapters to be written. Much more.
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