Indiana Hoosiers football Curt Cignetti has one of the three remaining undefeated teams in the Big Ten, but his path to the CFP almost certainly won’t be a smooth one. IU faces one of the other unbeatens, the Oregon Ducks, next week in Eugene. The Hoosiers don’t face the other, the Ohio State Buckeyes, though.
Indiana’s uncertain future is compounded by a second difficult road trip, to the struggling but still talented Penn State Nittany Lions, and an easy early-season schedule that included the Old Dominion Monarchs, Kennesaw State Owls, and Indiana State Sycamores.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich believes the Hoosiers could end up in a precarious position with losses to Oregon and Penn State after since they won’t be playing the Buckeyes or Michigan Wolverines.
“Indiana doesn't play Ohio State or Michigan during the regular season, but it has a more difficult path to the playoff with trips to Oregon and Penn State. If the Hoosiers finish 10-2, they will be in a precarious playoff position because of their nonconference schedule (Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State),” Dinich wrote.
IU’s schedule is buoyed by a 63-10 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini at home. Their 20-15 road win over the Iowa Hawkeyes was largely uninspiring, with Heisman hopeful Fernando Mendoza having an off-game under center.
Indiana did itself no favors with Notre Dame loss in CFP
What makes things tougher for Cignetti and Co. is Indiana’s 27-17 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in last year’s College Football Playoff being used as a reason why the 12-team format is imperfect. The Boise State Broncos and SMU Mustangs didn’t help, but the Hoosiers were seen as the biggest fraud in the field after being uncompetitive for most of the game against Notre Dame, coming in with just one loss to Ohio State in an otherwise easy schedule. That argument was always unfair, though, because no one anticipated the Wolverines or Washington Huskies to decline so notably after a national championship appearance.
Regardless, the Hoosiers are battling the narrative that they don’t belong. The only way to prove they do is by beating Oregon, or Penn State, or both.