Author: Mike Schumann

The NFL can wait. All-American left tackle Carter Smith announced Friday evening he is returning to school for his fifth and final year of eligibility. “Sorry to keep you waiting Hoosiers, I’m not going anywhere!  Year 5 let’s run it back!” Smith wrote on his X page. Smith was First Team All-Big Ten, the Big Ten’s Offensive Lineman of the Year, and a First Team All-American in 2025. He did not give up a sack all season until the national championship game. Smith provides a returning anchor to the left side of IU’s offensive line.  The Hoosiers will also return…

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Indiana defeated Rutgers Friday evening at Jersey Mike’s Arena by a final score of 82-59. The three keys to the game, highlights and final stats are all below. Indiana led 47-32 at halftime.  The Hoosiers were led in the game by Lamar Wilkerson with 27 points. For Darian DeVries’ quotes following the game, GO HERE. Indiana (13-7, 4-5) returns to action Tuesday against Purdue in Bloomington. THREE KEYS TO THE GAME 1. Three headed monster.  With primary scoring option Tucker DeVries in a slump of late, Indiana had been struggling offensively.  But DeVries broke out of his…

Indiana has found its preferred replacement for outgoing strength coach Derek Owings. Curt Cignetti is working on a deal to hire Colorado State head strength coach Tyson Brown, a source confirms to TDH. Brown had just arrived at Colorado State in December when he followed head coach Jim Mora there from UConn. He arrived at CSU as senior associate head coach and director of football strength and conditioning after holding the same role under Mora at UConn. Brown’s experience includes leadership roles at Mississippi State and Washington State, as well as time spent working with NFL athletes. Indiana’s quick move…

Your national champion IU football staff is now focused on the 2026 roster. Below we take a position-by-position look at which players are out of eligibility, who is eligible to return, transfers in and out, and freshmen in 2025. Scholarship players and notable walk-ons are included. This post will be updated regularly and added to the IU football drop-down menu.  Check back for updates. —————————————- LEGEND: *Started during the 2025 season or otherwise had a significant role. ^Early NFL Draft potential (NOTE:  No players will be marked as transferring in or out or leaving early for the NFL Draft until…

The sports world was intrigued by the 16-0 rags-to-riches IU football story. Indiana’s national championship win over Miami was the second-most watched College Football Playoff final of all-time. The ESPN telecast drew an average of 30.1 million viewers and peaked at 33.2 million, the network announced on Thursday.  Those figures represent a significant jump over last year’s average of 22.2 million for the Notre Dame vs. Ohio State CFP final. It was the most-watched college football game since the 2014-15 season, and the second most-watched cable telecast on record. The game was also the most-viewed non-NFL sports telecast since Game…

After a national championship and three straight years as an All-American, IU football cornerback D’Angelo Ponds said Thursday morning he intends to enter the NFL Draft. Ponds made the comment to the assembled media at an event at Raising Cane’s in Bloomington. A true junior, Ponds has a year of eligibility remaining, but little to prove at the college level. Ponds is currently the No. 5 rated cornerback on ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr.’s 2026 NFL Draft board. He was named Defensive MVP of both the Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl on Indiana’s postseason journey to a 16-0 season and a…

He backed it up. And because he did, “It’s pretty simple, I win, Google me” will go down as one of the greatest sports lines of all time. And now when you Google IU football coach Curt Cignetti’s name, the $4 trillion market cap global technology conglomerate confirms his iconic message. If you go to the search engine today and enter Curt Cignetti, the first response at the top of the page is “Yep, he won.” It’s a worthy response by Google, since Cignetti, perhaps unwittingly, became a great ambassador for their brand. Frustrated because you can’t find the answer…

Just moments after leading Indiana to a national championship and the first 16-0 season in college football since the 1890s, Curt Cignetti discussed his plans for taking time off. Surely he’s headed to an island for a week or two, right? “We’re going to enjoy this moment, take a day off tomorrow, get back at it Wednesday,” Cignetti said. Okay, so he was kidding? Not really. Cignetti is not one to take a lot of time off to begin with, but the lone downside of this magical IU football run is it ended late into the calendar for next season.…

Indiana is mired in the winter doldrums. This game was never in doubt.  The Hoosiers started in a 9-0 hole, were down 17 midway through the first half, and were never closer than 11 after the break while falling behind by as much as 25. Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana lost 86-72 at Ann Arbor with our latest edition of The Report Card. Now on a four-game losing streak, the Hoosiers (12-7, 3-5) will return to action Friday when they travel to Rutgers. —————————————- OFFENSE (C-) As has been the case all year, an extended, mostly switching,…

It was the one thing that had evaded them both. Despite one legendary coaching career that already put Frank Cignetti, Sr. in the College Football Hall of Fame, and another that has his son on his way — neither Frank or Curt Cignetti had one a national championship at any level. 13 times Frank took Indiana University of Pennsylvania to the Division II Playoffs.  He won 199 games and reached the national final twice. But he never won a championship. For a while Curt appeared to be on the same path.  He followed in his father’s footsteps at IUP, then…