Author: Mike Schumann

Indiana was ranked No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday. CFP Committee chair Warde Manuel took a couple questions about IU during a post release teleconference. Here is what Manuel said about the Hoosiers: ——————————————— Q. You mentioned about Indiana on the show, how dominant they’ve been, winning games by two scores. You could possibly make the case to move them higher, but ESPN also showed that they have the 103rd ranked schedule which some would think would be a reason to drop them lower. How did they end up in the spot that they did?…

The College Football Playoff Committee released their first edition of the CFP Rankings on Tuesday evening live on ESPN. The Committee ranked Indiana No. 8, and playing in the CFP as the No. 9 seed. BYU was the No. 9 seed but earned one of the top four seeds in first the projection.  The top four seeds go to the highest-ranked conference champions.  Although they are ranked No. 9, BYU leapfrogged Indiana and others into the No. 4 seed, bumping the Hoosiers into the No. 9 seed. The current CFP bracket has No. 9 seed Indiana traveling to No. 8…

Indiana’s historic defensive effort in East Lansing has resulted in national recognition for edge rusher Mikail Kamara. On Saturday the Hoosier defense posted 15.0 tackles for loss, their most in a game since at least 2005. That total helped hold MSU to an IU program-record minus-36 rushing yards. And Indiana had 31 total quarterbacks pressures on 41 MSU drop backs in the passing game. The disruptive force leading the way for Indiana was Kamara. The Virginia product had nine quarterback pressures on 28 pass rush snaps against MSU, leading to 2.5 sacks, two quarterback hits, and four hurries. The single-game…

Pat Knight didn’t just return home on Friday night when he brought Marian to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The former IU basketball player and assistant coach got a chance to see up close and personal some of the players he was scouting a year ago. Knight ended a ten-year run as a scout for the Indiana Pacers to take the head coaching job at Marian.  And his responsibility as a Pacers scout was evaluating prospects in the western part of the United States. Three players he watched as NBA prospects a year ago — Oumar Ballo, Myles Rice and Kanaan…

Indiana will open the 2024-25 season Wednesday evening in Bloomington as a generally healthy basketball team. But they’ve certainly dealt with their fair share of issues in the days and months leading to this point. Just in the public exhibitions, five of their 13 scholarship players have not dressed for one of the two contests. And when the ball tips against SIU Edwardsville at 8 p.m. Wednesday (BTN), several players will remain under the watchful eyes of the training staff. Bryson Tucker missed the Tennessee exhibition after taking a knee to his thigh in practice.  His 19 point, 3 assist,…

Let’s try that again. Elite class of 2025 quarterback Julian Lewis planned to visit Indiana a few weeks ago when the Hoosiers hosted Nebraska.  But scheduling logistics for Lewis, trying to get from his Friday night high school game in Georgia to a noon kickoff at Indiana, got in the way. But Lewis will be in Bloomington on Saturday when the No. 8/10 Hoosiers face Michigan at 3:30 p.m. ET.  That’s according to Steve Wiltfong of On3. Indiana has put a very attractive product on the field through nine games for Lewis to consider. The Hoosiers rank second nationally in…

For the first time ever, the top level of college football will have a 12-team playoff. And with a 9-0 record, Indiana is squarely in the mix to be selected for the initial bracket. The College Football Playoff committee will release their first CFP rankings on Tuesday evening. Here is what you need to know about how the 2024 CFP works, and a survey of 10 noteworthy national predictions ahead of the first rankings reveal. THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE 2024 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF The CFP rankings are independently determined by a committee and not in any way based the…

In a season of statements, Indiana made yet another at Michigan State on Saturday with what was perhaps their best defensive effort in 2024. Below we took a look at Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades, notes and snap counts from the contest. Through nine games and for the third straight week, Indiana’s overall cumulative PFF grade for the season is No. 1 in the nation. Their overall offense is second, and their overall defense is third. Next up for Indiana (9-0) is PFF No. 28 Michigan (5-4) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). The Wolverines have lost three of four…

IU football returned to the top 10 for the first time since 2020 following their 47-10 win over Michigan State on Saturday. The Hoosiers (9-0) are No. 10 in the new coaches poll released Sunday afternoon.  Indiana still trails No. 1 Oregon, along with one-loss Ohio State (No. 3) and Penn State (No. 7) from the Big Ten.  Those are the only four teams from the league ranked after Illinois dropped out. In the AP poll released later on Sunday, Indiana is No. 8. After a 6-1 start, IU moved up to as high as No. 7 in the AP…

Indiana is not just 9-0, they’ve gone scorched earth. With a scoring margin on the that season averages out to a 33-point advantage per game, IU has destroyed everyone in their path so far. So it’s reasonable to wonder just how good these Hoosiers are on a competing for championships level. ESPN updated their Football Power Index overnight, and the Hoosiers are now a top-10 team (No. 10), with a 86.6% chance to make the College Football Playoff, a 16.3% chance to win the Big Ten, and, gulp, a 5.6% to win a national title. Michigan State head coach Jonathan…