Saturday will mark that second-ever game in the Indiana vs. Illinois series where both teams were ranked. In this week’s AP Poll, Indiana is No. 19 and Illinois is No. 9.
In 74 previous head-to-head meetings that has only happened one other time, and that game was played in 1950 in the other Memorial Stadium — in Champaign, Ill.
Coming off a stunning 20-7 home win over No. 11 Notre Dame, Clyde Smith’s 1950 Hoosiers entered the AP Poll at No. 19 and hit the road to face No. 12 Illinois. It was the beginning of the end for Smith, as IU fell 20-0 to the Illini. Smith would only win three more games through the end of the 1951 campaign, and IU hired a new head coach in 1952.
But what about games in Bloomington involving two ranked teams?
Those games have been exceedingly rare, in large because prior to 2020, it was a very rare occasion for Indiana to be ranked.
We could only come up with eight games played at IU that involved both teams being ranked in the AP Poll.
It’s worth noting, the AP only ranked 20 teams from 1936 to 1988, except from 1961 to 1967, when only 10 teams were recognized. Since 1988 there has been a top-25.
So there could be more “top-25” games on this list if such rankings had always existed. And certainly Indiana’s 1967 home win over Purdue that sent them to the Rose Bowl was a top-25 matchup. The Hoosiers fell out of the top-10 prior to that game, and moved right back in after defeating the No. 3 Boilermakers.
Here are the games played in Bloomington involving two ranked teams in the AP Poll:
2024: No. 16 Indiana 56, No. 25* Nebraska 7
Okay, we’re cheating right off the bat here. We’re using the AP Poll because it has a longer history, but Nebraska was only ranked by the coaches, and receiving votes from in the AP. They wouldn’t be ranked by anyone after this one played in front of 53,082.
2020: No. 13 Indiana 38, No. 23 Michigan 21
Indiana ended a 33-year drought against the Wolverines with a dominant effort. Unfortunately, only 1,034 were there to see it during the COVID-19 season.
1993: No. 23 Indiana 10, No. 22 Michigan State 0
IU pitched its second straight Big Ten shutout in front of 40,110. The Hoosiers moved up to No. 17 the next week. This would be the last season IU was ranked for multiple weeks in a year until 2020.
1987: No. 15 Indiana 14, No. 20 Michigan 10
Most older IU fans remember this one, which ended another long drought against Michigan. The game was played in the rain in front of 51,240. IU would struggle the rest of the season, losing three of five to finish the year.
1968: No. 19 Indiana 22, No. 18 Michigan 27
Indiana competed with the Wolverines in a game that was statistically even. But the disappointing October loss in front of 51,951 at Memorial Stadium meant the magic of 1967 was unlikely to be repeated. And it wasn’t.
1946: No. 18 Indiana 0, No. 17 Iowa 13
After a slow start following their undefeated 1945 season, IU was surging heading into this game. And while Bo McMillin’s Hoosiers wouldn’t lose again following this defeat, it was a setback that cost them a share of the Big Ten.
1945: No. 8 Indiana 7, No. 14 Tulsa 2
In what was one of their toughest wins in an undefeated season, the IU defense delivered a shutout. Coming into the game, Tulsa was undefeated, and they were the defending Orange Bowl champions.
1945: No. 4 Indiana 26, No. 18 Purdue 0
The Hoosiers clinched the Big Ten and completed an undefeated season with a dominant win over the Boilermakers. This was one of the biggest wins in program history.
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