Well-known college football analyst Phil Steele was more optimistic than most when it came to Indiana’s 2024 outlook under then first-year head coach Curt Cignetti.
While much of the college football world was calling for a last or second-to-last place finish for the Hoosiers, Steele pegged Indiana as the No. 12 team in the Big Ten. That was still way off from IU’s tied for second-place finish, but it was clear Steele placed more value on Cignetti and his transfer portal haul than most.
So what does Steele say about IU going into 2025?
With what appears to be a challenging conference slate, Steele and other preseason magazines see the Hoosiers taking a step back.
In his annual magazine published this summer, Steele predicts IU will finish sixth in the league in Cignetti’s second season at the helm in Bloomington.
Interestingly, Indiana plays three teams Steele says will finish above them — Penn State, Oregon and Illinois. Known for being motivated by doubters and encouraging his team to play with a chip on their shoulders, these kind of predictions should add fuel to the fire in Bloomington.
Here is Steele’s full Big Ten predicted order of finish for 2025:
Phil Steele’s 2025 Big Ten Football projected order of finish:
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Oregon Ducks
- Michigan Wolverines
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Indiana Hoosiers
- USC Trojans
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Washington Huskies
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Michigan State Spartans
- UCLA Bruins
- Northwestern Wildcats
- Maryland Terrapins
- Purdue Boilermakers
Nationally, Steele says IU is the No. 20 in America. He says Penn State is No. 1, followed by Ohio State (5), Oregon (8), Michigan (10) and Illinois (16) from the league.
Steele does not project Indiana as a playoff team in 2025. He says four teams from the Big Ten — Penn State, Oregon, Michigan and Ohio State — will make the 12-team field.
Two other annual college football magazines have hit the shelves, and they too are calling for IU to take a step back in the Big Ten.
Athlon says IU will finish fifth while pegging the Hoosiers as the No. 16 team nationally.
Meanwhile, Lindy’s has buried IU at ninth in the Big Ten and No. 31 in the nation.
We won’t have to wait long to see what the 2025 Hoosiers look like.
Fall camp starts in less than four weeks, on July 30.
Indiana opens the 2025 season on Aug. 30 vs. Old Dominion.
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