IU football game day: Western Kentucky at Indiana primer and prediction

One last tune up before Big Ten play arrives.

Western Kentucky has given IU trouble in recent meetings.  Can they do it again?  Things have changed quite a bit since the programs last met in 2022.

So far the Hilltoppers haven’t looked very good, and those recent games against Indiana were prior to the arrival of Curt Cignetti.

Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s week 3 matchup against Western Kentucky in Bloomington.

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WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS (0-2) at No. 4 INDIANA HOOSIERS (2-0)

• Kickoff:  4 p.m. ET, Saturday
• Location:  Bloomington, Ind.; Memorial Stadium (56,626; field turf)
• Television:  Peacock/NBCSN — Dan Hicks (pbp), Yogi Roth (color) & Caroline Pineda (sideline)
• Stream:  Peacock
• Radio:  IU Football radio network
• Odds:  Indiana is around a 44.5-point favorite
• Weather at kickoff:  89 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind 6 mph, 23% chance of precipitation.
• Series:  Indiana leads the all-time series 5-0.
• Tickets:  SOLD OUT.  Use our StubHub affiliate link
• The Coaches:
  • Curt Cignetti is in his third year as the head coach at IU.  He holds a 148-37 record in his 16th season as a college head coach.  He’s 29-2 at Indiana.
  • Tyson Helton is the head coach of WKU.  He’s 57-38 in eight seasons with the program.

We’re ready, are you? pic.twitter.com/MEXF1VipZl

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) September 19, 2026

GAMEDAY TIMELINE

THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK 3 SLATE

All times Eastern.

TALE OF THE TAPE 

WESTERN KENTUCKY RESULTS

WESTERN KENTUCKY NOTES AND NUMBERS

(Via WKU Athletics)

• Saturday will mark the sixth meeting all-time between WKU and Indiana and the first since the 2022 season. The Hoosiers have won all five meetings between the two programs – three of which were played in Bloomington, and two in Bowling Green. The last three meetings were decided by a combined eight points, including a 33-30 overtime game the last time the two played on Sept. 17, 2022, in Bloomington.
• BOWL SUCCESS: With the victory over Southern Miss in the 2025 New Orleans Bowl, WKU claimed its eighth bowl win since the start of the College Football Playoff Era. WKU’s eight bowl wins during that time are tied with Alabama, Ohio State and Wisconsin for third-most during that timeframe, and trail only the nine won by Georgia and Minnesota. The Hilltoppers have also played in a bowl game in each of the last seven seasons – all seven seasons under Head Coach Tyson Helton – and are one of just eight teams in the country, and one of only two non-Power Conference programs, that has played in a bowl game or CFP game in each of the last seven seasons.
• 8-WIN SEASONS: WKU finished the 2025 season with a 9-4 record, marking the fifth consecutive season the Hilltoppers have claimed at least eight wins in a season. The Hilltoppers are one of just 11 programs nationally that has done that, and they are one of just three non-Power Conference programs to accomplish that feat. WKU is the only non-Power Conference program to do that while playing an FBS schedule every year during that stretch.
• The Hilltoppers entered the 2026 season with 65 new players on the roster – the new norm for the program. Last season, WKU entered the season with 61 new players. This year’s group of newcomers includes 41 transfers and 24 true freshmen, with 24 letterwinners returning from 2025, including seven starters. In the opener at Nevada, 16 players made their first start for the Hilltoppers, and 32 players appeared in their first game with the program.
• ROAD TRIPS: The Hilltoppers are one of only five programs nationally with three straight road games this season, and are the only school that plays three straight road games without a bye week during that stretch. The Hilltoppers are also the only FBS program scheduled to play multiple nonconference games against teams that were ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Preseason Poll.
• AGAINST POWER CONFERENCE TEAMS: WKU has had some success against power conference teams in the past, with wins at Arkansas in 2019, at Vanderbilt in 2015, against Kentucky in 2013 and at Kentucky in 2012 during the program’s FBS Era (since 2009). WKU has dropped its last 10 games against teams in power conferences (at the time of the meeting), but of those losses, four were one-score games by a combined nine points. WKU is 0-4 against Big Ten teams under Tyson Helton, with two games against Indiana (2021 and 2022), one at Michigan State (2021) and one at Ohio State (2023). The Hilltoppers have never defeated a team in the current Big Ten conference.

MORE WESTERN KENTUCKY WEEK COVERAGE

• Indiana’s balanced run game leads Hoosiers into Week 3 matchup with Western Kentucky
• Report: IU football to be without Daley and Wyatt this weekend
• IU football: Cignetti says he’s still looking for better practice habits from WR Nick Marsh
• Radio show: IU football coach Curt Cignetti ahead of Western Kentucky game
• “Doing everything right”: WKU coach on dramatic turnaround at Indiana
• IU football’s head coach gives hilarious evaluation of Curt Cignetti the quarterback
• Watch: Q&As with IU football’s Beebe, Richard and Zachman — Western Kentucky week
• IU football: CBs Sharpe and Harris “day-to-day,” Cignetti encouraged by their backups
• Watch: IU football coach Curt Cignetti Monday Q&A — Western Kentucky week

PREDICTIONS

This is the first week IU looks like a truly dominant team.

Indiana scores touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams, and cruises through the second half.

The rough start continues for the Hilltoppers.

TDH PREDICTION:  INDIANA 59 WESTERN KENTUCKY 10

• ESPN SP+ (Computer):  Indiana 48 WKU 7 (100% win probability for IU)
• ESPN FPI (Computer):  Indiana has a 99% chance to win.

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