The latest sign Indiana football has a much more manageable schedule in 2024 came this week via the release of the preseason AP top-25.
At least based on the preseason rankings, the Hoosiers will face just two ranked opponents all season — No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 9 Michigan. And those contests do not arrive until games 11 and 10, respectively.
Buried in the other teams receiving votes of the preseason AP top-25 are two more Indiana opponents — Washington at No. 32, and Nebraska at No. 35.
In total, 42 teams received votes in the AP poll, meaning two-thirds of Indiana’s 2024 schedule comes against teams outside of the preseason top-42. Of course, Indiana also did not receive votes, and their Big Ten games against teams also in that category will likely define their season — UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern, Michigan State and Purdue.
To help make things even more manageable, three of IU’s four games against teams in the AP’s version of the top-35 are at home.
There are several Big Ten teams ranked, but Indiana was fortunate enough to dodge most of them. In total the Big Ten placed six teams in the AP top-25 — Ohio State (2), Oregon (3), Penn State (8), Michigan (9), USC (23), and Iowa (25). Washington, Nebraska and Wisconsin are the only other teams that received votes.
The full preseason AP top-25 is below. You can see Indiana’s 2024 schedule here:
Preseason AP Top 25
1 Georgia
2 Ohio State
3 Oregon
4 Texas
5 Alabama
6 Ole Miss
7 Notre Dame
8 Penn State
9 Michigan
10 Florida State
11 Missouri
12 Utah
13 LSU
14 Clemson
15 Tennessee
16 Oklahoma
17 Oklahoma State
18 Kansas State
19 Miami
20 Texas A&M
21 Arizona
22 Kansas
23 USC
24 NC State
25 Iowa
Others receiving votes: Louisville 111, Virginia Tech 77, Boise State 47, SMU 33, Iowa State 33, Liberty 32, Washington 23, West Virginia 17, Memphis 16, Nebraska 16, Wisconsin 15, UTSA 6, Tulane 5, Appalachian State 4, Kentucky 3, Auburn 2, Colorado 1
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
