IU football achieved bowl eligibility with their win at Oregon on Saturday, and no one noticed.
That’s because if the season ended today, Indiana would almost certainly have a bye in the College Football Playoff — after competing in the Big Ten championship game.
Like the AP top-25 and Coaches Poll, IU football is almost universally thought of as a top-four team. And they won’t have to win the Big Ten to get a bye and host a CFP game in 2025.
A new CFP policy implemented in 2025 guarantees the five highest-ranked conference champions a place in the Playoff, but will no longer include a bye for the four highest-ranked champions.
Instead, the 12-team bracket will now be seeded directly based on the final ranking of the CFP Selection Committee, with the four highest-ranked teams receiving a first-round bye. If one or more of the five highest-ranked conference champions are ranked outside the top 12, that team or teams would move up to the 12th seed, 11th seed, etc., based on the number of conference champions outside the top 12.
After emerging unscathed from the Illinois-Iowa-Oregon gauntlet, IU’s remaining schedule turns favorable. They’ll face just one more team (Maryland) currently with a winning record. A previously daunting challenge at Penn State for game 10 has taken on a completely new look after the Nittany Lions lost three straight games, fired their head coach and lost their starting quarterback for the season.
Indiana’s full remaining schedule is as follows:
- vs. Michigan State (3-3)
- vs. UCLA (2-4)
- at Maryland (4-2)
- at Penn State (3-3)
- vs. Wisconsin (2-4)
- at Purdue (2-4)
Here are the latest CFP projections for Indiana from some of the main national outlets:
ESPN
No. 3 seed, first round bye.
CBS SPORTS
No. 3 seed, first round bye.
USA TODAY
No. 4 seed, first round bye
THE ATHLETIC
No. 3 seed, first round bye
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
No. 5 seed, hosting in the first round
The CFP Selection Committee members will meet weekly to produce rankings beginning next month. The committee’s rankings will be announced on ESPN. Here’s the schedule for the 2025-26 season:
- 8-8:45 p.m. | ET Tuesday, Nov. 4
- 7-8 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Nov. 11
- 8:30-9 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Nov. 18
- 7-8 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Nov. 25
- 7-7:30 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Dec. 2
- 12-3 p.m. ET | Sunday, Dec. 7 (Selection Day)
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