Indiana Hoosiers Ranked 13th in Latest AP Poll
The latest AP Top 25 poll is out, and while most of the top 10 remain the same, there are a couple of surprises. Alabama has been dropped out of the top 10 with their 23-17 OT loss to Tennessee and sits 15th. However, one of the larger surprises is Indiana. Yes, the Indiana Hoosiers. They’re 7-0 and, yet, ranked 13th in this latest poll. Five other 7-0 squads are in the poll ahead of them: Oregon at #1, Penn State at #3, Miami at #6, Iowa State at #10, and BYU at #11.
Yes, these teams indeed had tougher schedules than the Hoosiers, but in any other situation, an undefeated team would be with their buddies in the top 10, right? Most of IU’s opponents have been non-Power Five opponents, such as FIU, Western Illinois, and Charlotte, while teams like BYU and Iowa State have fought most of their current schedule against conference opponents, ones that are in one of the country’s premier conferences, the Big 12. But the point is, despite being in a premier conference of its own and currently reigning supreme above the likes of even defending national champions Michigan, Indiana isn’t getting the respect it deserves.
Indiana is a team that, in program history, hasn’t won all seven of its first games by double digits since 1896. You heard that right. The Hoosiers haven’t been this good in almost 130 YEARS. That was just the team’s ninth season of existence as well, and they hadn’t even joined a conference yet! On top of that, IU has now been ranked for four straight weeks. That’s only the second season in the last 30 years that Indiana’s spent consecutive weeks in the AP Poll.
With all those random facts flying, you’d think the committee would given the Hoosiers a bigger benefit of the doubt there, but no. They’re too busy whining that Alabama dropped out of the top 10 and is having its “worst” season since 2007. Poor them. They must always worship the Crimson Slide, shouldn’t they?
And for Indiana’s Power 5 schedule, they’ve all been top-tier performances where the Hoosiers have put up 42 points on teams like UCLA and conference foes like Maryland, Northwestern, and Nebraska. And yes, those are easy games, given those teams’ struggles over the last few seasons, but how many other teams besides the Hoosiers can be that consistent? Indiana has a bit of a tougher schedule coming their way, with the likes of Big Ten newcomers Washington and stalwarts Michigan State plus the aforementioned Michigan Wolverines, two of those being at home in Bloomington.
Keeping that 7-0 record intact is tough enough for even the best contending teams, which Indiana is just now making a solid case for. It’s especially tough for teams that have never quite reached such status at this point in the season- the last time the Hoosiers started 7-0 was way back in 1967 when they eventually finished 9-2 with a Rose Bowl loss to USC. This is history in the making for Indiana, and with just a couple of more wins, they could save some valuable energy for when they face currently-fourth-ranked Ohio State on November 23 for a Thanksgiving showdown in Columbus.
Another challenge that could break the Hoosiers’ perfect record is their quarterback situation. Despite the dominant 56-7 win over Nebraska last Saturday to move from 16th to 13th in this latest AP Top 25, starting QB Kurtis Rourke is potentially out for a few weeks with a thumb injury. For a QB, that’s the worst injury to pick up, and it could result in IU’s first loss of the season when they host former Pac-12 titans Washington this Saturday. It’ll also be a College Gameday appearance for the Hoosiers, who have just one appearance on ESPN’s premier morning college football show, a 2017 opening week duel with Ohio State that ended very poorly for the Hoosiers.
As for Indiana’s QBs, backup Tayven Jackson will most likely take the reigns for the Hoosiers in this weekend’s Washington clash. The redshirt sophomore from Greenwood, Indiana, filled in during the second half of IU’s 56-7 win over Nebraska. On top of that, Jackson will also fit in perfectly with the run-heavy IU offense. He may have only relieved Rourke in three games against Nebraska and, earlier, Charlotte and Western Illinois, but Jackson still has three passing touchdowns and a rushing score on his season log, in addition to 225 passing yards and 36 rushing yards. Jackson could amp up those numbers, especially since Rourke could potentially miss a few weeks with his bad thumb.
Yes, some have said Jackson is still primarily a rushing QB, but those numbers say otherwise. If he gets to fill in for Rourke for long enough, say about the next 2-3 games, depending on how long Rourke is out, his bad thumb injury severity is yet to be determined. Jackson could turn IU into more of an offensive juggernaut than it already is. His first test comes this Saturday, with all the hype of College Gameday to go along with it. Will the Hoosiers go 8-0 to remain in firm command of the Big 10, which absolutely no one expected them to do? Tune in at noontime on the Big Ten network to find out!
See also: IU’s Head Coach Curt Cegnetti Isn’t Happy with Media Over Claims His Team Are “Frauds”