The Indiana Hoosiers started red hot in 2024 as they have gone a staggering 9-0 and are currently ranked within the top 10 in the AP poll and the coach’s poll. This newfound winning streak came out of the blue, and shocked many as Indiana has been perfect this season behind new Head Coach Curt Cignetti. Cignetti, who came over from JMU has a proven track record and labels himself as a winner. He has not lost in his college career and his proven track record seems to extend to Indiana. The Hoosiers are a team with a rich basketball history, rather than football, so there is a newfound love for the team in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers have had several big wins this season including victories over Nebraska and Washington. However, Indiana has the toughest part of their schedule left as they will face perennial powerhouse Michigan and Ohio State. If Indiana can win just one of those games, they still should have a good chance to make it into the Big 10 conference championship.
The Hoosiers will open as favorites versus Michigan next week as they host the mighty Wolverines at home. The Hoosiers will look for big plays out of their star player, Kurtis Rourke who has set the nation on fire this year. Rourke, a senior from Ontario Canada has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country this year as he has thrown for over 2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns. Rourke is the key to this team as the games he has missed resulted in a poor performance from Indiana.
Indiana is also led by Aidan Fisher who has 84 tackles on the season and is a true plug-and-go guy. On the defensive line, the team also features Mikail Kamara who leads the team with 9.5 sacks on the season, a total that should only grow as the season continues. The kicking game has also been great as Nicolas Radicic has been perfect all season, not missing an extra point or field goal.
One of the most interesting elements about Indiana is that it is not a football school as the team has historically struggled in the Big 10. Under former Head Coach Tom Wilson, the team went to three bowl games from 2015 to 2020 but have not been back to one since.
This year, they have already qualified for a bowl game as they achieved six wins just two weeks ago. The only thing to determine now is what bowl the Hoosiers will be playing for, and that is all up to them. Indiana has all the pieces to make a run come January and their goal should be to win it all and remain perfect on the year.
If the Hoosiers are lucky enough to make the Big 10 championship game, they would most likely play Oregon who is new to the conference this year. The Ducks have been one of the best teams in the nation this year and would be a legitimate test for the underdog Hoosiers. The good thing for Indiana, however, is that even if they don’t make the playoffs their accomplishments this season have already been massively impressive. Â
This is probably the best Indiana football team ever, or at least in modern history, and that means something. This is year one for a new coach, imagine what he will be able to do when he steps in the door for year two next fall. Defense will also be big for the Hoosiers as they look to keep opponents to a low score. Whether the Hoosiers will be ready is the big question, but they have the whole state behind them as they look to turn Indiana into a football school.