Indiana
Indiana high school football Super 25 rankings: Check out Week 1 statewide poll
IHSAA football: Counting down top-10 Class 6A Central Indiana teams
Insider Kyle Neddenriep counts down top-10 teams in Class 6A in Central Indiana
In addition to our USA TODAY Network Indiana high school football poll, which is voted on by a statewide group of media members, we are also unveiling an IndyStar Super 25 this season, which will rank the top-25 teams in the state regardless of class. My power poll going into the season:
1. Ben Davis: The defending champs in Class 6A are the top dog until proven otherwise. Friday’s game: vs. Cathedral.
2. Warren Central: I’m high on the Warriors going into the season with their talented and veteran defense. Friday’s game: at Fort Wayne Snider.
3. Center Grove: The Trojans were an overtime loss away from playing for a fourth consecutive 6A title last November. Friday’s game: vs. Westfield.
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4. Crown Point: The Bulldogs are well-positioned to become a 6A power after last year’s 13-1 and state finals appearance. Friday’s game: vs. Lowell.
5. Westfield: The Shamrocks probably overachieved last year to reach the semistate and bring back a lot of familiar faces. Friday’s game: at Center Grove.
6. Hamilton Southeastern: The Royals have started 4-0 each of the past three seasons. Friday’s game: at Carroll (Fort Wayne).
7. Brownsburg: The Bulldogs are 36-5 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference games since 2018. Friday’s game: Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger.
8. Carroll (Fort Wayne): The Chargers reached the 6A state finals two years ago before going 7-3 last year and falling to Warsaw in the sectional. Friday’s game: Hamilton Southeastern.
9. Carmel: The Greyhounds should have a more explosive offense with junior Anthony Coellner going into his second year as quarterback. Friday’s game: Homestead.
10. Lawrence North: The Wildcats are a sleeper coming off a 7-4 season and a lot of talent, including Indiana recruit Davion Chandler at receiver. Friday’s game: at Lawrence Central.
11. Cathedral: The Irish have a brutally tough schedule, but it can only help in the long run. Right? Friday’s game: at Ben Davis.
12. Fishers: The Tigers lost a lot on defense from a year ago but junior Gage Sturgill is a talented quarterback and Stanford commit JonAnthony Hall should have a big season. Friday’s game: at North Central.
13. Decatur Central: A year ago, the Hawks were coming off a 4-7 season and made a run to the 5A state finals. Could this be the program’s first state title team? Friday’s game: Columbus North.
14. Franklin Central: Sophomore defensive end Jayce Brewer has a bright future. Friday’s game: vs. Perry Meridian.
15. New Palestine: The Dragons, ranked preseason No. 1 in Class 4A, look like a better team than last year’s group that reached the semistate. Friday’s game: vs. Kokomo.
16. Penn: New coach Pete Riordan has a lot of new pieces. The Kingsmen were only a point away from knocking off Crown Point in last year’s regional.
17. Fort Wayne Snider: Last year’s 5A state champion moves up a class but also has one of the best players around in Notre Dame recruit Brandon Logan. Friday’s game: vs. Warren Central.
18. Bishop Chatard: No program has more state titles than Chatard at 17. Can the Trojans make it 18 in Class 4A? Friday’s game: at Brebeuf Jesuit.
19. Noblesville: The Millers need one of those breakthrough wins this season against the Hoosier Crossroads Conference’s top teams. Friday’s game: vs. Mt. Vernon.
20. Lawrence Central: Junior quarterback Terry Walker III, recently offered by Virginia, should have a big season. Friday’s game: at Lawrence Central.
21. Whiteland: Senior Slate Valentine rushed for 1,940 yards and 20 TDs as a junior. Friday’s game: vs. Jeffersonville.
22. Merrillville: The Pirates won a 5A regional last year before running into the Fort Wayne Snider buzzsaw in the semistate, falling 28-0. Friday’s game: vs. Andrean.
23. Avon: Expect the Orioles to be vastly improved going into Rob Gibson’s second season. Friday’s game: at Lafayette Jeff.
24. Lutheran: The Class 2A top-ranked Saints have won 43 consecutive games. Friday’s game: vs. Christel House Manual.
25. Valparaiso: The Vikings won a Class 5A state title in 2022, then finished 9-3 last season and lost 24-20 to Merrillville in the regional. Friday’s game: at Penn.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football’s roster is on more equal footing with Miami, even though the star rankings have meant little to the final results in this year’s CFP.
The No. 1 Hoosiers (15-0) beat Alabama and Oregon by a combined score of 94-25 despite having no former 5-star players in the starting lineup and just one former top 100 recruit.
The No. 10 Hurricanes (13-2) will have a pair of former 5-star recruits in their starting lineup but are only starting a total of three former top-100 prospects. It’s a sharp drop off in top talent from the likes of Alabama (14), Ohio State (10) and Oregon (eight).
| Category | Indiana | Miami | Oregon | Ohio State | Alabama |
| 5-stars | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 4-stars | 2 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 9 |
| Top 100 recruits | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 14 |
| 2-stars or below | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Indiana’s starting lineup still leads the way in overlooked recruits — it will start nine players that ranked 2-stars or below, including starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza — but Miami almost has more (four) than IU’s past three opponents combined (five).
The Hurricanes also has a more of a transfer laden starting lineup (11) than any of Indiana’s postseason opponents.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the recruiting rankings for this year’s participants in the CFP championship game:
Re-live IU’s 2025 season
Indiana football’s quarterbacks vs. Miami
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Miami (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Quarterback | Fernando Mendoza (2022) | 2-stars (No. 2,149) | Carson Beck (2020) | 4-stars (No. 254) |
Indiana football’s skill positions vs. Miami
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Miami (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Wide receiver | Elijah Sarratt (2022) | 0-stars (N/A) | Malachi Toney (2025) | 4-stars (No. 359) |
| Wide receiver | Omar Cooper Jr. (2022) | 4-stars (No. 299) | Keelan Marion | 2-stars (No. 3,390) |
| Wide receiver | E.J. Williams Jr. (2020) | 4-stars (No. 69) | CJ Daniels (2020) | 3-stars (No. 2,450) |
| Running back | Roman Hemby (2021) | 3-stars (No. 1,767) | Mark Fletcher Jr. (2023) | 4-stars (No. 149) |
| Tight end | Riley Nowakowski (2020) | 0-stars (N/A) | Alex Bauman (2022) | 3-stars (No. 1,770) |
Indiana football’s offensive line vs Miami
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Miami (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Left tackle | Carter Smith (2022) | 3-stars (No. 730) | Markel Bell (2022) | N/A |
| Left guard | Drew Evans (2022) | 0-stars (N/A) | Matthew McCoy (2022) | 3-stars (No. 735) |
| Center | Pat Coogan (2021) | 3-stars (No. 613) | James Brockermeyer (2021) | 4-stars (No. 194) |
| Right guard | Bray Lynch (2022) | 3-stars (No. 1,033) | Anez Cooper (2022) | 3-stars (No. 1,149) |
| Right tackle | Kahlil Benson (2020) | 3-stars (No. 714) | Francis Mauigoa (2023) | 5-stars (No. 9) |
Indiana football’s defensive line vs. Miami
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Miami (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Defensive tackle | Mario Landino (2024) | 3-stars (No. 2,398) | Ahmad Moten Sr. (2022) | 3-stars (No. 558) |
| Defensive tackle | Tyrique Tucker (2022) | 0-stars (N/A) | Justin Scott (2024) | 5-stars (No. 10) |
| Defensive end | Mikail Kamara (2020) | 0-stars (N/A) | Rueben Bain (2023) | 4-stars (No. 62) |
| Defensive end | Stephen Daley (2022) | 3-stars (No. 1,987) | Akheem Mesidor (2020) | 3-stars (No. 636) |
Indiana football’s linebackers vs. Miami
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Miami (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Linebacker | Aiden Fisher (2022) | 0-stars (N/A) | Wesley Bissainthe (2022) | 4-stars (188) |
| Linebacker | Rolijah Hardy (2023) | 0-stars (N/A) | Mohamed Toure (2019) | 3-stars (No. 1,024) |
Indiana football’s secondary vs. Miami
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Miami (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Cornerback | D’Angelo Ponds (2023) | 3-stars (No. 1,966) | OJ Frederique Jr. (2024) | 3-stars (No. 784) |
| Cornerback | Jamari Sharpe (2022) | 3-stars (No. 826) | Ethan O’Conner (2023) | 3-stars (No. 673) |
| Safety | Louis Moore (2020) | 0-stars (N/A) | Zechariah Poyser (2023) | N/A |
| Safety | Amare Ferrell (2022) | 3-stars (No. 578) | Jakobe Thomas (2021) | 3-stars (No. 2,048) |
| Rover | Devan Boykin (2020) | 3-stars (No. 833) | Keionte Scott (2020) | N/A |
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
The Indiana Hoosiers are heading to the College Football Playoff National Championship and they have barreled through some of the best teams in college football to get there.
The National Championship Game is set, with the Indiana Hoosiers facing the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Monday, Jan. 19. The matchup was officially locked in when Indiana took down the Oregon Ducks in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, 56-22. After the Hoosiers’ 38-3 win over Alabama, I would not want to be the team standing in their path.
But for Indiana fans, they could not have asked for a better season. You can celebrate all of those big moments, from the Big Ten championship and Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman win, to the Rose Bowl victory with unique sports prints. Then, cap it off with gear at Fanatics heading into the National Championship.
Here is a look at what to shop for the latest Hoosier’s championship gear at Fanatics:
Shop Indiana Hoosiers championship gear
Miami Hurricanes vs. Indiana Hoosiers College Football Playoff 2026 National Championship Game Matchup Total Showdown T-Shirt
Indiana Hoosiers College Football Playoff 2026 National Championship Game Final Stop T-Shirt
Miami Hurricanes vs. Indiana Hoosiers ’47 College Football Playoff 2026 National Championship Game Matchup Hitch Adjustable Hat
Shop Indiana Hoosiers Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl gear
Indiana Hoosiers College Football Playoff 2026 Peach Bowl Champions Locker Room T-Shirt
Indiana Hoosiers College Football Playoff 2026 Peach Bowl Champions Hometown Pride Hoodie
Indiana Hoosiers College Football Playoff 2026 Peach Bowl Champions Locker Room Rise Adjustable Hat
Michigan State narrowly escaped with a home win against the now 8–7 Northwestern Wildcats. The Spartans struggled mightily in the first half, entering the break down seven points after scoring just 28 points. Michigan State committed eight turnovers in the opening 20 minutes and went 6-of-11 from the free-throw line.
After a sluggish start, the Spartans regrouped and took control in the second half. Michigan State shot 14-of-27 from the field after halftime, playing with better pace and ball movement.
Jeremy Fears, who picked up two early fouls and began the game 0-of-4 from the field, responded with a strong second half. He finished the game shooting 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Overall, Michigan State was far more composed in the second half against the Wildcats. However, with a matchup against Indiana looming, the Spartans will not be able to afford another slow start like the one they experienced against Northwestern.
Scouting Indiana
Indiana has undergone a similar offseason transformation to another Big Ten opponent Michigan State has already faced: the Iowa Hawkeyes. After parting ways with head coach Mike Woodson, the Hoosiers hired former West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries.
DeVries began his head coaching career at Drake, where he posted an impressive 150–55 record. Over his final four seasons with the Bulldogs, he led the program to 108 wins and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
DeVries also went 79–33 in Missouri Valley Conference play, captured three MVC titles, and guided Drake to six of the program’s 11 20-win seasons before leaving for West Virginia.
In his lone season with the Mountaineers, DeVries engineered a significant turnaround, improving West Virginia from a 10-win team to a 19-win team.
Now at Indiana, DeVries has continued that trend of rapid improvement. In Mike Woodson’s final season, the Hoosiers finished 19–13 and missed the NCAA Tournament. This season, Indiana has already reached 12 wins and appears firmly back in the postseason conversation.
The Hoosiers are led by senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, a transfer from Sam Houston. Wilkerson is averaging 19.5 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from three-point range.
Indiana has been strong on both ends of the floor. According to KenPom, the Hoosiers rank 30th nationally in offensive efficiency and 28th in defensive efficiency.
As Michigan State prepares to face Indiana, the Spartans will need to clean up their first-half execution to keep pace with one of the Big Ten’s more balanced teams. Indiana’s efficiency on both ends of the court, combined with DeVries’ proven ability to elevate programs quickly, makes this a difficult matchup. For Michigan State, a complete 40-minute performance will be essential if it hopes to build momentum in conference play.
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