BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – To keep things purely factual, ESPN College GameDay has been to Indiana before. The iconic college football pregame show was hosted from Memorial Stadium at the 2017 opening game on a Thursday night.
That is a fact, but it’s also true that Indiana has never hosted the Saturday version of the show. In terms of the circus-like atmosphere the show is famous for, that distinction makes all the difference in the world.
ESPN College GameDay will begin its version of road show madness at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday. The show will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPNU. The game itself, which kicks off at noon, is not on ESPN. It will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
College GameDay host Rece Davis enjoys it when College GameDay heads to a new site. Even he acknowledged that the 2017 appearance was only a teaser for the real thing.
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“We were in the stadium in 2017. It was a great night, and people were excited. But there’s a little something different about having our full footprint of the show, the full three hours and starting the day of football,” Davis said to the Indiana media on Friday at Memorial Stadium. “It’s just a different vibe and a different energy about that.”
College GameDay does its best to host at the site that tells the best story of college football on that weekend. Unlike some of its competitors, ESPN does not hesitate to host the program at sites of games it is not broadcasting.
Davis knows Indiana is going to be fired up for the iconic show, which began in 1987 and started visiting campus sites in 1993. Over the years, it’s become part of college football tradition itself. Former Indiana coach Lee Corso, who has been on the show since its inception, has become famous for his personality and antics on the morning show.
“I’m looking forward to actually being among the Indiana fans,” Davis said. “It’s a lot different when we go some place where we haven’t been before. When we go to Ohio State, we go to Alabama, we’re treated well, we’re treated great, wonderful people.
“But it’s almost like, ‘Hey, you guys are back. Did you guys pay the property taxes and everything? I know we’re all neighbors here.’ You know, it’s like they’re used to seeing us,” Davis said.
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With or without the Corso tie-in, Indiana’s football team had to put itself on ESPN’s radar to get the show in the first place. Indiana is 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten heading into its game against Washington. Curt Cignetti’s rapid turnaround has turned heads around the college football world.
“The adjective I’ve used is crisp, and what I mean by that is they execute. They’re not sloppy. There’s not confusion. A lot of that is attributable to coach (Mike) Shanahan (co-offensive coordinator), coach Cignetti, coach (Tino) Sunseri (co-offensive coordinator),” Davis said.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke was also mentioned as a key part of Indiana’s success, but he won’t play against Washington with his right thumb injury. Tayven Jackson will play in his place.
“(Jackson) comes in the game, and I’m like, they’re going to run the ball and get out of here with a win,” ESPN personality “Stanford Steve” Couglin said. “No. The first six plays are passes, he throws two TDs, and they score 28 more points. So, that foot is on the gas, and I can’t wait to see what they bring the table.”
Davis thinks Indiana has its destiny in its own hands as far as the College Football Playoff is concerned. The first CFP rankings will be announced on Nov. 5.
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“First? They can win the Big 10, which is a tall order, for sure. I understand that. But even if they don’t, let’s say for instance they lose to Ohio State,” Davis surmised. “They don’t make the Big 10 championship game, but they play competitively. I think there’s a really good chance they would be in that top 11 (the best non-Power Four conference champion gets an automatic bid), probably, depending on where the other (non-Power Four) conference champion would be ranked.”
Indiana’s poor strength of schedule – something Davis defended while he also pointed out the reality that it will hurt Indiana in comparison to other playoff contenders – will play a role in the Hoosiers’ fate.
“There will still be football judgment, their schedule outside of these games coming up in November, will be scrutinized, and that’s appropriate. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Davis said. “So a lot of it is going to be how they play. If they play competitively, I think they’ve got a shot, and the best thing about the new system, they can just win, and then they don’t have to worry about it.”
Specific to Saturday, Coughlin had a cautionary tale for Indiana fans. When they visited Cignetti at James Madison in 2023, there was similar hype around the JMU campus. Nearly all of the attention was honed in on JMU. Their opponent, Appalachian State, was treated as an afterthought.
“Not once in that show of three hours did we mention App State, and App State won (26-23) and cost JMU an undefeated season,” Coughlin said. “So knowing that coach Cig was there for that, I’m sure he’s learned from that.”
The Indiana Pacers are a team to watch as a seller in the upcoming trade deadline.
Before Feb. 5, the Pacers should be expected to move at least one player and possibly more. Some members of the Indiana Pacers On SI staff pondered which player would be the likeliest to be traded.
Ethan J. Skolnick
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Indiana has only two players earning more than $20 million, and one won’t be moved under any circumstances (Tyrese Haliburton) and another (Pascal Siakam) is likely staying unless Indiana is blown away. Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith seem to be parts of the future.
So the most likely candidates would seem to be Obi Tobbin (a pending free agent making $14 million) and TJ McConnell (on an extension paying him $11 million). As valuable as McConnell has been for the Pacers, he still could have value to one of this season’s contenders, so we will go with him as an option to land a future pick and younger option.
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Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Jeremy Brener
The Pacers are in a unique position in their gap year with Tyrese Haliburton out with a torn Achilles. The team is absolutely plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, making them a seller at this year’s trade deadline. However, there’s no clear cut answer as to who they could part ways with because they are trying to contend next season.
Most of the roster is either injured or too valuable to trade at this moment in time. If there’s anyone that doesn’t fit either bill, it could be third-year forward Jarace Walker. If the team is not pleased with Walker’s progress before February, the Pacers may look to move him if there is a decent trade offer between now and then.
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Tony Mejia
Indiana’s largest financial commitments are tied to injured point guard Tyrese Haliburton and versatile forward Pascal Siakam, so I wouldn’t expect too big a splash.
If the Pacers are looking to trim salary or change things up on the heels of their first Finals appearance in a quarter-century with Haliburton sidelined, the two most likely players they can move are wing Bennedict Mathurin and backup guard T.J. McConnell.
Mathurin’s rookie deal is coming to an end, while McConnell’s savvy and playoff experience could make him attractive to contenders looking to add a proven commodity who can add a spark off the bench.
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Alabama football completed Step 1. The Crimson Tide beat Oklahoma 34-24 on Friday, earning its first College Football Playoff victory.
With the first round completed, UA has a tougher test ahead. No. 1 Indiana awaits in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal, on Jan. 1 in Pasadena. As Alabama celebrates its victory and begins to prepare, here’s what to know about the 13-0 Hoosiers.
The coach
To say that Curt Cignetti has done a good job at Indiana is perhaps college football’s largest understatement. Cignetti, who took over last season, has turned the Big Ten’s ultimate doormat into the nation’s top team.
Cignetti joined up from James Madison before the 2024 season. He immediately took a program that had grown stale under Tom Allen to the CFP, then turned around and did even better this year.
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“I just know that winning lifts all boats,” Cignetti said after the playoff field was announced. “In terms of fan support in the stadium, donations, all parts of the university, downtown when you pack the stadium, bring a lot of people to Bloomington, it helps their sales. A lot of pride in Hoosier Nation. The largest alumni base in America, over 800,000 people. I’d say right now the arrow is pointing up. We probably got a lot of momentum going in those kind of areas.”
Cignetti has a connection to Alabama as well. He worked as the Crimson Tide’s wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator under Nick Saban from 2007 through 2011, helping set the groundwork for Saban’s dynasty in Tuscaloosa.
In addition to Indiana in James Madison, he was a head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Elon after leaving the Tide.
The quarterback
For the first time in program history, Indiana has a Heisman Trophy winner. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza beat out a group of finalists that included Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin.
Mendoza has thrown for 2,980 yards this season, with 33 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has completed 226 of his 316 passes so far.
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“Our focus right now is winning the College Football Playoff,” Mendoza told reporters Monday in Bloomington. “That’s what would make this trophy so much sweeter. I believe this trophy is a little bit of a push of confidence on us, on the team, that we’re making history for the IU team in history to be 13-0 and also to bring home a Heisman Trophy to Bloomington.”
The junior, who hails from Florida, transferred into Indiana from Cal this year. He spent two seasons in Berkeley before joining the Hoosiers.
The season
Indiana was the losingest program in the Football Bowl Subdivision entering this season. Some predicted it would be a step back for the Hoosiers, who lost several key players from last season’s playoff team.
Instead, IU won its first Big Ten title since 1967. It enters the CFP undefeated.
“I think that if we hooked everybody up in this room on a lie detector test and told them, hey, do you think Fernando Mendoza is going to win the Heisman this year and we’re going to be 13-0, Big Ten champs, the team has a lot of self-belief and unwavering belief, but I think it’s tough to make those predictions,” Mendoza said Monday.
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To cap off the season, Indiana, which had faced criticism for its strength of schedule throughout the year, pulled off a huge upset in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers beat then No. 1 Ohio State, earning the top seed in the CFP and a spot in the Rose Bowl.
Months after being named the 2024 Indiana Thoroughbred Owner’s and Breeder’s Association’s Horse of the Year for 2024, multiple stakes winner Demolisher was euthanized after a bout with laminitis.
“We went from the highest highs as Indiana Horse of the Year to the lowest low ever when we had to say goodbye,” said Resia Ayres, who bred and raced Demolisher with husband Ken.
Unraced at 2, Demolisher proved worth the wait as he won the first five starts of his career in 2024, topped by stakes wins in the Governor’s Handicap and the To Much Coffee Handicap. All five of those wins came at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He closed out the season with an unplaced start in the Bryan Station Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland.
In March the son of Dominus was honored as ITOBA’s top Indiana-bred 3-year-old male and its Horse of the Year.
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“It’s about as high as we ever expected to have any of our horses,” Ken Ayres said at the time. “It’s hard to put words to it. Obviously, we’re super excited about it.”
