Indiana

College football Week 6 picks: Is Indiana-Northwestern a total mismatch?

Published

1 year ago

October 4, 2024

College football Week 6 picks: Is Indiana-Northwestern a total mismatch?

Northwestern won eight games last season; Indiana won three. NU was 5-4 in the Big Ten; IU was 1-8. One team, surprisingly good; the other, hopelessly bad.

Now forget all that, OK? Because if the Wildcats beat the Hoosiers Saturday in Evanston, few, if any, will have seen it coming.

No. 23 Indiana (-13½) at Northwestern (2:30 p.m., BTN, 720-AM) is a prime example of how much things can change from one year to the next in the transfer-portal age. The 5-0 Hoosiers are ranked for the first time since the 2021 preseason — hilarious, in retrospect, given that team failed to win a single Big Ten game — and three good hours from their first 6-0 start since 1967, the year the Cream and Crimson last ended up in the Rose Bowl.

If Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer is the “it” guy in the crowd of new coaches, IU’s Curt Cignetti is right behind him. Cignetti added 31 players from the portal — 13 of whom came from the soaring program he left, James Madison — and the results have been mind-blowing. The Hoosiers are ninth in the country in offense (513 yards per game) and eighth in defense (239.6). They haven’t faced a murderer’s row, but they hung 42 points on both UCLA and Maryland, have a trio of running backs with 15 rushing touchdowns between them and have tormented opposing quarterbacks with 17 sacks. Most of those sacks — 10½ of them — have come from JMU transfers, a striking example of the portal at its most beneficial.

“Coach Cignetti has done an incredible job,” Wildcats coach David Braun said. “It’s a hot football team right now.”

Braun’s team has changed, too, but seemingly not for the better. Their last outing, a 24-5 loss at Washington two weeks ago, dropped the Wildcats to 2-2 and raised doubts they can score enough to be more than a speed bump in this Big Ten season. This defense can get after the passer, too, putting up three sacks per game — a strength that should keep the Hoosiers from piling up a big score — but the 123rd-ranked offense isn’t even averaging 300 yards. The Wildcats are desperate to establish the run and will keep things simple out of necessity in the schools’ first meeting since 2019.

The Hoosiers are different animals than they were then.

“This is a team that’s on a little bit of a mission,” Cignetti said, “and Northwestern’s the next one up.”

The mission isn’t to win nine games, but doing so would be a first for IU since the aforementioned Rose Bowl season. At a basketball school, nine would be more than fine. Hoosiers by nine — 26-17.

OTHER WEEK 6 PICKS

All games are Saturday.

UMass (+17½) at Northern Illinois (11 a.m., CBSSN): Not many are paying attention to this one with the Minutemen at 1-4 and the Huskies back down to earth at 2-2. Worth watching, though, is visiting quarterback Taisun Phommachanh, who is huge, dangerous as a dual threat and once upon a time was a blue-chip recruit bound for mighty Clemson. He sure gets sacked a lot, though. Huskies, 31-17.

Rutgers (+7) at Nebraska (3 p.m., FS1): The 4-0 Scarlet Knights have won at Virginia Tech and beaten Washington, impressive stuff so far. They have a real shot to win again here because of their run game, one of the Big Ten’s best. Can the Huskers load up and shut it down? If not, it’s a total tossup. Huskers, 24-20.

No. 10 Michigan (+1½) at Washington (6:30 p.m., NBC 5): It’s a title-game rematch! Sort of. Michigan is far from what it was last season, and Washington had faded even further. In case you were unaware: Michael Penix Jr. and that Rome Odunze character don’t play in Seattle anymore. When these Huskies aren’t dinking, they’re dunking, not the greatest approach against a defense as tough as the Wolverines’. Maize and Blue, 24-17.

My favorite favorite: No. 3 Ohio State (-18) vs. Iowa (2:30 p.m., CBS 2): Kirk Ferentz has been coach at Iowa since 1999, longer than any other current major-college coach has been on the job. You know what Ferentz has never done? Win at OSU; he’s 0-6 there. His last crack at it in Columbus was in 2022, when the Buckeyes destroyed the Hawkeyes by 44. What does all that have to do with Saturday? Nothing, clearly. Buckeyes by 44.

My favorite underdog: No. 9 Missouri (+2½) at No. 25 Texas A&M (11 a.m., ABC 7): OK, so it’s not the most mouth-watering slate of games around the country; this is Week 6’s only Top 25 matchup. Mizzou struggled to beat Boston College and Vanderbilt in its last two games, both at home, but it’s hard to forget how great the Tigers were on the road last year en route to a top 10 finish. Also, there’s this: A&M is 0-4 against the spread at home this season. The Zou, that’s who.

Last week: 5-1 straight-up, 4-2 against the spread.

Season: 22-11, 17-16.

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Indiana

Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in

Published

7 hours ago

March 30, 2026

Press Room

Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in

Should ABC air the canceled-for-now season of “The Bachelorette”? A Carmel man who was set to compete on it seems to think so.

Matt Carroll, a 43-year-old Purdue basketball alum and Carmel resident, took to social media over the weekend to address the cancelation of season 22 of “The Bachelorette,” on which he appeared. Public opinion on whether the show should see the light of day is split, but the former Boilermaker forward and industrial real estate broker hopes the footage makes it to air.

Disney and ABC pulled season 22 of “The Bachelorette” because its lead, “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, faces an ongoing domestic violence investigations. The network announced the decision March 19 after TMZ leaked a video from a 2023 domestic violence incident involving Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen.

Neither Carroll nor the show have officially commented on the cancelation, but that doesn’t mean he and other contestants haven’t hinted at their feelings on social media.

Carroll’s Instagram reel — in which he struts through the streets of Carmel, rose in hand, RAYE’s “Where the Hell is My Husband” soundtracking it all — breaks the ice. “So…about that,” he joked, tagging both “The Bachelorette” and Bachelor Nation, the franchise’s official hub for news and content.

The reel has garnered comments from fellow Carmel residents wishing Carroll well, even offering to set him up with local singles. Notably, though, some of Carroll’s followers have called for the season to air — and he agrees.

“Trying to manifest that they still air this,” one comment from model Brittany Mason reads. “America wants it the world wants it!”

“From your lips to God’s ears,” Carroll replied.

Another response from him put it more plainly:

“I’m still hoping they decide to air it.”

Whether “The Bachelorette” will air is unclear. Disney Entertainment Television’s official statement only indicated that it was halting the season “for now,” so it’s possible the network could dust off the footage and air it after all.

Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@indystar.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.

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Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis

Published

19 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four is set.

Four teams have advanced to the Final Four and will compete for the national championship this upcoming weekend in Indianapolis.

The two national semifinal matchups will take place on Saturday. Tip times for the two games have been announced:

6:09 p.m. EDT – No. 3 seed Illinois vs. No. 2 seed UConn
8:49 p.m. EDT – No. 1 seed Michigan vs. No. 1 seed Arizona

The winners of Saturday’s games will then play in the National Championship Game on Monday, April 6.

Each game will take place inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

Published

1 day ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Hoosiers gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Saturday morning as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’ events to voice their concerns about the current administration.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

“I’m out here today because what’s happening in our government is completely trash,” Donna Sipes told WRTV. “It’s wrong. We need to do something about it.”

“I’m tired of every single day when the TV comes on to see what stupid thing he’s done next,” Lindi Marti said.

WRTV

Attendees noted the growing popularity of the demonstrations.

“This is my fourth one to come to. I didn’t come to all of them when it was really cold, but I’m glad to see that they are getting a lot more people out here every time,” Marti added. “It seems like there’s more and more coming.”

Demonstrators highlighted specific foreign policy concerns, including the administration’s handling of the war in Iran.

“We’re bombing the heck out of them. We’re killing civilians,” Marti’s husband said. “We’re getting ready to send our Marines.”

Others focused on the administration’s handling of immigration.

“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Reverend Kenny Little told WRTV. “Little kids, they’re taking them away from their family. And I’m just one of those people, I think everyone got rights.”

Indiana medical students also attended the rally to speak out against changes to the healthcare system.

“We’re really worried about the attacks on the health care system in general, but with Medicaid… current estimates range from anywhere from 325,000 to 450,000 Hoosiers will lose coverage by 2032,” Wade Catt said with concern.

Poster image - 2026-03-28T202405.362.jpg

With midterm elections approaching later this year, attendees emphasized the importance of now taking action at the ballot box.

“If we don’t vote, then things are gonna not, they’re gonna stay the same,” a protester said.

Meanwhile, Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith says he’s happy to see Hoosiers exercise their First Amendment right to protest.

However, he takes issue with the idea that President Trump is acting like a king. Beckwith says the fact that people have the freedom to protest is proof that the president is not acting like a tyrant.

He acknowledges that bridging the gap between the sides is probably an uphill battle, but believes communication is key.

“I think when you sit down with people face to face, you’re confronted with humanity. There’s another human sitting across that table from you and talking to you. And so, all I have to say, I think that’s probably the thing I would encourage all Hoosiers to do is say, ‘Hey, if you don’t agree with somebody or if you don’t like somebody, why don’t you try grabbing coffee with them? And give it 30 minutes, and just see what happens.’ I bet most of the time people will walk away with a much softer heart and spirit towards that person before they came in,” Beckwith said.

Beckwith is currently on a 92-county tour of the state. He says all sides are welcome to attend his events.

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