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.

INDIANAPOLIS – Amber Cox is the Indiana Fever’s chief operating officer and general manager, the team announced Friday. She will officially join the organization on October 28, the team said in a news release. Lin Dunn, the Fever’s current general manager, will become senior advisor to Fever basketball, a new position for the organization.

“I have known Amber for over 20 years and have watched her successfully build teams both on and off the court,” Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever’s president for business and basketball operations, said in the release. “She brings a wide range of executive experience to our leadership team. I look forward to working with her as we build the Fever franchise into the next era of growth.”

Cox was the COO for the Dallas Wings, overseeing ticket sales, partnerships, marketing, communications, broadcasting and community efforts. This season the team had seven sellouts and played at 97% capacity at College Park Center, according to the news release.

Cox was vice president of sports for the Connecticut Sun from 2016-2021, leading all revenue-generating operations for the organization. She began her career with the Phoenix Mercury, rising to be the team’s president and chief operating officer; the Mercury won WNBA titles in 2007 and 2009.

Caitlin Clark news: Caitlin Clark got 66 of 67 WNBA Rookie of the Year votes. Here’s who got the other one.

“I am excited to be joining the Fever during this historic time in the WNBA, and I am grateful to Kelly, Fever ownership, and Mel Raines for this opportunity,” said Cox in the release. “From the top down, there is a commitment to invest in the Fever to ensure the team’s continued growth and success, and I look forward to contributing to a world-class experience for our fans, as well as our players, both on and off the court.”

Cox also led business operations for the Kansas City Current of the NWSL, served as chief marketing officer for the MLS’ Houston Dynamo and NWSL’s Houston Dash and was associate commissioner for Women’s Basketball in the Big East from 2014-2015.

Dunn returned to the Fever prior to the 2022 WNBA Draft and was officially named general manager in early 2023. She draft Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark with the last two No. 1 draft picks and returned the Fever to the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Dunn, a hall of famer, previously led the 2012 Fever to the WNBA Championship and made them a perennial playoff team.

“I can’t thank Lin enough for the years she gave this franchise, coming out of coaching retirement and returning to oversee the basketball operation at such a pivotal time of transition,” Krauskopf said in the release. “I have such gratitude and respect for her.”

INDIANAPOLIS — The biggest question facing the Indiana Pacers team-building future relates to center Myles Turner. Of Indiana’s five starters from last year’s playoff run, four of them are under contract for the next three seasons. Turner, however, is playing on a contract that expires at the end of the ongoing season, and he can’t receive a contract extension during the campaign.

That means Turner is guaranteed to be a free agent next summer, regardless of what teams he finishes the season with. That team should be Indiana — general manager Chad Buchanan shared late last month that the franchise hopes to keep Turner around long term. “We’re a big believer in Myles. We want him to be here. He’s been our starting center,” Buchanan said.

Between luxury tax concerns and unrestricted free agency, this will be a talking point all season long. Turner has never been an unrestricted free agent before in his career, so his own interests will matter when the summer of 2025 arrives.

For Turner, contract and free agency topics are nothing new. He was frequently in trade rumors earlier in his career, and his contract status was a common discussion for years. When Domantas Sabonis was in Indiana and when the Pacers tried to sign Deandre Ayton, Turner didn’t seem to be a priority.

Now, things are different. Turner is right at home and entering his 10th season with the franchise. He fits extremely well with the team’s stars, and the blue and gold have prioritized his situation across the last few seasons. Dating back to his renegotiation in 2023, Turner and the Pacers have crafted a great relationship.

The big man discussed his contract reality and situation with the Pacers at media day earlier this week. “I can’t help but laugh, because, I’m going to keep it a stack man, every year in Indiana has been a contract year at this point,” Turner joked. “Whether you’re fighting rumors or just staying true to your grind and whatnot… I don’t really feel too much different, because at the end of the day, that success last year is what I’ve become obsessed with.”

In 2024, Indiana finally won a playoff series for the first time in a decade. It was Turner’s first time advancing beyond the first round of the postseason, and he now understands why other players chase that feeling. It has been motivating.

In other words, winning will be important for Turner and his future decisions. The Pacers project to be a playoff team again, but winning a series in the Eastern Conference will be challenging. The top of the conference looks terrific.

“I’ve become more obsessed with just the everyday little stuff,” Turner said, citing his stretching and water drinking habits, among other things. “Just that process. And I think that anything that happens after that will be a byproduct of the success.”

Indiana will have full Bird Rights on Turner next summer, so they can pay him any legal contract. Other starting caliber centers have signed deals in the $25-30 million per year range recently, and that would be a six-to-ten million dollar per year raise over Turner’s current deal. He’s earned a bigger contract with his play in recent years.

Much of Turner’s future with Indiana will be decided on the court. How he plays, and how much success the team has, could matter in the coming months. But clearly the team and player value each other, and another successful season could extend that partnership beyond 2024-25.