10:36p ET
Indiana
Grading College Football Playoff sleepers … from Indiana to Illinois
US LBM Coaches Poll: Texas falls out of No. 1 spot after loss to Georgia
The latest US LBM Coaches Poll is here and Texas no longer sits at the top after losing to Georgia in Week 8.
Sports Pulse
Coach “Google Me” saw a spike in search traffic Saturday afternoon.
Indiana’s 56-7 destruction of Nebraska sparked more college football observers to familiarize themselves with Curt Cignetti, the first-year coach of the Hoosiers who’s full of bravado, with the résumé to back it up.
“There was a national perception that Nebraska had a pretty legit defense on a national scale,” Cignetti said after the romp. “So, that will open eyes, OK?”
Consider me wide-eyed.
The Hoosiers are among seven undefeated Power Four teams, and although their 7-0 record comes as a surprise to many, it doesn’t to Cignetti, who boldly declared this after Indiana hired him: “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.”
More than halfway through Cignetti’s first season in Bloomington, the prospect of his Hoosiers qualifying for the College Football Playoff generates some Google buzz.
Indiana’s playoff hopes are real, for three reasons:
1. The schedule breaks nicely. The Hoosiers won’t play fellow the Big Ten’s other undefeated teams, Oregon and Penn State, during the regular season. Just one ranked opponent, Ohio State, lurks on Indiana’s schedule. The Hoosiers represents the Big Ten’s best chance at a fourth playoff qualifier, and an 11-1 record might entice the CFP committee, as long as Indiana doesn’t get demolished by the Buckeyes.
2. The Hoosiers aren’t just winning. They’re blowing out their competition. So, true, this win against No. 25 Nebraska registers as their best win, but the selection committee shouldn’t ignore an average margin of victory of 35 points.
3. No obvious weakness cripples Indiana, and veteran quarterback Kurtis Rourke registers as a trump card.
Cignetti disproved the notion that fans must wait patiently for years while a program turnaround creeps forward. In this microwave era, Cignetti flipped the roster by adding 31 transfers, third-most in the nation. Rourke, an Ohio transfer, ranked as a premier prize, though he is expected to miss next week’s game against Washington due to a hand injury.
Cignetti’s transfer haul included several quality players who followed him off James Madison’s team that finished 11-2 last season.
If you haven’t by now, go ahead and Google Cignetti. You’ll see he’s never had a losing record in 14 seasons as a coach, across Division II, FCS and FBS. He’s coached three programs into their respective division’s playoff. His career winning percentage checks in at .783, and he’s not content with Indiana being a cute October story before fading into basketball season.
“I’m not going to let (players) get complacent, or the coaches either,” Cignetti said. “I was a maniac in the fourth quarter of this game, a maniac.”
In this case, I think being a maniac is a good thing. I’ll Google it, to be sure.
MISERY INDEX: Oklahoma tops most miserable fanbase after Week 8
HIGHS AND LOWS: Georgia, Alabama headline Week 8 winners and losers
What’s the status of Indiana and some playoff sleepers? Here’s the “Topp Rope” view:
Evaluating College Football Playoff sleeper teams
Indiana (7-0): Indiana’s schedule could backfire if the bubble overcrowds. The Hoosiers didn’t play a Power Four nonconference opponent. Games against Western Illinois, Charlotte and Florida International anchor their strength of schedule. Nonetheless, when evaluating sleeper teams for the playoff, Indiana’s offensive and defense balance and litany of blowout victories make the Hoosiers a … Real contender.
Southern Methodist (6-1): The Mustangs lost by three points to Brigham Young, but that’s not a dealbreaker considering the Cougars are undefeated and might win the Big 12. SMU should be favored its remaining games, opening a pathway to the ACC championship game. Real contender.
Pittsburgh (6-0): Like Indiana, Pitt is made vulnerable to snub because of a soft strength of schedule. Unlike Indiana, the Panthers win in white-knuckle fashion. Three wins came by four points or fewer. Credit the grit, but brace for the second-half wobble against a stiffening schedule that includes SMU and Clemson. Longshot contender.
Army (7-0): Army’s option offense is a beautiful sight. To have hope of a playoff bid, Army needs to beat Notre Dame, win out, and a two-loss team winning the Mountain West would assist the cause. Of note, the Army-Navy game on Dec. 14 won’t count toward playoff determination. That presents as a sticky wicket for the playoff committee. Would it risk placing Army or Navy into the playoff, knowing that either could lose the following week and soil the committee’s selection? Longshot contender.
Navy (6-0): Sound fundamentals, roster retention and player development still resonate. Behold Army and Navy. Everything I wrote about Army is also true of Navy. The Midshipmen need to beat Notre Dame, run the table, and root for a two-loss Mountain West champion. Longshot contender.
Illinois (6-1): Bret Bielema’s return to the Big Ten has been “borderline erotic,” as he would say. The formula Bielema used to success at Wisconsin also resonates at Illinois. The Illini join Indiana as basketball schools with a playoff prayer. The trouble for Illinois is it drew a tougher schedule than Indiana, and the Illini are a 21½-point Saturday underdog at Oregon. And a loss effectively eliminates Illinois, making the Illini … The ultimate longshot.
Battle for the bottom
Alabama fans ready to punt Kalen DeBoer back to Washington, take solace: At least the Tide didn’t hire Mike Norvell. And at least you’re not Auburn.
With five games to go, Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles (1-6) already wrapped up the gold for biggest flop. Fresh off a 13-1 season, the ‘Noles checked out of the penthouse and into the outhouse.
In the stall next to them is Southern California (3-4). That the Trojans lost to Penn State was no disaster, but they also own losses to Michigan, Maryland and Minnesota. M-M-Mercy.
Lincoln Riley avoided the SEC by jettisoning Oklahoma for USC, but he’s found the Big Ten to be too tough. Perhaps he should relegate back to the Big 12. If you can’t cut it L.A., try Waco, Texas.
Monstrous, cost-prohibitive buyouts protect Norvell and Riley.
That’s not true of Hugh Freeze, who eyes the bronze in bust battle royale.
Auburn (2-5) keeps finding ways to lose. The latest: Missouri marched 95 yards to steal a 21-17 victory. Freeze’s $20-plus million buyout is a fraction what it would cost either Florida State or USC to make a coaching change, and Auburn has a firm stomach for buyouts.
A 2025 recruiting class that ranks No. 5 nationally by 247sports gives Freeze the thinnest layer of cover. In a time when boosters influence recruiting as much as the coach, are some pledged blue-chippers enough to save a beleaguered coach?
Ask me again next month when we what Auburn’s record is and whether that recruiting class slipped.
Three and out
1. Georgia’s 30-15 upset of Texas boosted the SEC’s quest to horde the most playoff bids. Texas had been the conference’s last remaining undefeated team, and even after defeat, the Longhorns enjoy a navigable path to the playoff, while Georgia solidified its footing. Unless the bubble clears significantly, five bids for any conference feels almost out of reach, but the result in Austin increased the SEC’s chance for four bids.
2. Coaches will do almost anything to gain an advantage, so how long until a coach reflects on Saturday’s situation at Missouri and begins campaigning for a hospital to be built next to the stadium? Missouri quarterback Brady Cook made a midgame hospital trip during the Tigers’ win against Auburn for an MRI on his injured ankle. University Hospital is just across the street from Faurot Field. Cook had time to get evaluated and return to engineer a fourth-quarter comeback. “No. 1 characteristic of an elite quarterback is toughness,” Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said, “and that guy’s got it written all over him.” And a relevant characteristic of any hospital is its proximity to you.
3. My latest “Topp Rope” playoff projection: Georgia (SEC), Ohio State (Big Ten), Clemson (ACC), Brigham Young (Big 12), Boise State (Group of Five), plus at-large selections Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Oregon, Penn State, Notre Dame, Miami. Next up: Iowa State, LSU, Indiana, SMU, Kansas State.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
The “Topp Rope” is his football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network.
Subscribe to read all of his columns.
Indiana
10 Takeaways from Week 13: Seven ranked teams fall, as SEC upsets create more chaos
College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 13 delivered, with a Buckeye statement at the ‘Shoe, a massive upset in Norman and chaos from coast to coast.
Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.
Here are my top takeaways from Week 13:
1. The biggest winners from another wild Saturday are the ACC, Georgia, and Notre Dame.
Evaluating projected CFP after Week 13
Nicole Auerbach, Joshua Perry and Jordan Cornette discuss a chaotic Week 13 in college football, analyzing the projected College Football Playoff bracket after major upsets from Oklahoma and Auburn.
– The ACC now has a really good chance to get two teams into the 12-team bracket, now that Ole Miss and Alabama both picked up their third losses. SMU has been on the outside looking in in each of the projected brackets based on the real CFP rankings revealed thus far. The Mustangs should slide up and be in the field as an at-large team when the new rankings come out on Tuesday. My guess is that both Miami and SMU could be positioned high enough to stay in the mix as an at-large team if they lose in the ACC title game. In theory, the losers of the conference championship games aren’t supposed to be penalized for playing an extra game. We’ll see what the committee actually does, but this is the best-positioned the ACC has been to get two teams into the field in weeks.
– Georgia should be able to move up in the rankings now that the two teams it has lost to have three losses apiece. The selection committee had been honoring head-to-head results when evaluating comparable teams, which is why Georgia has been behind both Alabama and Ole Miss for the past two weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulldogs move up to be in position to host a first-round game (or to be within striking distance of a seed high enough to do that).
– Notre Dame has been arguably the most dominant team in the nation over the past two months. The committee already forgives the Irish for their September loss to Northern Illinois and has the Irish ranked high enough to host a first-round game. With Indiana falling on Saturday and Penn State struggling to beat unranked Minnesota, you have to think that Notre Dame could move up. I’d put the Irish ahead of both myself.
HLs: Notre Dame blows out Army at Yankee Stadium
No. 6 Notre Dame scored early and often against No. 19 Army, rushing for 273 yards (on just 29 carries) and five touchdowns at Yankee Stadium as the Fighting Irish earned their ninth straight win.
2. Indiana could be squarely on the CFP bubble now.
I’ve seen a wide range of reactions to Ohio State’s 38-15 win over Indiana on Saturday afternoon in Columbus. I’ve seen folks suggest that the Hoosiers acquitted themselves well enough to keep a spot in the 12-team field by not getting blown off the field by the No. 2 team in the country — and that’s certainly possible, considering how highly the CFP selection committee thinks of the Buckeyes. I also think that a potential 11-1 team whose only loss is to the No. 2 team in the country should have a pretty good chance to earn one of seven at-large spots (just like Penn State was!). Especially considering that Ole Miss and Alabama should fall out of the field after picking up their third losses.
But the Hoosiers also struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball on Saturday outside of their opening drive. In their past three halves (dating back to the second half of the Michigan game), Indiana has tallied 169 total yards of offense combined. That’s not great! But it seems like every team in the country is flawed, and bubble teams will always have some blemishes on their resumes. And that’s where I think Indiana will be dinged a bit by the loss and the weak overall strength of schedule. Which is fine! I think the Hoosiers will be in the projected bracket when the rankings come out on Tuesday. But I’m not entirely sure where. Either way, Indiana’s definitely still in the mix, but the Hoosiers might have some restless nights between now and Dec. 8 because they no longer control their own path to the Playoff.
HLs: OSU rides strong second half to win vs. IU
In this highly-anticipated Big Ten matchup, Ohio State’s Will Howard passed for two touchdowns and ran for one more to lead the No. 2 Buckeyes to a 38-15 win over previously unbeaten Indiana in Week 13 at Ohio Stadium.
3. Ole Miss will not make the Playoff.
Lane Kiffin‘s team was supposed to be exactly the kind of program that would benefit from an expanded College Football Playoff. In the four-team CFP era, it would have basically required perfection for Ole Miss to get to the SEC title game and secure a Playoff berth. But now, 11-1 and 10-2 with a challenging SEC schedule would keep a team very squarely in the mix. And Ole Miss was comfortably in the projected bracket based on last week’s official CFP rankings, checking in at No. 9 in the rankings and the No. 10 seed in the field on the strength of the Rebels’ win over Georgia. But that signature win won’t be enough to make up for three losses to teams that are likely to all be unranked — to LSU and Florida (who are both barely above .500 on the season) and to Kentucky in the Wildcats’ only SEC win of the season. Despite all the chatter about the rigors of an SEC schedule, at some point you’ve also actually got to win the games. And Ole Miss has lost the games it couldn’t afford to do.
4. DJ Lagway should be one of the best quarterbacks in the country next year.
Lagway is the real deal. Every time I watch him play, I come away impressed with his arm strength, his poise and his athleticism. He’s even accurate when he’s getting hit or under pressure. I’m blown away by his toughness, and I can’t say I’m surprised that he led the Gators to a second win over a ranked opponent, this time over No. 9 Ole Miss. He’s 4-0 as a starter at the Swamp, which is actually a wild stat considering how hot Billy Napier‘s seat was after a 1-2 start. Now, the Gators have already committed to Napier running this program next fall and might finish a brutally challenging schedule with a 7-5 record. Part of the reason Florida kept Napier is because of Lagway, of course. He’s said he’s committed to his coach and happy about that decision. Never say never until the transfer portal closes, but there’s a lot to be excited about if you’re building a team around a quarterback as special as this one.
5. Cheers to Kansas and Florida, the ultimate season spoilers.
The Gators have knocked both LSU and Ole Miss out of the College Football Playoff picture in the past two weeks. And the Jayhawks became the first sub-.500 team to beat three consecutive ranked opponents with wins over Iowa State, BYU and now Colorado. At the time of each game, Kansas’ opponent controlled its own path to the Big 12 title game — and it most certainly did not when the clock hit zeroes. I always appreciate a good chaos agent, so I like these two teams coming out of nowhere to play their best football in time to ruin the season of everyone left on their schedules. That’s unlocking a new level of petty in a sport that thrives off of it. Bravo!
6. SMU looks like it is the best team in the ACC.
The Mustangs are certainly the league’s most complete team. And I’d argue they’re the team I trust most, as we sit here in late November. Miami’s got an electric quarterback and quick-strike offense, but it’s also got a leaky defense (that struggled for three quarters against a Wake Forest team that had only had two ACC wins coming into Saturday’s game at Miami). Meanwhile, SMU has speed and talent on both sides of the ball, and the Mustangs have now reeled off eight straight wins since their early-season, three-point loss to BYU. Quarterback Kevin Jennings has started all eight of those games, and though he’s had a couple of tough days — that five-turnover game at Duke was certainly memorable — he’s largely been quite good. Jennings throws a beautiful ball, and he’s got good chemistry with a bunch of different receivers. Couple that with Miami transfer Brashard Smith’s 1,000-plus yards as a rusher, and this is both a reliable and dangerous offense. It just feels right that this team has clinched a spot in the ACC championship game in its first year in the league.
7. More chaos in the Big 12 race sets up a potential title game between Arizona State … and Iowa State?
Another week and another round of upsets in Big 12 country! Every time we think we know something about the top of the standings, they get flipped on their head. Arizona State knocked off No. 14 BYU (and stormed the field … twice) while Kansas beat No. 16 Colorado behind Devin Neal‘s four touchdowns and nearly 300 all-purpose yards. Now, the Sun Devils have a very good chance to make it to the Big 12 title game — beat Arizona and they’re in — while Iowa State would win the tiebreaker over its fellow two-loss Big 12 brethren to meet Arizona State in said title game if the Cyclones win out, too. Colorado is still alive in the Big 12 race, but the Buffs would need significant help to get there. I can’t imagine that not playing in the Big 12 championship game will hurt Travis Hunter‘s Heisman chances too much, but it is worth noting that he wouldn’t be playing the final weekend before voting closes while other contenders will be.
8. Notre Dame is a team I really trust.
HLs: Love, Price total five touchdowns vs. Army
It was the running back tandem of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price that stole the show in No. 6 Notre Dame’s walloping of No. 19 Army in the Bronx, combining for 189 all-purpose yards and five (!) touchdowns.
The Fighting Irish have been among the nation’s most dominant teams over the past two-plus months, dating back to that brutal loss to Northern Illinois. I’ve spilled a lot of ink here arguing that Notre Dame now is a very different team from the one we saw on that fateful September day — but I no longer need to make that case, because the selection committee agrees with me already. Based on last week’s rankings, the Irish would be hosting a first-round game. But they could and should slide up after yet another dominant win, this time coming at Army’s expense. Over Notre Dame’s nine-game winning streak, the Irish have outscored opponents, 399-92. Over the course of the entire season, the Irish now have the best point differential in FBS (+301). Notre Dame has an elite defense and a great rushing attack. So many teams across college football have fluctuated week to week, leading to some of the crazy upsets we’ve seen this fall. But Notre Dame has been a consistent and reliable team that, since the NIU loss, hasn’t overlooked a single opponent. I trust the Irish.
9. Penn State should drop in the next set of CFP rankings.
Penn State has yet to earn a ‘marquee win’ in 2024
The Big Ten College Countdown crew breaks down Penn State’s narrow victory against Minnesota, questioning how good the Nittany Lions with the final College Football Playoff bracket fast approaching.
They probably won’t because of the teams ranked below them that lost, but the Nittany Lions aren’t exactly passing the eye test these days. They eked out a win over Minnesota to improve to 10-1, but that’s not exactly the kind of performance one would expect to see from the No. 4 team in the country against an unranked opponent, even on the road late in November. For the record, I don’t think Penn State is actually going to drop. But the selection committee says it starts from scratch each week, and if it truly starts from scratch it would perhaps make a bit more about the lack of a signature win on this resume and the fact that this team would be struggling mightily to move the ball without do-everything tight end Tyler Warren. It sure seems like the strongest part of Penn State’s resume is its loss to the No. 2 team in the country, and I’m just surprised that the committee continues to allow that — for both Penn State and Texas, who also has no marquee wins and is ranked third by the committee. I’d drop the Nittany Lions behind Notre Dame, personally.
10. Our long national nightmare is over: Nebraska is going bowling!
The last time the Huskers played in the postseason? Dec. 30, 2016. For proud Husker fans, it’s been a long and very painful eight years. Just last week, I said I believed Nebraska was cursed, having lost nine straight games with a chance to become bowl-eligible with eight of those losses coming in one-score games. So, to snap that skid, Nebraska decided it wouldn’t allow the game to be close — so no curses could come into play late. The Huskers took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 44-25 win over Wisconsin. It’s the most points Nebraska has scored in a game since Matt Rhule took over the program. That in-season offensive coordinator change sure looks smart now, and I’m genuinely so happy for everyone associated with this team and its community.
Indiana
What Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Said After Indiana’s 38-15 Loss At Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 5 Indiana lost its first game of the season Saturday at No. 2 Ohio State, 38-15.
The Hoosiers entered the game with the nation’s second-highest scoring offense, but they generated just 151 total yards and finished with a season-low 15 points. Ohio State sacked Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke five times, and he completed just 8-of-18 passes for 68 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and one fumble.
Here’s everything Rourke said after the game.
On if it was the first time Indiana had used a silent count…
Rourke: “In game, yeah, but we practiced it all week. So it wasn’t anything that was new to us.”
On what Ohio State was doing to be so impactful when blitzing…
Rourke: “They brought some good blitzes and timed it up well. Just had some good plays called and executed better.”
On what it couldn’t repeat from a successful first drive for the rest of the game…
Rourke: “I think we just executed better, at a lot higher level that first drive. We were able to take advantage of looks in plays that we had, then we didn’t execute down the stretch after that as well as we want to. In games like this, you have to.”
On what made Ohio State’s blitzes successful…
Rourke: “It’s all stuff that we’ve seen before. I gotta do a better job of recognizing them and knowing where to go with the ball. As an offense, just be able to learn from a game like this and make sure it doesn’t happen.”
On the team’s mentality after a loss, knowing there’s still plenty to play for…
Rourke: “A loss is never fun, but the good news is that we’ve got another game next week, a big game, a rivalry game. So take 24 hours, then get ready for Purdue.”
On frustration over uncharacteristic mistakes…
Rourke: “You gotta be close to perfect to beat a team like this, and we’re gonna have a chance to play a lot of similar teams like this. So knowing that we can’t have these mistakes and we gotta be on our game for the whole game, it’s a learning opportunity. But gotta be able to move on now and not have any more learning opportunities.
On if any of the mistakes surprised him, given Indiana’s veteran roster…
Rourke: “I wouldn’t think so. I think it’s just attention to detail. I always look to myself, knowing that there’s some plays I want to have back, some throws that I need to have in order for this team to move the ball down the field. There’s a lot of opportunities that I’m upset at myself and knowing that it won’t happen again. Those are mistakes that can’t continue, especially at this time of the season.”
On if there are parts of the offense Indiana has to junk after they didn’t work…
Rourke: “I don’t think so. Just gotta trust that moving forward we’re gonna handle it. I whole heartedly trust the offensive line, tight ends and receiver group and running backs. So my mindset doesn’t change, that I don’t need to do anything differently because I’ve been sacked a couple times. Biggest thing is I gotta protect the ball when I’m getting hit. That’s something I need to work on. It’s happened a couple times this year.”
On the frustration of playing behind the sticks so much…
Rourke: “Yeah, it’s hard to win games when you have second and third and long. You gotta capitalize on those. So even going back to Michigan week, we gotta make sure we don’t put ourselves in those tough situations, because it’s hard to win games, like I said.”
On the difficulty of facing many third and long situations…
Rourke: “It’s tough, especially with a defense that’s as talented as they are. Like I mentioned, it’s difficult to convert on third and long, especially a good defense. But we had an opportunity to convert, and we weren’t able to. So that’s pointed at us as well. We’re gonna be in those situations, and we’re gonna need to be able to capitalize better than we did today.”
On if Indiana has done enough this season to show it’s one of the best teams in the country…
Rourke: “Yeah, I hope so. We trust ourselves against anybody, and we look forward to hopefully an opportunity to get a rematch at some point. But just knowing that next week is the big game and we gotta go handle Purdue, and then take it one game at a time.”
Indiana
Indiana vs. Ohio State pregame analysis, interviews, more from ‘Big Noon Kickoff’
For everything to know about this epic matchup, including how the result will impact the CFP picture, go here.
Here are the highlights from Columbus!
10:23p ET
Urban’s breakdown …
10:08p ET
Stars are hyped for this one
9:59p ET
A path to victory for Indiana?
9:55p ET
Buckeyes are ready!
Live Coverage for this began on 10:26p ET
-
Business1 week ago
Column: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
Science5 days ago
Trump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
Politics6 days ago
Trump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
Technology6 days ago
Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
-
Lifestyle7 days ago
Some in the U.S. farm industry are alarmed by Trump's embrace of RFK Jr. and tariffs
-
World6 days ago
Protesters in Slovakia rally against Robert Fico’s populist government
-
News6 days ago
They disagree about a lot, but these singers figure out how to stay in harmony
-
News6 days ago
Gaetz-gate: Navigating the President-elect's most baffling Cabinet pick