Indiana
Indiana Football Ranked in AP Top 25 Poll For First Time Since 2021 Preseason
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana is ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25 poll, which came out Sunday afternoon.
With its first 5-0 start since 1967, the Hoosiers joined the national rankings for the first time since 2021 preseaon poll, when they were ranked No. 17. Indiana lost 34-6 at Iowa in the 2021 season opener, dropped out of the top 25 and never returned during the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Indiana moved on from coach Tom Allen following the 2023 season and hired coach Curt Cignetti, who became the first coach to begin his Indiana tenure with four straight wins. He extended that streak to five games on Saturday with a 42-28 win over Maryland.
The Hoosiers are one of five undefeated Big Ten teams and one of two teams with a 2-0 record in conference play, along with Michigan. Indiana leads the Big Ten with 244 points scored, and Ohio State is next with 195 points.
According to the ESPN Football Power Index (FPI), Indiana is ranked No. 16 in the nation with a projected record of 9.9-2.3. Two ESPN analysts, Bill Connelly and Harry Lyles Jr., predict Indiana will make the College Football Playoffs.
The FPI gives Indiana a 39.6% chance to make the 12-team College Football Playoffs, an 8.3% chance to win the Big Ten, a 100% chance to win six games, a 2.9% chance to make the national championship game, a 1.9% chance to win out and a 0.8% chance to win the national championship.
Next up, Indiana travels to Northwestern for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill., a temporary stadium on the lakefront that seats approximately 12,000 fans. Northwestern is 2-2 in its second season under coach David Braun following 24-5 loss at Washington on Sept. 21. The Wildcats have a bye week to prepare for the Hoosiers.
Other ranked Big Ten teams include No. 3 Ohio State, No. 6 Oregon, No. 7 Penn State, No. 10 Michigan, No. 11 USC and No. 24 Illinois. Indiana only plays two of those six teams, with a home game against Michigan on Nov. 9 and a trip to Ohio State on Nov. 23.
Here’s the full AP Top 25 college football poll.
1. Alabama (4-0)
2. Texas (5-0)
3. Ohio State (4-0)
4. Tennessee (4-0)
5. Georgia (3-1)
6. Oregon (4-0)
7. Penn State (4-0)
8. Miami (FL) (5-0)
9. Missouri (4-0)
10. Michigan (4-1)
11. USC (3-1)
12. Ole Miss (4-1)
13. LSU (4-1)
14. Notre Dame (4-1)
15. Clemson (3-1)
16. Iowa State (4-0)
17. BYU (5-0)
18. Utah (4-1)
19. Oklahoma (4-1)
20. Kansas State (4-1)
21. Boise State (3-1)
22. Louisville (3-1)
23. Indiana (5-0)
24. Illinois (4-1)
25. UNLV (4-0)
Others receiving votes: Arizona 106, Pittsburgh 42, Nebraska 30, Boston College 18, Iowa 17, James Madison 13, Oklahoma St. 8, South Carolina 8, Rutgers 7, Kentucky 6, Navy 6, SMU 4, Army 2, Colorado 1.
Indiana basketball practice observations from June 25: Freshmen mixing in
IU has a game-changer, Thursday’s practice open to the media showed. IndyStar IU insider Zach Osterman explains what he saw.
BLOOMINGTON — Whatever he can.
That’s the answer. The question — one prompted by an urgency to add strength to his game — is what Vaughn Karvala, Indiana basketball’s athletic freshman wing, is doing to add weight. IU’s highest-ranked signee in the 2026 class, it’s not hard to envision a role for Karvala in Darian DeVries’ second season in Bloomington. The player himself knows that starts with meeting the physical demands of the college game.
Which starts with building onto to his 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame.
“The biggest thing for me is just putting on weight,” Karvala told reporters after practice Thursday. “That’s my biggest thing, getting stronger, trying to play with these guys that are three, four years older than me. I have to get stronger, I have to get faster, everything.”
A three-year letter winner at Oregon (Wisconsin) High School, Karvala spent his senior season at Bella Vista Prep in Arizona, bolstering a profile that saw him ranked No. 62 nationally per the 247Sports Composite.
Karvala averaged 26.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his final season with Oregon, shooting close to 42% from behind the 3-point line. He averaged another 14.7 points per game with Team Herro on the EYBL circuit.
He handed DeVries a major recruiting win last fall, when Karvala picked the Hoosiers over Xavier and Cal. Now, both at the rim and behind the arc, Karvala looks like a player who can contribute meaningfully in his first year in college.
“I know my athleticism catches the eye, but I can still shoot it,” Karvala said. “But another thing is just working on rebounding, trying to get extra possessions for us.”
Whether on the glass or elsewhere, embracing the physical challenge of college basketball has been an emphasis for Karvala since he arrived in Bloomington earlier this summer.
That manifests itself offensively, when he tries to push the ball downhill and leverage that athleticism to attack the rim. It shows up defensively, where Karvala said he’s comfortable guarding the two, the three and, matchup depending, the four.
It even plays out on the glass, battling bigs up to including 7-2 teammate Samet Yigitoglu, who Karvala described with a smile as “the biggest guy I’ve ever seen.”
“Physicality, 100%,” Karvala said, when asked where he’s challenging himself. “Just playing with all these guys that have 20, 30, 40 pounds on me.”
Which starts with the physical demand of more weight. Karvala said he’ll eat chicken, steak or “whatever we have in the locker room” that can help him in that effort. His focus, he said, is simply to “eat a lot, and work out every day.”
As that weight and strength begin to build, Karvala knows the next step — to mentally prepare for the rough-and-tumble nature of life on the floor in the Big Ten — is just as important. Preparing his body comes first. Challenging himself to toughen up once it’s required follows quickly after.
“Just getting fully there, mentally,” he said. “You’re going to have to push your body to get through this.”
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KOSCIUSKO COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — It’s fair season and a new law uncorks adult beverage sales!
The new Indiana law will go into effect July 1st, making it legal to sell alcohol at county fairs.
The Kosciusko County Fair is set to kick off in just a few weeks and Indiana is officially allowing alcohol to be sold.
The law is bringing back something that’s not necessarily new to this fair.
Here’s what you need to know
The new law will go into effect on July 1st. It officially allows county fairs to apply for fee-free permits to sell alcohol.
Officials with the Kosciusko County Fair say they are participating this year. They are implementing the same guidelines they used when they sold alcohol just at grandstand events.
The difference now is, you can walk around the grounds with your drink. But strict guidelines will be in place for purchasing a drink.
“Actually, we’ve never had any issues. Because we card everybody, so we take that seriously. We also got the ID guides so we can identify the different types of IDs,” said Sheal Dirck, Treasurer of Kosciusko County Fair.
The Kosciusko County Fair already have guidelines in place, so this was an easy transition for the fair.
They will be the only vendors selling alcohol, which will make it easier to control distribution.
The sales will also bring in more revenue.
“Hopefully it allows to keep our ticket prices where they are because right now, insurance, utilities and everything else is going sky high and it’s hard to make ends meet,” said Dirck.
However, some fairs cannot participate because of the July 1st start date, like the Pulaski County Fair, which is going on right now. Pulaski County officials said it is on the agenda for next year. Whereas other fairs are choosing to sit this year out.
“We wanted not spend some time to, to see what that really means for us. It was not a decision we wanted to rush into. But we are happy for the option of it,” said Shelly Steury, GM of Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds.
Leaders at the St. Joseph County and Elkhart County Fairs said neither of them are selling alcohol.
The Kosciusko County Fair is the only fair that will sell alcohol in our area this year.
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