Indiana
Oregon is in Big Ten football championship game. Here’s how Indiana makes it.
Curt Cignetti hasn’t put limitations on what Indiana football can achieve
The No. 5-ranked Hoosiers travel to No. 2 Ohio State with Big Ten title aspirations and a spot in the College Football Playoff within reach.
Oregon has earned a spot in the Big Ten football championship game, the conference announced Tuesday. The Ducks have this weekend off and finish their regular season on Nov. 30 against Washington.
The Big Ten has determined even if Oregon loses, it wins tiebreakers involving Indiana, Ohio State and Penn State. It released a list of 10 potential scenarios involving these teams, and IU would make the title game in four of them, it is a “maybe” in one, and it’s out in five.
How can Indiana football join Oregon at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 7?
Indiana football scenarios for Big Ten championship game
∎ Indiana finishes 9-0 in conference play, and it’s in. The Hoosiers would be the top seed if they’re the only 9-0 team. If they and Oregon are both 9-0, the seeds would be based on highest cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents. That’s two of the outlined scenarios.
∎ IU gets the No. 2 seed if Oregon finishes 9-0 and the Hoosiers are 8-1, with the loss coming to Purdue. That means IU would have beaten Ohio State, which previously beat Penn State. IU has the best record among games involving those three.
∎ If all four teams finish 8-1, and IU’s loss is against Purdue, Oregon and IU get the bids because of wins over common opponents with the highest rankings in the conference standings. In this scenario, IU and Oregon would both own wins over Ohio State, and the Hoosiers would get the No. 1 seed.
Indiana football is a ‘maybe’ for the Big Ten championship game
∎ In this scenario, Oregon is 9-0, IU and Penn State are both 8-1 (with losses to Ohio State), and OSU is 7-2. The Ducks are the top seed, and the other participant will be determined by the highest cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents for IU and Penn State.
Indiana football misses Big Ten championship game
∎ If Oregon is 9-0, and IU loses to Ohio State, and OSU defeats Michigan the following week, the Buckeyes would get the berth based on beating IU and Penn State.
∎ If IU loses to Ohio State and Purdue, and Oregon, OSU and PSU all finish 8-1, IU is out.
∎ IU, OSU and Oregon are all 8-1, and PSU 7-2, an Indiana loss to Ohio State would knock it out of the title game.
∎ If all four teams are 8-1, and IU’s loss is against Ohio State, the Buckeyes and Ducks get the berths.
∎ If Oregon and Penn State both finish 8-1 and IU and Ohio State both finish 7-2, the Hoosiers are out.
Indiana football schedule
Nov. 23, at Ohio State, noon, Fox
Nov. 30, vs. Purdue, TBA
Ohio State football schedule
Nov. 23, vs. Indiana, noon, Fox
Nov. 30, vs. Michigan, noon, Fox
Oregon football schedule
Nov. 30, vs. Washington, TBA
Penn State football schedule
Nov. 23, at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m.,
Nov. 30, vs. Maryland, 3:30 p.m.
When is the Big Ten championship game?
8 p.m. ET Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, on Fox.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump spoke at length about Indiana football’s perfect season Monday afternoon during a ceremony on the South Lawn at the White House honoring the team.
“This was a year that will live forever in the hearts of Indiana football fans,” Trump said. “There’s no story like this.”
Trump relived that journey, offering his own commentary on IU’s 16-0 season. Here’s a look at the standout moments from the President’s speech:
Trump compares Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti to Muhammad Ali
The President referenced Cignetti’s famed “Google Me” press conference as he traced IU’s path to the national title. While Trump said he normally hates guys with “cocky” attitudes, he couldn’t help but admire Cignetti’s style. Trump compared it to the way Muhammad Ali backed up his tough talk.
“Just two years later, he brought home the national championship,” Trump said. “When you do that stuff, you have to be able to produce when you act that way.”
Trump laughs off Indiana football’s notable absences
Trump didn’t expect quite so many former Indiana football players to be busy with OTA’s in the NFL. While Fernando Mendoza’s absence made headlines last week, Trump was surprised to find out that key starters like Pat Coogan and D’Angelo Ponds weren’t in attendance either. The President sought to highlight their contributions during his remarks.
“We’ve got 15 of them in (NFL) training camp right now,” Cignetti told Trump.
“Oh, I can’t believe it,” the President said. “No wonder you won.”
According to Trump, Mendoza called the President last week to tell him he wouldn’t be able to attend the event. There were a handful of former IU players on the trip who graduated, but none of the ones who were drafted or signed to NFL teams.
Trump impressed with IU’s blowout win over Alabama in Rose Bowl: ‘You’ve got to be kidding’
Trump has maintained close ties with former Alabama coach Nick Saban, Cignetti’s one-time mentor. It might help explain why the President was so impressed by the lopsided final score of IU’s 38-3 victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
“Coach, you’ve got to be kidding,” Trump said after reading the final score. “That’s right, over Alabama. That’s a big one.”
Cignetti, who won a title as an assistant at Alabama for Saban, even poked fun at his former school as Trump spoke about the game.
“Roll tide,” Cignetti shouted.
Trump spotlights Indiana football’s gutsy QB draw in CFP title game
Former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s diving touchdown against the Hurricanes made quite the impression on Trump, who attended the CFP championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. The President raved about the play call on Monday afternoon with Cignetti by his side.
Facing a fourth-and-four from Miami’s 12-yard line, Cignetti called a QB draw with his team holding onto a slim lead in the final 10 minutes. Mendoza scored by breaking a series of tackles and making a Superman-esque dive across the goal line.
“No coach in America would have done what this guy did,” Trump said of Cignetti. “They said, this guy is making such a mistake, and he won. That was a hell of a play. That’s the kind of play if they don’t do that play, if it doesn’t work, that’s like career-threatening, right?”
Trump circled back to the thought before talking about Jamari Sharpe’s interception.
“He kept doing all this stuff,” Trump said. “The things that weren’t supposed to happen. You’re just lucky you won that game because if you didn’t, they would have said, this coach is crazy.”
Trump celebrates Indiana football’s ‘legendary story’
Trump frequently veered away from his prepared remarks to offer up asides on Indiana’s rags to riches story. Cignetti orchestrated a turnaround in just two seasons in Bloomington at a school with very little tradition in the sport.
“What you did is something that I don’t think anybody’s ever really done in college football history,” Trump said.
Trump, like many fans, was impressed with the way IU dispatched the sport’s blue bloods — mostly in lopsided fashion — on their journey to winning the CFP title.
“You went through a lot of great teams,” Trump said. “And real football powerhouses over the years. That’s pretty intimidating. Amazing. Top tens. This team lifted the Indiana football program from a historic low.”
For Trump, it’s what made Indiana’s 16-0 season distinct from other championship teams that have visited the White House.
“The story of Indiana University is really a legendary story,” Trump said.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
Fernando Mendoza did not attend Indiana University’s visit to the White House commemorating the Hoosiers’ college football national championship on Monday. The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback said earlier this month that he would not attend if it interfered with any activities with his new team.
“I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here,” Mendoza said following a rookie minicamp practice. “I got to prove myself. I can’t miss practice. I don’t know anything official. I don’t have the calendar, but I just wouldn’t. As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look, and I want to try to best serve my teammates. And I don’t know if that’d be accomplishing that goal.”
According to the team’s official offseason schedule, the Raiders did not have any formal practices or workouts on Monday. The team’s next organized activity is May 18, its first OTA workout.
“Fernando couldn’t be here today because, as I said, he’s now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders,” President Donald Trump said in his address. “Let’s see how good of a team they have, and I think he’s gonna do great. He’s a winner.”
Mendoza wasn’t the only absence. Center Pat Coogan and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds were among the other Hoosiers not in attendance for the event due to NFL obligations. Indiana had a program-record eight players selected in April’s NFL Draft.
Trump highlighted Mendoza’s accomplishments and contributions to the school’s first football national title. He celebrated Mendoza as Indiana’s inaugural Heisman Trophy winner and praised his fourth-quarter touchdown run in the championship game against Miami.
“He’s gonna be a good one,” Trump said.
Indiana was well-represented by returning members of the team. Charlie Becker, one of Mendoza’s go-to receivers during the College Football Playoffs, and Jamari Sharpe, whose late interception secured the title-game victory, both spoke on behalf of the school, as did head coach Curt Cignetti.
Mendoza is one of four members of the national champion Hoosiers who joined the Raiders this offseason. Running back Roman Hemby and wide receiver E.J. Williams Jr. signed as undrafted free agents in the days following the draft. Wide receiver Jonathan Brady earned a contract after impressing as a tryout player during rookie minicamp.
MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating a triple shooting that took place on Muncie’s south side Sunday evening that left a woman dead and two men injured.
According to police, at approximately 5:27 p.m., Muncie Police Officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of South Walnut Street in reference to reports of several people being shot.
Officers arrived and located three gunshot victims: A 23-year-old female who died from “multiple wounds,” a 39-year-old male who is hospitalized in stable condition, and a 40-year-old male who was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital in critical condition.
Police say a suspect is in custody, a 21-year-old man.
Police did not provide any additional information.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Muncie Police Detective Division at 765-747-4867 or dispatch at 765-747-4838.
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