Indiana

Ranking Indiana’s potential College Football Playoff opponents, from most exciting to most boring

Published

12 months ago

December 3, 2024

Ranking Indiana’s potential College Football Playoff opponents, from most exciting to most boring

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti didn’t spend much time celebrating his team’s historically lopsided win over Purdue.

He was already looking ahead to a potential College Football Playoff appearance for the No. 10 Hoosiers (11-1; 8-1 Big Ten) during his brief opening statement after a 66-0 win over Purdue.

“They are not done yet,” Cignetti said, emphatically. “You know, they are not — they want more. They are going to get more.”

More is likely to be one of college football’s traditional powers in the opening round of the first ever 12-team playoff. There’s some incredibly exciting potential first-round matchups, here they are ranked from thrilling to least:

Ranking Indiana football’s most exciting potential first round CFP opponents

Georgia (10-2): Taking down a perennial title contender like Georgia in the heart of SEC country would erase any doubts about IU being the real deal. The Bulldogs have won two national titles in the last three years and have the fourth most wins in CFP history.

The trip to Athens would be a first for the Hoosiers — the programs have never played each other — and haven’t played an SEC opponent on a non-neutral field since facing Kentucky in 2004.

Indiana playing between the hedges at Sanford Stadium in the postseason was not a scenario anyone envisioned at the start of the year.

Notre Dame (11-1): Notre Dame and Indiana are in the same state, but the football programs have spent much of their existence on separate continents. The Fighting Irish almost have more national titles than IU has bowl appearances.

The Hoosiers could break out of that shadow in a big way by eliminating them in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Indiana fans would probably take a bit of extra pleasure in getting a CFP win before Notre Dame does. The Fighting Irish have made a pair of appearances in the event (2018 and 2020), but lost those games by a combined score of 61-17.

The fact that the teams have rarely played in the modern era of college football makes the potential matchup all the more exciting. The teams haven’t played since Notre Dame beat IU, 49-27, in 1991.

It was the only game between the programs going back to 1958.

Penn State (11-1): Indiana’s past and present could collide in State College.

The Hoosiers former head coach Tom Allen landed on his feet as PSU’s defensive coordinator. The Nittany Lions finished the regular season with the fourth ranked defense in the FBS (266.8 yards allowed per game) and sixth in scoring defense (14.0).

Indiana facing its former coach would create plenty of intrigue between two longtime Big Ten rivals especially since Cignetti’s brash style is so diametrically opposed to Allen’s LEO era.

There’s an added irony to the teams playing in the first round since IU was excited about finally being free of facing Penn State on an annual basis in the Big Ten East division. The Hoosiers wouldn’t have any objections to continuing the series in the postseason.

Texas (11-1): This would be a fun matchup considering the head coaches from both teams are former Nick Saban pupils.

It would also be a meeting of great offensive minds.

Cignetti’s respect for Texas coach Steven Sarkisian actually played a role in Indiana’s success this season. That admiration is what led Cignetti to hiring IU’s current quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri when he was at JMU.

“I spent that whole COVID fall studying Alabama when Sarkisian was there with Matt Jones and those receivers,” Cignetti said, back in December. “I really liked what they were doing. I was looking for new ideas in the pass game. Tino was Sark’s right hand man.”

On top of it being a great chess match, this isn’t a matchup that comes around very often. Indiana is winless in three games against Texas and the teams haven’t played since 1966.

Ohio State (10-2): Indiana players would welcome a rematch against Ohio State. The Hoosiers didn’t feel like they played their best game in Columbus and are frustrated by the narrative that they can’t compete with the Buckeyes.

Bouncing back with a win over OSU in the first round would be a heck of a way for IU to end a 30-game losing streak in the series, but from a fan’s perspective this lacks the same excitement over a game they didn’t see just weeks earlier in the exact same venue.

Tennessee (10-2): Indiana would get a chance to avenge a 2020 loss to Tennessee in the Gator Bowl if they headed down to Knoxville, but that would provide little motivation for the guys in IU’s locker room since there isn’t anybody still on the roster that played in that game.

This would give the Hoosiers a chance to Big Ten some bragging rights over the SEC, but there’s just not as much juice to this game compared to the rest of the list.

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.

Source link

Click to comment

Indiana

No. 2 Indiana tries to complete a 2nd straight perfect home season when Wisconsin visits

Published

18 hours ago

November 13, 2025

Press Room

No. 2 Indiana tries to complete a 2nd straight perfect home season when Wisconsin visits

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza has experienced nothing but success in his one season at No. 2 Indiana. Receiver Omar Cooper Jr. has been through just about everything in his four years with the Hoosiers.

Now the tandem that created one of college football’s biggest plays this season hopes to deliver another memorable moment in what could be their final home game together Saturday against struggling Wisconsin.

This will not be just another senior day at Indiana (10-0, 7-0). For the second straight year, the Hoosiers enter their final two home games with a perfect record, on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot and the possibility of reaching their first Big Ten title game.

But second-year coach Curt Cignetti doesn’t believe the narrative will become a distraction from how the Hoosiers have reached this point.

“I doubt any of them are thinking about the end right now because everybody understands sort of where we’re at and what’s possible,” Cignetti said this week. “I think we’re on a little bit of a mission here, and that’s really been the focus. I think that’s how the kids are thinking, too.”

Mendoza emerged as one of the top players in the transfer portal last year and wound up choosing the Hoosiers in part to reunite with his younger brother, Alberto. The older brother has been even better than advertised by leading the league with 31 total TDs while emerging as a Heisman Trophy favorite and possibly the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Cooper, meanwhile, endured 4-8 and 3-9 seasons and won only three Big Ten games in his first two years at Indiana but has since become a key figure in a remarkable two-year turnaround.

The Hoosiers are trying to extend their school record 14-game winning streak at home and protect the program’s highest ranking against the Badgers (3-6, 1-5). And Cooper’s incredible go-ahead TD catch in the final minute not only gave Indiana its first win at Penn State, it helped them — finally — shed the label of America’s losingest football program. Northwestern now has 716 losses all-time, one more than the Hoosiers.

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell knows what his team is up against after snapping an 11-game losing streak against Power Four opponents last week.

“I don’t even know if you asked a coach from within (the program) like if they could pinpoint exactly what it is,” Fickell said when asked about the Hoosiers turnaround. “There’s a lot of things that have gone into it. Great coaching is one of them, great quarterback is another. But whatever they’ve done a really, really good job of in the last few years.”

Quarterback questions

The biggest question for Wisconsin is who will play quarterback Saturday.

Billy Edwards Jr. was the opening-day starter but sprained his knee in that first game and has only played, briefly, in one game since. Danny O’Neil and Hunter Simmons started a combined total of seven games, but when O’Neil was carted off the field with a leg injury last week, Fickell went with first-year quarterback Carter Smith who went 3 of 12 with 8 yards and scored on a 2-yard run in a 13-10 win over then No. 23 Washington.

Who will start Saturday?

“You always have a plan,” he said when asked what he’d do if the Badgers lose any more quarterbacks to injuries. “We’ve still got to figure out who’s one and two before we start to think about who’s the fourth going into a game like this.”

CFP talk

Given the schedule, the CFP selection might want to consult with the Badgers before making its final pairings.

Saturday’s game will be Wisconsin’s sixth this season against a team ranked in the CFP’s Top 25. The Badgers already have faced No. 1 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, No. 8 Oregon, No. 18 Michigan and No. 21 Iowa.

But Fickell’s players aren’t blaming the brutal schedule for their losses.

“I love every bit of it,” outside linebacker Mason Reiger said. “I’d rather play the best five teams in the country than play none of them. It’s a challenge, sure. It’s not easy to play these good teams, but at some point in college football you want to play the best teams because to be the best, you’ve got to go against the best.”

___

AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Milwaukee also contributed to this report.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Source link

Indiana

Purdue basketball stats, box score today vs. Evansville: How did Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer play?

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2025

Press Room

Purdue basketball stats, box score today vs. Evansville: How did Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer play?

Purdue basketball started the 2025-26 season with an 82-51 win over Evansville. Fletcher Loyer led the charge with 5 first-half 3-pointers before finishing with a career-high 30 points. Trey Kaufman-Renn (hip) didn’t play.

Braden Smith stats for Purdue basketball vs. Evansville. How many assists did Braden Smith have?

Braden Smith had 6 points, 11 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

He entered the game with 1,375 career points, 758 assists, 183 steals and 535 rebounds. He was a first-team All-American in 2024-25 and has a chance to set the Division I career assists record.

Purdue basketball stats vs. Evansville today

Player	Pts	Reb	Ast	FG	3FG	FT	PF
Joshua Hughes	15	11	1	6-12	3-7	0-0	3
A.J. Casey	14	9	2	6-13	0-3	2-2	1
Leif Moeller	0	2	3	0-9	0-5	2-2	1
Keishon Porter	2	3	2	1-11	0-3	0-0	3
Alex Hemenway	3	0	0	1-6	1-4	0-0	0
J. Dyson-Merwe	4	7	2	2-2	0-0	0-0	3
Trent Hundley	9	1	1	3-8	3-8	0-0	2
Bryce Quinet	4	2	1	2-9	0-4	0-2	1
Kaia Berridge	0	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	1
—	51	40	13	21-70 (30%)	7-34 (20.6%)	2-4 (50%)	15

Evansville basketball stats vs. Purdue today

Who are Purdue’s best players? Purdue basketball roster

0, C.J. Cox
1, Antione West Jr.
2, Fletcher Loyer
3, Braden Smith
4, Trey Kaufman-Renn
5, Liam Murphy
12, Daniel Jacobsen
14, Jack Benter
17, Omer Mayer
24, Gicarri Harris
34, Raleigh Burgess (redshirt)
45, Oscar Cluff

Nathan Baird and Sam King have the best Purdue sports coverage, and sign up for IndyStar’s Boilermakers newsletter.

Source link

Indiana

Signing day: Confirmed signings for Central Indiana high school athletes

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2025

Press Room

Signing day: Confirmed signings for Central Indiana high school athletes

The early signing period begins on Wednesday for all sports except football, which has its early signing period in December.

These are the confirmed expected signings for Wednesday for Central Indiana athletes. We will update this throughout the day and through the signing period (Nov. 19). Please email kyle.neddenriep@indystar.com with school, sport and college choice to add to list:

Girls soccer

Aryana Ali, Westfield: DePauw

Taylor Baier, Center Grove: Walsh

Riley Boyd, Hamilton Southeastern: Indiana

Coltie Carson, Westfield: Miami

Sydney Cook, Hamilton Southeastern: Purdue

Emma Ehret, Carmel: Indiana

Lucy Elder, Hamilton Southeastern: Hanover

Lola Horstman, Westfield: Western Kentucky

Olivia Joyce, Carmel: Kansas

Kate Klinginsmith, Carmel: Ball State

Mallory Long, Fishers: Earlham

Sarah Maudlin, Fishers: Taylor

Elise May, Fishers: Butler

Sloan May, Hamilton Southeastern: Michigan

Kate Noel, Hamilton Southeastern: Purdue

Kari Radford, Lawrence North: Ball State

Brooke Reiter, Carmel: Loras College

Blair Satterfield, Hamilton Southeastern: Indiana

Taylor Townley, Center Grove: IU Indy

Boys soccer

Carsten Shidler, Noblesville: UIndy

Ryan Weber, Carmel: Iowa State

Softball

Erica Burris, Center Grove: Purdue Northwest

Sofia Easterhaus, Westfield: Marian

Riley Fuhr, Center Grove: Thomas More

Kiersten Hardin, Center Grove: Purdue Northwest

Tatum Hunt, Brownsburg: Marian

Frankie Jackson, Fishers: Mars Hill

Jayden Kleiner, Carmel: Michigan

Kensly Larkin, Brownsburg: Huntington

Ashyr Lawson, Decatur Central: Purdue

Brynn Meyer, Center Grove: Indiana

AG Pogue, Brownsburg: Southern Indiana

Hailey Prather, Brownsburg: Ohio Northern

Addelynn Reed, Center Grove: IU Columbus

Haley Schatko, Noblesville: Indiana

Grace Swedarskiy, Hamilton Southeastern: Virginia Tech

Megan Todd, Bishop Chatard: Concordia (Wis.)

Makayla Watson, Westfield: North Carolina State

Addison Wolf, Center Grove: Columbia

Girls track and field/cross country

Ansley Applegate, Noblesville: Taylor

Gracie Czubik, Westfield: Saginaw Valley State

Sadie Foley, Carmel: Indiana

Ceci Jackson, Bishop Chatard: Indiana

Ella Jenkins, Westfield: Northern Iowa

Julia Score, Bishop Chatard: Wake Forest

Chloe Senefeld, Hamilton Southeastern: Iowa

Carly VonDielingen, Whiteland: Indiana State

Lucy Wood, Brebeuf Jesuit: Butler

Boys track and field/cross country

Eli Balbach, Bishop Chatard: Marian

Phoenix Boyer, Bishop Chatard: Indiana

Cooper Click, Noblesville: Taylor

Konrad Hayden, Fishers: Marian

John Libs, Noblesville: Butler

Liam Powers, Hamilton Southeastern: Belmont

Conrad Schumacher, Lawrence North: Marian

Nate Thomas, Fishers: Xavier

Evan Williams, Lawrence Central: Indiana

Boys basketball

Justin Curry, Noblesville: Valparaiso

Evan Harrell, Carmel: Bellarmine

Brennan Miller, Lawrence North: Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

Noah Smith, Plainfield: DePauw

Baron Walker, Noblesville: Butler

Luke Weemer, Hamilton Southeastern: Emporia State

Girls basketball

Ke’Adriah Butler, Lawrence Central: Boston College

Antonete Greene, Hamilton Southeastern: Earlham

Kenedy Holman, Hamilton Southeastern: Florida

Alyx Kendall, Bishop Chatard: DePauw

Akya Koenig, Fishers: IU-Kokomo

Elle McCulloch, Brownsburg: Florida Gulf Coast

Aniyah McKenzie, Lawrence Central: Illinois-Chicago

Lola Lampley, Lawrence Central: LSU

C.C. Quigley, Noblesville: Lipscomb

Kayla Stidham, Hamilton Southeastern: Bowling Green

Natalie Thomas, Fishers: Bethel

Berkely Williams, Plainfield: DePauw

Boys golf

Ryan Cesare, Westfield: Marian

Thomas Klinker, Fishers: IU Indy

Tyler Marucci, Noblesville: Indiana Wesleyan

Nathan Springer, Center Grove: IU Indy

Mattingly Upchurch, Hamilton Southeastern: Ball State

Girls golf

Olivia Folwer, Noblesville: Tampa

Janelle Garcia, Hamilton Southeastern: IU Indy

Kelsey Haverluck, Westfield: Western Carolina

Peyton Kauzlick, Noblesville: Saint Mary’s College

Josie Kelley, Noblesville: Eastern Kentucky

Presley White, Noblesville: Taylor

Baseball

Collin Bumps, Fishers: Manchester

Beckett Doane, Noblesville: Mississippi State

Beck Jordan, Westfield: Wabash

Sean Frey, Fishers: Anderson

Aiden Grabowski, Westfield: Indiana Wesleyan

Paul Karnes, Lawrence Central: Franklin

Owen Lukac, Fishers: Evansville

Ryan Murphy, Brownsburg: Creighton

Silas Neal, Carmel: UIndy

Vince Painter, Brownsburg: Bellarmine

Vincent Pecoraro, Fishers: Anderson

Daniel Phillips, Brownsburg: Purdue Northwest

Aiden Reynolds, Noblesville: Indiana

Gavin Russ, Westfield: Ohio Northern

Miles Tebben, Fishers: Grace

Brayden Thompson, Brownsburg: Bethel

Clayton Walther, Westfield: Hope

Hayden Werner, Fishers: Maryville

Corey Wilhelm, Westfield: Rose-Hulman

John Zangrilli, Carmel: Thomas More

Boys lacrosse

Wil Bates, Carmel: Maryville

Charlie Boe, Noblesville: Wabash

Max Brown, Westfield: Point Park

Evan Coulter, Carmel: Anderson

Henry Dvorak, Carmel: LeMoyne

Max McCord, Carmel: Palm Beach Atlantic

Cohen Odle, Carmel: Palm Beach Atlantic

Ike Stitle, Carmel: Siena

E.B. Warren, Carmel: Tampa

Girls lacrosse

Sophia Anthony, Carmel: Lincoln Memorial

Madeleine Biedess, Westfield: Lake Forest

Hannah Cavalcanti, Westfield: UIndy

Sophie Grotjan, Carmel: DePauw

Katie McKeever, Carmel: Belmont

Maggie Piatt, Bishop Chatard: Manhattan

Samantha Worzala, Hamilton Southeastern: Hope

Volleyball

Georgia Bresnahan, Westfield: Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

Ella Coppock, Noblesville: DePauw

Jasmin Daniels, Hamilton Southeastern: Morehead State

Charlotte Dudik, Bishop Chatard: Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

Grace Gwin, Bishop Chatard: Earlham

Skylyr Merriman, Center Grove: Franklin

Madison Miles, Hamilton Southeastern: Illinois

Reagan Miles, Hamilton Southeastern: Taylor

Bre Morgan, Hamilton Southeastern: Florida Gulf Coast

Reese Resmer, Noblesville: Kansas State

Merritt Sliwa, Hamilton Southeastern: Ball State

Ashlynn Turner, Noblesville: Marian

Natalie Vance, Center Grove: Southern Illinois

Jayda Vanoskey, Lawrence North: IU-Columbus

Kate Vrabel, Brownsburg: Oakland

Wrestling

Julian Burgett, Fishers: Mercyhurst

Tommy Gibbs, Brownsburg: Indiana

Parker Reynolds, Brownsburg: Purdue

Xavier Smith, Fishers: Purdue

Michael White, Lawrence North: Oklahoma State

Girls swimming and diving

Zoe Baldauf, Carmel: Anderson

Katie Countryman, Bishop Chatard: Bowling Green

Lucy Enoch, Carmel: Florida Atlantic

Adelyn Flessner, North Central: Iowa

Naomi Haines, Hamilton Southeastern: Ball State

Avery Hannon, Fishers: Xavier

Ella Hare, Fishers: Lynn

Mia Henderson, Hamilton Southeastern: Hope

Sabrina Ledwith, Carmel: Florida International

Eryn McMahon, Noblesville: Ball State

Ryan Murphy, Hamilton Southeastern: Anderson

Francesca Ramey, Fishers: Pepperdine

Polina Sopova, Fishers: Ball State

Boys swimming and diving

Camden Bailey, Hamilton Southeastern: DePauw

Kirby Danglade, Fishers: IU Indy

Drew DuBois, Carmel: Seton Hall

Carter Hadley, Carmel: Southern Methodist

Cory Han, Carmel: Columbia

Will Lathrop, Carmel: Xavier

Mason Lawson, Fishers: North Carolina State

Sebastian Rizik, Carmel: Wabash

Lewis Zhang, Carmel: Penn

Girls tennis

Cathy Beckmann, Bishop Chatard: Valparaiso

Boys tennis

Connor Certain, Brownsburg: Marian

Logan Polen, Brownsburg: Trine

Rowing

Callie Carpenter, Carmel: Duquesne

Paul Kiser, Carmel: Syracuse

Lauren Raines, Brebeuf Jesuit: Wisconsin

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.

Source link