BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana offensive lineman Nick Kidwell will miss the 2024 season due to a knee injury.

Kidwell transferred from James Madison to Indiana this offseason, and he was expected to be the Hoosiers’ starting right guard in 2024. At 6-foot-5 and 316 pounds, Kidwell appeared in 52 games with 34 starts at James Madison, playing both right tackle and right guard.

Kidwell was named first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association in 2021 and second-team All-Sun Belt in 2022. He was in line to finish his college career at James Madison in 2023, but he suffered a season-ending injury four games into the season. He received a medical hardship waiver, which granted him a seventh season of collegiate eligibility at Indiana in 2024.

“He was one of the best two linemen in the Sun Belt had he stayed healthy last year,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said of Kidwell.

Following Indiana’s first practice of fall camp on July 31, Cignetti mentioned Drew Evans and Bray Lynch as two young lineman that could provide depth for the Hoosiers this season. Evans transferred from Wisconsin to Indiana last season, but he has not played in any games during his two-year college career.

Lynch was a three-star recruit in the class of 2022 out of Austin, Texas, and he has played 71 total snaps in 10 games on the offensive line and special teams across two seasons with the Hoosiers. Kidwell’s injury now heightens their importance to Indiana’s offensive line.

Indiana returned two starters on its offensive line from last season: Carter Smith and Mike Katic. Smith started all 12 games at left tackle last season, and Katic, who has played 39 games in his Indiana career, moved to center this offseason.

Indiana also added Wisconsin transfer Trey Wedig, who was expected to start at right tackle prior to Kidwell’s injury. Tyler Stephens transferred to Indiana this offseason from James Madison, where he appeared in 36 games with 31 starts, playing left tackle, left guard and right tackle. Stephens earned second-team All-Sun Belt honors in 2023 and provides versatility for the Indiana offensive line.

With just over two weeks until Indiana’s season opener against Florida International on Aug. 31, offensive line coach Bob Bostad is tasked with finding a new starter in place of Kidwell. On Monday, Cignetti said there was still competition for starting spots on the offensive line, and now Kidwell’s injury further ensures that.

But if one thing is certain, Cignetti is confident in Bostad’s coaching ability.

“He’s a veteran with a great reputation,” Cignetti said on Monday of Bostad. “He really works his guys. He’s a tough guy, Bob is, a little bit old school, which I like. But that’s such a critical position, and it takes a while to mesh in terms of things I’m used to doing or we’re used to doing offensively and in terms of what he’s done, come together, and I like the way that process has gone. He’s a real asset, a winning edge. I know he’s going to get the most out of the offensive line.”

A trio of Indiana lieutenant governor nominees promised to champion farmers and rural residents — albeit through different means — during a Tuesday agriculture-themed debate.

Republican pastor Micah Beckwith, Democrat and former rural development officer Terry Goodin and Libertarian real estate broker Tonya Hudson took on water policy, property tax relief and more before a crowded room of Hoosiers.

Danville-based agricultural advocacy group Agriinstitute hosted the debate, which took place at the Indiana State Fair. Inside INdiana Business host Gerry Dick moderated.

Water policy took center stage.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s (IEDC) plan to pump 100 million gallons of water daily from Tippecanoe County to a massive planned industrial park in Boone County has sparked sustained backlash.

Asked how they’d balance agricultural water needs with economic development, the candidates took different tacks.

Beckwith called the turmoil a “transparency issue” stemming from the IEDC, which he dubbed a “shadow government.”

He said the Republican ticket would involve locals in the water debate, but indicated an interest in the project.

“But I think we’ve got the resources,” Beckwith said. “It’s more just: how are we going to get those resources into the right place?”

Goodin said that although oil has motivated many past wars, he believes the next wars will be fought over water.

He called for development of a detailed water policy.

“Indiana needs to get together. We need to put together a policy of all those folks who are impacted by the use of water, and make sure that we put the right process together moving forward,” Goodin said.

Indiana has few restrictions on large water withdrawals. Several water policy proposals motivated by the IEDC’s plan died in the most recent legislative session, even those with GOP authors.

Hudson, meanwhile, emphasized “balance” but said she’d “work with” lawmakers on clean water and air.

“Water shouldn’t have to be a commodity, because it’s a necessary thing we all (need) in our lives,” she said.

Easing the property tax burden

Candidates also fielded questions on property taxes, with a journalist on the panel asking questions noting that farming simply require more land than others professions.

Indiana uses recent sales to assess most property types, but farmland is different.

The Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) instead determines a “base rate,” a rolling average with six years of capitalized net cash rent and net operating income. DLGF drops the highest value of the six and averages the remaining five years.

“Farmers have seen an increase from last year to this year: (a) 26.2% increase in property taxes. That’s insane,” Beckwith said. “That’s absolutely out of control. And farmers need the relief.”

He and running mate Mike Braun, he said, would deliver.

The duo released a proposal last month that would increase the state’s homeowner deduction and cap property tax bill increases to just 3%.

“Ultimately, though, it’s the Legislature’s job to fix it,” Beckwith added. “What Mike Braun has done with casting vision — he’s given the legislature cover, finally, to fix this issue.”

Hudson went further.

Her ticket’s plan would abolish the property tax altogether.

“You should not be paying property taxes on a home that you already own,” Hudson said.

Farmers ask for property tax ‘intervention’ as communities, schools talk challenges

“We have this mafia-style tactic where, through a Sheriff’s sale or whatever, if you can’t pay your property taxes, you get kicked out of the home that you own. We should not be doing that.”

Running mate Donald Rainwater’s plan would replace the property tax with a 7% sales tax on home purchases. Hoosiers could pay it upfront or over seven years.

Goodin, however, accused his opponents of cutting funding for police and other emergency services.

“It’s very simple. If you want to have good quality services you have to pay for them,” he said.

He and running mate Jennifer McCormick have yet to release a property tax plan. But he asserted that his party’s approach would push the state to “grow” rather than “cut” its way out of the “property tax crisis.” And he said state government should replace lost property tax revenue if needed.

“We’ve got to repair the property tax system,” Goodin said. “We’ve got to put … all those taxes together, we come out (and) we figure out what is the most important priorities that we have in the state of Indiana.”

The role sought

Indiana’s lieutenant governor is first in line to lead the state if a sitting governor can’t fulfill the top spot’s duties. The lieutenant governor also presides over the Senate, and casts tie-breaking votes.

Indiana Code also gives the officeholder 26 additional roles, according to the National Lieutenant Governor’s Association. That includes overseeing the State Department of Agriculture, the Office of Community & Rural Affairs and more.

The lieutenant governor separately chairs the Indiana Mental Health Roundtable, the Intellectual and Development Disabilities Task Force, and the Civics Education Commission.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The college football preseason AP Top 25 poll came out on Monday, and to no one’s surprise Indiana was on the outside looking in.

But compared to recent seasons, the vantage point in Bloomington is less daunting. 

After expanding to 18 teams this offseason, the Big Ten found six of its teams in the first AP Top 25 poll: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Michigan, No. 23 USC, No. 25 Iowa. Three more received votes but were left off the poll: Washington, Nebraska and Wisconsin. 

Of those nine, just four are on Indiana’s 2024 schedule: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 9 Michigan, Nebraska and Washington. Indiana will have home-field advantage in three of those games, with a road trip to Columbus being the outlier. The Hoosiers also do not play Ohio State and Michigan until November. That creates an opportunity to build early season confidence, unlike difficult Week 1 matchups in recent years against No. 3 Ohio State in 2023 and at No. 18 Iowa in 2021.

Indiana having just two opponents in the preseason AP Top 25 poll is a stark contrast from recent seasons. Look at the Tom Allen era for example, which began with its first full season in 2017.

From 2017-23, Indiana had at least four opponents in the preseason AP Top 25 poll in all seven seasons. In 2019, it had five opponents ranked in the first poll. That stretch also includes a shortened 2020 season, when four of Indiana’s eight total opponents made the preseason poll. And in each of those seasons, at least one opponent received a vote, and three received votes in 2022. 

Here’s a breakdown of Indiana’s past schedules, corresponding with how many of its opponents made the preseason AP Top 25 poll.

Indiana has the No. 43 strength of schedule, according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index (FPI). The Hoosiers strength of schedule ranked 25th or higher in five of seven seasons under Allen, peaking at No. 6 in 2023 and No. 7 in 2021. Indiana played its weakest schedules in 2019, ranking 58th, and in 2017, ranking 59th.

Among 18 Big Ten teams, Indiana ranks 16th in strength of schedule, meaning only Iowa and Rutgers project to have easier schedules. In those seven seasons under Allen, Indiana’s strength of schedule ranked fourth or higher among 14 Big Ten teams four times. 

Indiana also has the luxury of playing eight home games in 2024. Under Allen, it played seven home games twice, six home games three times and three home games once, during the shortened 2020 season.

Here’s Indiana’s strength of schedule ranking by year, according to the ESPN FPI, and where that ranks in the Big Ten.

The change is a result of two main factors. Indiana does not play Cincinnati or Louisville – teams that reached the College Football Playoff and ACC Championship, respectively, in seasons when they played the Hoosiers. Indiana also traveled to Cincinnati in 2022, when the Bearcats went 9-4, and played Louisville at a neutral site in 2023, boosting its strength of schedule.

But in 2024, according to ESPN’s SP+ rankings, the Hoosiers’ nonconference slate should be a breeze. Indiana’s two FBS opponents, Florida International and Charlotte, rank No. 127 and 126 out of 134 FBS programs. Its FCS opponent, Western Illinois, is 0-22 over the last two seasons and has won four total games since the beginning of the 2019 season. 

Indiana plays those three games in the first four weeks of the season, mixed in with a trip to UCLA in Week 3. And the Hoosiers don’t play an AP Top 25 team until Nov. 9 against Michigan, or a team that received votes until Oct. 19 against Nebraska.

The other factor is a result of Big Ten expansion. The conference eliminated its East and West divisions when it expanded to 18 teams, no longer guaranteeing powerhouses Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State will be on Indiana’s schedule every year. The Hoosiers still play Michigan and Ohio State in 2024 but not Penn State. They also drew the two weakest former Pac-12 teams, UCLA and Washington. 

With a favorable schedule, the ESPN FPI projects Indiana to have its best record since the 2020 season but says bowl eligibility is still up in the air. It predicts the Hoosiers will go 5.3-6.7 and gives them a 44.9% chance to win six games and a 0.5% chance to make the 12-team College Football Playoffs. 

The ESPN SP+ rankings slot Indiana No. 81 overall, lowest of any Big Ten team. But the Hoosiers’ first six Big Ten opponents are all ranked outside the top 30, including two teams ranked higher than 70th. With a manageable runway in the early months, there’s reason to believe Indiana can at least outperform that ranking at the bottom of the Big Ten.

The AP Top 25 poll, other metrics and how they relate to Indiana could be signs of good things to come under new coach Curt Cignetti, a compilation of names and numbers proven wrong, or somewhere in the middle. But all preseason statistical projections say Indiana has its most favorable schedule in years, and that’s perhaps the biggest reason for optimism in 2024.

Here’s the full schedule.