Indiana

Where Indiana football is in CFP rankings before Big Ten championship game

Published

3 months ago

December 3, 2025

Press Room

Where Indiana football is in CFP rankings before Big Ten championship game

Ohio State and Indiana remain the top two undefeated teams in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
The two teams will face each other in the Big Ten title game for the first time as No. 1 and No. 2.
The winner of the conference championship will secure a spot in the Rose Bowl and a top seed in the playoff.

BLOOMINGTON — The College Football Playoff committee kept the lone undefeated teams, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana football, in the top two slots in the penultimate rankings released on Tuesday night.

It sets up the a first of its kind No. 1 vs. No 2. in the Big Ten title game this weekend in Indianapolis.

The Hoosiers (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) have been nipping at OSU’s heels for five straight weeks in the CFP rankings. The winner of the conference title game will lock up a spot in the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten’s highest-ranked team and top seed in the bracket.

“I had the opportunity to be a part of a couple of those at Alabama,” IU coach Curt Cignetti said Sunday. “We played Florida and (Tim) Tebow and Urban (Meyer) one verse two, two years in a row. It’s going be a great atmosphere.”

Based on the current rankings, Indiana would faced the winner of a matchup between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 10 Texas A&M.

The good news for Ohio State and Indiana is that the changes the CFP made to their strength of schedule metrics during the offseason should prevent the team that loses this weekend from falling out of the top four, the cutoff for receiving a first-round bye.

Under the new formula, the metrics rewards teams for defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team.

Week 5 CFP top 25 rankings

1. Ohio State 12-0 (-)

2. Indiana 12-0 (-)

3. Georgia 11-1 (+1)

4. Texas Tech 11-1 (+1)

5. Oregon 11-1 (+1)

6. Ole Miss 11-1 (+1)

7. Texas A&M 11-1 (-4)

8. Oklahoma 10-2 (-)

9. Alabama 10-2 (+1)

10. Notre Dame 10-2 (-1)

11. BYU 11-1 (-)

12. Miami 10-2 (-)

13. Texas 9-3 (+3)

14. Vanderbilt 10-2 (-1)

15. Utah 10-2 (-2)

16. USC 9-3 (+1)

17. Virginia 10-2 (+1)

18. Arizona 9-3 (+7)

19. Michigan 9-3 (-4)

20. Tulane 10-2 (+4)

21. Houston 9-3 (N/R)

22. Georgia Tech 9-3 (+1)

23. Iowa 8-4 (N/R)

24. North Texas 11-1 (N/R)

25. James Madison 11-1 (N/R)

How does the College Football Playoff work?

The 12-team field features the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked schools. The four highest-ranked schools are seeded one through four and receive a first-round bye.

The remaining schools will be seeded 5-12 based on their final ranking. If any of the five highest-ranked conference champions are outside the top 12, they will be seeded at the bottom of the bracket.

Those eight schools will play in the CFP first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds on campus (or a designated site picked by the higher-seeded team). The committee doesn’t modify the bracket to avoid rematches and there is no re-seeding.

The top four seeds will be assigned to the quarterfinals hosted by the bowls, in accordance with historic bowl relationships. The Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl are hosting the quarterfinals this season.

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.

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Indiana

Heavy rain soaks central Indiana, but drought relief uneven across the state

Published

9 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Heavy rain soaks central Indiana, but drought relief uneven across the state

Central Indiana has seen a very wet start to March, with several rounds of rain and storms moving through the region over the past few days. In fact, the city of Indianapolis has already received more rain in the first four days of the month than it typically gets during the entire month of March.

So far this month, Indianapolis has recorded 3.90 inches of rainfall, which already exceeds the normal March monthly average of 3.79 inches. Much of that rain came during a widespread soaking on Tuesday, when a strong system pushed steady showers and thunderstorms across the state.

Some of the highest totals over the past three days have been recorded across central Indiana. Rain gauges show 5.86 inches in Marion County, 5.02 inches in Morgan County, 4.97 inches in Hancock County, 4.95 inches in Shelby County, 4.57 inches in Johnson County, and 4.26 inches in Hendricks County. These totals represent a significant amount of rainfall in a short period of time and have left many areas with saturated ground and standing water in low spots.

Despite the widespread rainfall, the impact on drought conditions has been somewhat uneven across the state. According to the latest drought monitor, the areas that received the heaviest rain over the past few days are largely the same areas that were already in relatively good shape in terms of moisture levels. Meanwhile, parts of northern Indiana that have been dealing with more persistent dryness have seen much lighter totals.

Cities such as Kokomo, Lafayette, and Muncie have generally picked up less rain compared to areas farther south. Forecast models suggest that pattern may continue over the next several days.

Additional rainfall is expected through Thursday, with another round possible around midday Saturday. Current projections show the best chance for another inch or more of rain focusing once again across the southern half of the state, while northern Indiana may see lower totals.

That means while the recent rain has certainly helped improve soil moisture in many areas, it may not fully address the lingering dryness farther north. For now, the pattern remains active, and Hoosiers should expect more wet weather before the system finally begins to move out later this weekend.

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Indiana

Watch Indiana basketball’s Lamar Wilkerson give his mom a Cadillac

Published

21 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Watch Indiana basketball’s Lamar Wilkerson give his mom a Cadillac

Indiana basketball sharpshooter Lamar Wilkerson is known for his generosity.

Upon joining the Hoosiers, he gave a tidy sum of his NIL earnings to his previous program, Sam Houston State.

“I was blessed to be able go from that, from not having a lot, to being here, having a lot more than I even knew what to do with,” Wilkerson said at the time. “I just thought, I can give them this.”

He upped the ante on IU’s Senior Night, giving his mother a Cadillac after the Hoosiers throttled Minnesota.

You could imagine her reaction.

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.

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Indiana

Indiana basketball vs. Minnesota score, updates tonight: Start time, where to watch

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Indiana basketball vs. Minnesota score, updates tonight: Start time, where to watch

The Indiana Hoosiers have lost four straight games and are scrambling to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are trying to reach .500 for the season. They beat IU in a Big Ten opener in December.

Indiana (17-12, 8-10 Big Ten) has no room for air as it hosts Minnesota (14-15, 7-11). The Hoosiers have lost four in a row, leaving them on the NCAA Tournament bubble, while the Golden Gophers have won three of their last four. Minnesota beat IU in a conference opener.

We will have score updates and highlights, so remember to refresh.

What time does Indiana basketball play Minnesota tonight, March 4? Start time for Minnesota basketball vs Indiana on Wednesday, March 4, 2026

The Indiana-Minnesota game is at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.

Where to watch Indiana vs. Minnesota tonight, March 4? What channel is the Minnesota-Indiana on college basketball game today?

Watch college basketball with a free Fubo trial

Indiana vs. Minnesota predictions tonight, March 4

Zach Osterman, IndyStar: Indiana 75-69
“Indiana is on the ropes. Minnesota has nothing to lose. Gophers already beat IU once this year. So picking Minnesota here is going to be trendy. Too trendy. The Ohio State game is tougher to forecast, but the Hoosiers win here.”
Michael Niziolek, Herald-Times: Indiana 78-70
“Can Minnesota spoil IU’s Senior Night? The Gophers upended Indiana in Darian DeVries’ Big Ten debut earlier this season and have been a tough out in conference play. They are just 7-11, but six of those losses are by single digits and two of those came in overtime. The Hoosiers need to do a better job of locking down the perimeter while getting a more balanced scoring effort. Indiana should be able to pull this one out and keep its NCAA Tournament chances alive for another night.”