Indiana is Simply Too A lot Enjoyable

In order to win a nationwide championship, sooner or later your group goes to need to slog via a kind of video games.

You know those—the school soccer equivalents of cold, rainy nights in Stoke, when the chips are down and your group reveals its true character. Ohio State saving its season with a fourth-down move towards Purdue in 2002. Alabama squeezing out a last-second victory over Mississippi State in 2017. Georgia rallying past Missouri in 2022.

If Indiana raises the trophy in January—this, preposterously, doesn’t appear to be a distant chance—Hoosier followers will talk about what transpired in University Park, Pa., Saturday without end. Indiana’s 27–24 win entered this style in actual time, and moved even essentially the most jaded coach to smile.

Here’s hoping that, like Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti, your coronary heart grew three sizes on this darkish autumn Saturday. Welcome to Week 11’s winners and losers.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Cignetti—visibly failing to take care of his stoic demeanor—instructed Fox’s Jenny Taft when the mud settled. What he had seen was, thus far, the signature play of Indiana’s 127-year major-college-football trek—a leaping, toe-tapping seven-yard catch from vast receiver Omar Cooper Jr. that survived replay evaluate and left Beaver Stadium silent. It disguised a throw-of-the-year candidate from quarterback Fernando Mendoza, which in flip disguised a sloppy day for the Hoosiers (outgained 336–326). That could be forgiven when the present is that this good.

On essentially the most literal doable stage, this dispute is simple to elucidate: Disney might be not used to coping with an organization of Alphabet’s dimension, and Alphabet might be not used to coping with an organization of Disney’s status. Try explaining these intricacies to the typical faculty soccer fan, nonetheless. The eight-day-old dispute is starting to have noticeable results on ESPN’s backside line, and has dented the SEC and ACC’s nationwide profiles a bit forward of College Football Playoff politicking season (you assume SEC boss Greg Sankey is proud of this?). With financial uncertainty roiling two of the game’s core constituencies—college kids eyeing entry-level work and blue-collar fans without higher educations—it is time for these out-of-touch actors to make peace.

Here are the final 5 linebackers to complete within the prime 10 within the Heisman voting: Will Anderson Jr. of Alabama in 2021 (fifth), Roquan Smith of Georgia in 2017 (tenth), Scooby Wright of Arizona in 2014 (ninth), Manti Te’o of Notre Dame in 2012 (second), and Jarvis Jones of Georgia in 2012 (tenth). Texas Tech linebacker and Big 12 all-time pressured fumbles chief Jacob Rodriguez made a powerful bid to hitch that group Saturday, racking up 14 tackles in Texas Tech’s 29–7 blowout win over BYU Saturday. Rodriguez earned the endorsement of the Red Raiders’ most well-known fan, and his group earned the within observe to a possible CFP berth.

Iowa, a group that has not set foot within the AP Poll all season, landed at No. 20 within the inaugural CFP rankings in an unusually full break with the game’s writers. Surprising as it might have been, the rank gave the Hawkeyes a golden alternative to vault into the CFP race towards Oregon. Instead, the identical previous Iowa group floundered in poor climate, shedding 18–16 to the Ducks on kicker Atticus Sappington’s late 39-yard area aim. Once-ballyhooed switch quarterback Mark Gronowski appeared to come back alive solely within the fourth quarter, underlining the everlasting frustration of the Hawkeyes’ effective-but-rarely-transcendent defense-first method.

Let’s play a sport: if below coach Jimbo Fisher Texas A&M opened 9-0 in a yr and poked its head within the prime three, how would the school soccer world have reacted? Aggies coach Mike Elko is ceaselessly famous for his low-key approach to a bombastic occupation, however there was nothing quiet in regards to the Aggies’ 38–17 dismantling of Missouri Saturday. Quarterback Marcel Reed (20-for-29 for 221 yards and two touchdowns) starred, and Texas A&M’s protection pressured Tigers quarterback Matt Zollers right into a 7-for-22 afternoon. Something could have gone very improper if the Aggies do not arrive at Texas 11-0 on Nov. 28.

Coach Ryan Silverfield’s squad acted as an unintentional foil to Iowa this week, receiving a No. 22 rating from the writers whereas getting a chilly shoulder from the game’s energy brokers. The Hawkeyes and Memphis had one essential factor in widespread this week, although: each misplaced. Adding one more wrinkle to a zany American race, Tulane took a 38–17 lead on Memphis earlier than keeping off 15 unanswered factors within the fourth quarter to win 38–32. Such is life within the American that Memphis plummeted to sixth place, with Navy, North Texas, South Florida, the Green Wave and East Carolina tied within the loss column at one apiece.

When an athletic director sticks their neck out for a coach, glad tidings hardly ever ensue. McIntosh, nonetheless, is aware of the temperature of Wisconsin nicely as an All-American lineman on their 1999 group—did he play a hunch in popping out in assist of Luke Fickell with uncommon enthusiasm Thursday? Amid flurries in Madison, the Badgers look as motivated as they’ve all yr, and upset Washington 13–10 regardless of going 2-for-14 on third down. Injuries have taken a toll on Wisconsin all through 2025, and it will have to beat Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota in succession to succeed in a bowl sport. If solely by necessity, nonetheless, the ground-and-pound victory served as a refreshing aesthetic break with the Air Raid cosplay that derailed Fickell’s early tenure.

Northwestern is faring respectably this season, which might plausibly finish in its second bowl journey below coach David Braun. A difficult 38–17 loss to USC Saturday, although, gave the Wildcats a doubtful distinction which calls for acknowledgement on this column. With the loss, Northwestern handed the Hoosiers—the primary character of faculty soccer this week, and seemingly each week of ’25—to change into the losingest group within the historical past of FBS. According to George Eisner of Eleven Warriors (a preferred Ohio State web site), the Wildcats have misplaced 716 video games and Indiana 715. College Football Reference provides different figures which have Northwestern farther forward, which solely underlines the sturdiness of the Wildcats’ dedication to developing quick.

Stump a buddy on the bar tonight by asking them to call the 5 undefeated groups left in FCS, all of whom gained this weekend (do not be afraid to offer hints). The two most evident solutions each needed to battle tooth and nail for victory Saturday: No. 1 North Dakota State edged No. 15 North Dakota 15–10 for Peace Garden State bragging rights, whereas No. 2 Montana benefitted from a fumbled spike to beat a down Eastern Washington group. Among the nouveau riche: No. 4 Lehigh crushed Holy Cross 38-3 for its tenth straight win below coach Kevin Cahill, whereas No. 5 Tennessee Tech—which has been to the FCS playoffs as soon as ever—downed Eastern Illinois on the highway. Then there’s No. 13 Harvard, 8-0 after handling Columbia Friday and poised to change into the primary Ivy to play within the FCS playoffs.

That’s 5 Big Ten groups within the column this week, if ESPN and YouTube TV want any extra motivation (we digress). There was a time when Maryland was bandied about as a sleeping big, and it nonetheless feels just like the Terrapins must be persistently higher regardless of the Big Ten repeatedly pillaging their recruiting base. They won’t be awakening in ’25, nonetheless: Maryland dropped its fifth straight sport Saturday to Rutgers, making its 4-0 begin and massive Oct. 4 lead on Washington appear to be a distant reminiscence. Coach Mike Locksley is 37-45 eight years into his tenure, a far cry from Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen’s 75-50 clip earlier this century—which resulted in his firing after ending No. 23 within the nation in 2010. Friedgen’s offensive coordinator that yr was a 38-year-old up-and-comer named James Franklin.

More College Football on Sports Illustrated