The Indiana Hoosiers football team is the Cinderella team of the NCAA this season as they defeated the Wolverines yesterday for their 10th victory of the season. This gives them the most victories in a season for the first time ever! They are ranked number 5 in the AP poll and remain one of just three Power 4 programs who are undefeated heading into Week 12 of the season. This is their highest ranking since 1945 and 1967 where they were ranked number 4.
Hoosier Head Coach Curt Cignetti, the coach who orchestrated the most impressive first season in recent college football history, embraced his wife and granddaughter, and then his two daughters after the game, as fans chanted “Cig! Cig!” Indiana, an often bottom-rung program that hasn’t even shared a Big Ten title since 1967 and never made the College Football Playoff, after defeating the Wolverines which came in as an underdog for the first time since 1968. It’s only the 11th time the Hoosiers beat the Wolverines against 62 losses.
The Hoosiers have been averaging 14 points over their opponents in their victories this season. They are averaging 43.9 points a game while their opponents are averaging only 13.8 points a game. They have 1,767 yards rushing as a team on the season over 1,000 more than their opponents. Justice Ellison leads the Hoosiers with 686 rushing yards while Ty Son Lawson has 508 yards. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke has 2,410 yards passing with 21 touchdown passes.
The Hoosiers are looking to end a few seasons of futility as they have two games left this season. After this bye week coming up they hit the road to take on number 2 Ohio State then finish the season against their in-state rival Purdue at home. The Hoosiers have never won a National Championship and have won only one outright Big Ten Championship in 1945 and shared one in 1967. They also have not won a Bowl game since 1991 going 3-10 with an all-time record in Bowl games. But their optimism for their beloved Hoosiers is high in Bloomington!