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College Football Playoff Committee Explains Indiana's Ranking After Loss to Ohio State

Warde Manuel, one of 13 members on the College Football Playoff Committee, detailed the reasoning behind Indiana's ranking.

Tom Dierberger

Cignetti has led Indiana to a 10–1 record in his first year on the sidelines in Bloomington.
Cignetti has led Indiana to a 10–1 record in his first year on the sidelines in Bloomington. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Much to the approval of Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers remained in the latest College Football Playoff projected 12-team bracket released Tuesday night despite losing 38–15 to Ohio State on Saturday.

The College Football Playoff Committee dropped Indiana five spots in its fourth iteration of the rankings from No. 5 to No. 10 entering the final week of the regular season. ESPN's projected bracket based on those rankings slotted Indiana as a No. 11 seed battling Big Ten rival Penn State, a No. 6 seed, in the first round.

Warde Manuel, one of 13 members of the College Football Playoff Committee, explained the reasoning behind Indiana's ranking on ESPN's CFP Rankings Show on Tuesday night.

"We view Indiana, they played well at times against Ohio State, and Ohio State pulled out a victory and really came on in the second half of that game," Manuel said to host Rece Davis. "But we were impressed with some of the things Indiana did. They dropped five [spots], but we still felt that their body of work was strong enough to remain in the top 10."

Indiana led the Buckeyes 7–0 after the first quarter Saturday and the game was tied 7–7 late in the first half before disaster struck. Hoosiers punter James Evans muffed a snap inside the 10-yard line, and Ohio State scored shortly after and took a 14–7 lead into the break. The Buckeyes never looked back, outscoring Indiana 24–8 in the second half.

Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti defended his team's College Football Playoff chances in his postgame press conference Saturday after the loss.

"Is that a serious question? I’m not even going to answer that one, the answer is so obvious," a smiling Cignetti said before throwing a wink toward the reporter who asked the question.

It certainly didn't hurt Indiana's case to remain in the top 12 that a couple of SEC teams in the mix—No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Ole Miss—also lost over the weekend. Alabama fell six spots to No. 13 on Tuesday night, and the Rebels dropped to No. 14. Both teams now have three losses.

Indiana was one of four Big Ten teams ranked in the top 12, joining No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 4 Penn State. The Hoosiers will wrap up their regular season with a matchup against in-state rival Purdue (1–10) on Saturday.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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