Indiana Moves Up To No. 18 In AP Football Poll

Indiana moves up five spots in the poll as the Hoosiers are ranked for the second consecutive week.

Todd Golden | Oct 6, 2024

Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (13) gestures for a first down against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium. / David Banks-Imagn Images

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana football moved up five spots in the latest Associated Press poll released Sunday.

The Hoosiers are in an unusual three-way tie for the 18th spot in the weekly poll of media members. Indiana is tied with Kansas State and Oklahoma for the position after the Hoosiers moved to 6-0 with a 41-24 victory at Northwestern on Saturday.

All but two voters had Indiana on their AP ballot according to collegepolltracker.com. This is a major improvement from the Sept. 29 poll in which 21 voters did not include the Hoosiers in their top 25.The Hoosiers were rated as high as seventh on one ballot.

Indiana had 459 points in the poll. Points in the AP poll are awarded on a descending basis. First-place votes get 25 points, 25th-place votes get 1 point with all other values in-between.

Indiana’s ranking is its highest placing in the poll since the Hoosiers opened the 2021 season in the No. 17 spot.

Indiana is 6-0 for the first time since 1967. The Hoosiers have won all of their games by double-digits, something the team hasn’t done since 1896.

Two other future Indiana opponents – No. 2 Ohio State and No. 24 Michigan will play the Hoosiers in November. The Wolverines come to Memorial Stadium on Nov. 9. The Hoosiers go to Ohio Stadium to play the Buckeyes on Nov. 23.

Michigan dropped 14 spots in the poll after a 24-17 loss at Washington on Saturday. Ohio State moved up to the No. 2 spot. The Buckeyes defeated Iowa 35-7 on Saturday and benefitted from then-No. 1 Alabama’s upset loss at Vanderbilt.

Nebraska could be ranked by the time Indiana faces the Cornhuskers on Sept. 19. Nebraska is just outside the top 25 in the 27th spot. Nebraska improved to 5-1 with a 14-7 win over Rutgers.

Indiana does not play three other ranked Big Ten teams: No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Penn State and No. 23 Illinois.

The Big Ten has three of the top five spots in the poll. Texas took the No. 1 spot back after a one-week absence thanks to Alabama’s loss to Vanderbilt.

Here’s the full AP Top 25.

1. Texas 5-0 (52), 1,516 points

2. Ohio State, 5-0 (9), 1,473

3. Oregon, 5-0, 1,348

4. Penn State, 5-0, 1,305

5. Georgia, 4-1, 1,299

6. Miami (Fla.), 6-0, 1,187

7. Alabama, 4-1, 1,182

8. Tennessee, 4-1, 1,001

9. Ole Miss, 5-1, 978

10. Clemson, 4-1, 861

11. (tie) Iowa State, 5-0, 853

11. (tie) Notre Dame, 4-1, 853

13. LSU, 4-1, 827

14. BYU, 5-0, 753

15. Texas A&M, 5-1, 702

16. Utah, 4-1, 473

17. Boise State, 4-1, 463

18. (tie) Indiana, 6-0, 459

18. (tie) Kansas State, 4-1, 459

18. (tie) Oklahoma, 4-1, 459

21. Missouri, 4-1, 352

22. Pittsburgh, 5-0, 196

23. Illinois, 4-1, 182

24. Michigan, 4-2, 170

25. SMU, 5-1, 165

Other receiving votes (numbers listed are points assigned for votes, not the vote total): USC (3-2) 98, Nebraska (5-1) 51, Navy (5-0) 43, Army (5-0) 33, Vanderbilt (3-2) 26, Arkansas (4-2) 17, Iowa (3-2) 8, Washington State (4-1) 8, Texas Tech (5-1) 7, Syracuse (4-1) 6, Louisville (3-2) 4, Washington (4-2) 4, Colorado (4-1) 3, Kentucky (3-2) 1.

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