Todd’s Take: It’s Still A Big Deal For Indiana To Beat One Of The ‘Big Two’

Indiana hosts Michigan on Saturday. The Hoosiers are currently a College Football Playoff team and the Wolverines are not, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of beating a traditional power.

Todd Golden | Nov 8, 2024

Michigan Wolverines defensive back Vincent Gray (4) attempts to tackle Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Ty Fryfogle (3) during the second quarter of the game at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 7, 2020. This was the last time Indiana defeated Michigan and the only time since 1987. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Back in December 2023 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said the words that rocked the Big Ten and fired up the Indiana faithful.

“Purdue sucks. But so does Michigan and Ohio State,” Cignetti famously exclaimed before an Indiana basketball crowd.

Note that Cignetti didn’t say “Penn State sucks” or “Illinois sucks.” In his triumvirate of “suck,” Cignetti chose the in-state rival and the two schools that have most defined Big Ten football success over its long history.

Whether fans of other Big Ten schools like it or not, the Big Two in the Big Ten still carry a ton of weight symbolically, and most of the time, in reality as national contenders.

As much as it may pain some to admit it, Michigan and Ohio State set the standard by which other Big Ten football programs are compared – and no one else is particularly close.

The Buckeyes and Wolverines have combined for 84 shared Big Ten football championships (Michigan 43, Ohio State 39) and 43 outright championships (Ohio State 24, Michigan 19) between them.

If you’re a fan of one of the other schools, you can say it through gritted teeth. But there’s nothing else that needs to be said to demonstrate their dominance over the Big Ten historically.

This season, Ohio State has kept up its status as a Big Ten big dog as it sits in the top 5 in both the media poll and the College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday.

Michigan, the defending national champions, has slipped from its perch and isn’t acting the part of one of the Big Two.

Right now, unbeaten Indiana (9-0, 6-0) is three games ahead of Michigan (5-4, 3-3) in the Big Ten standings. Since World War II, Indiana has only finished three games ahead of Michigan in 1958, 1967 and 2020.

This is heady stuff for the Hoosiers. It’s a hated term, but it’s one of the traditional Little Eight giving one of the Big Two their comeuppance.

Indiana’s unbeaten run has filled Hoosiers’ fans with justified big dreams. What about winning the Big Ten? What about making the Big Ten championship game? The College Football Playoff, heretofore the province of dreamland, is a reality today.

A minor drawback of Indiana’s success is that it can create a bit of nouveau riche attitude in the short term. The dominant team I hear discussed by Indiana fans is Ohio State. The Hoosiers go to Columbus for a huge Big Ten showdown on Nov. 23. The ramifications of that game are enormous.

But only if Indiana gets by Michigan first. If the Hoosiers lose to the Wolverines, it wouldn’t be fatal to their goals, but it would be a significant setback.

It’s why I would resist any creeping notion that the Michigan game is just a stepping stone to bigger things. The Michigan game still needs to be treated like a big deal, because knocking off the Wolverines still carries a lot of weight.

I probably don’t have to remind Indiana fans of the Hoosiers’ history against Michigan. Indiana’s all-time record against Michigan is 10-62. Four of those wins took place before or during World War II. Three more were in the 1950s.

In the aftermath of Indiana's 14-10 win over Michigan at Memorial Stadium in 1987, the goalposts were torn down in a wild postgame celebration. / Indiana University archives

So that leaves the 1967, 1987 and 2020 victories for Indiana since the Beatles were still a functioning band. It’s a depressing record of 3-42 since 1967.

Regardless of where Indiana and Michigan may be in the standings, any win the Hoosiers get against the Wolverines should be cherished and not dismissed.

It’s fair for Indiana fans to expect a victory, given their current places in the pecking order. But it’s also perfectly fine to celebrate a win over the Wolverines, because that obviously doesn't happen very often.

Another factor to consider? Michigan is struggling by its typical standard, but they recruit the cream of the crop. The Wolverines will bring five-star and four-star athletes to Bloomington on Saturday. They may not be gelling as a unit, but the raw talent is there and Indiana hasn’t yet faced a team that recruits at Michigan’s level. If Indiana wins, it’s another sign of how good these Hoosiers are.

Cignetti understands all of this. There was no mention of Michigan “sucking” this week. He knows beating Michigan, even just the symbolism of beating Michigan, is a big deal.

“They've got weapons. They've got good backs. They've got good players, and they're a good football team coming in here with a lot of tradition, a lot of history, a lot of pride, and it's part of the reason it's on national TV at 3:30,” Cignetti said. “To meet that challenge, we've got to have a great week of preparation.”

Michigan is one of the Big Two. To get to be one of the Big Two, even if just for one season as Indiana is demonstrating in 2024, you’ve got to beat the Big Two.

No matter where they are in the Big Ten race, it will still be a really big deal if Indiana beats Michigan on Saturday. Don’t lose sight of that in looking ahead to bigger things.

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