Week 10 Games To Keep An Eye On With Indiana Football In The National Picture

Games elsewhere that Indiana fans should be paying attention to regarding the Big Ten race, the Top 25 and Indiana’s strength of schedule.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end JT Tuimoloau (44) sacks Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) during the second half of the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium in 2023. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana didn’t move up in the Associated Press poll this week. The Hoosiers remained No. 13 after their 31-17 home win over Washington.

If you were irritated by that, fret not. This is the last week the AP poll has primacy. At 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday (yes, on Election Night), the first College Football Playoff rankings are going to be released. While the AP poll is ceremonial these days, the CFP rankings determine the field for the College Football Playoff and are all-important.

Many of the horse race aspects regarding who Indiana is chasing in the AP poll and in the Big Ten race also will apply to the CFP rankings, so many of the same comparisons apply.

Here’s what Indiana fans should be on the lookout for and whom they should root for to help the Hoosiers.

Big Ten Watch

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar (15) heads to the locker room during the second quarter of their game Saturday, October 26, 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Penn State beat Wisconsin 28-13. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

- No. 4 Ohio State (6-1, 3-1) at No. 3 Penn State (7-0, 4-0), Noon Saturday, FOX: With Indiana tied with Oregon and Penn State atop the Big Ten, Hoosiers fans should go against their typical instinct and root for the Buckeyes in their trip to Happy Valley.

There’s numerous reasons for this. The most obvious is that it takes away one of the two teams tied with Indiana. Second is that Indiana still has to play at Ohio State on Nov. 23. It’s better for Indiana’s strength of schedule, and it’s better for Indiana in Big Ten tiebreaker scenarios to beat a better Buckeyes team.

Indiana fans might get their wish. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is expected to start against the Buckeyes, but he won’t be 100% after he suffered a leg injury against Wisconsin last week.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) waits to be interviewed after a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Autzen Stadium. / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

- No. 1 Oregon (8-0, 5-0) at Michigan (5-3, 3-2), 3:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS: Much of the dynamic that’s at-play for Indiana fans in the Ohio State-Penn State game is also applicable to this contest as Indiana fans are in the unfamiliar territory of wanting Michigan to win.

A Michigan win would give the Ducks their first conference loss. Indiana hosts Michigan Nov. 9, and the more meaningful that game is the better it is for the Hoosiers’ resume. Contending for a league title makes for strange bedfellows.

The Wolverines are playing at home, but Michigan hasn’t been convincing this season. The Wolverines eked out a 24-17 victory over Michigan State at home last week. It will be only the second trip east for Oregon and their first against one of the teams in the top half of the Big Ten.

- No other Big Ten team is within two games of Indiana at the top of the conference after Illinois and Wisconsin both lost last week.

Rankings Watch

Iowa State Cyclones wide receiver Jaylin Noel (13) breaks a tackle from Baylor Bears outside linebacker Steve Linton (10) after making a catch during the third quarter in the NCAA football at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

- Texas Tech (5-3) at No. 11 Iowa State (7-0), 3:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN: Iowa State got the voters’ attention early with its 20-19 win at then-No. 21 Iowa. That vaulted them into the top 25 a few weeks ahead of Indiana, and the Cyclones have moved up since by continuing to win.

However, the teams they’ve beaten aren’t exactly murderer’s row. Since Iowa, the Cyclones have bested Arkansas State, Houston, Baylor, West Virginia and UCF. None of Iowa State’s beaten Big 12 foes are over .500. Texas Tech will be the first over .500 Big 12 team Iowa State has faced. Indiana fans will be in the Red Raiders’ corner as they travel to Ames.

- No. 17 Kansas State (7-1) at Houston (3-5), 3:30 p.m. Saturday, FOX: Kansas State is lurking within range of the Hoosiers, but a win at up-and-down Houston won’t vault the Wildcats past the Hoosiers if Indiana defeats Michigan State.

- No. 10 Texas A&M (7-1) at South Carolina (4-3), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC: The Aggies rallied to beat then-No. 8 LSU 38-23 in College Station, and Texas A&M was the one team to leapfrog Indiana in the AP poll in the process. SEC teams seem to get quite a bit of benefit of the doubt for both wins and for losses – one could question whether LSU deserved to be in the top 10 in the first place.

At any rate, South Carolina has proven to be spunky in the SEC this season. The Gamecocks are coming off of a 35-9 mauling of Oklahoma in the Sooners’ house. South Carolina also nearly knocked off Alabama in Tuscaloosa in a two-point loss. South Carolina’s three losses are to LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama, so the Gamecocks are capable of doing the Hoosiers a solid by beating Texas A&M on their home turf.

- Louisville (5-3) at No. 11 Clemson (6-1), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN: Brand names carry weight in college football, and nowhere is that more evident than Clemson’s current ranking. The Tigers have not beaten a single winning team – even Indiana’s schedule is better than that.

Louisville will be Clemson’s first real test. The Jeff Brohm-coached Cardinals have been up-and-down, though their ups seem to be away from home as they’ve won their last two road games. Indiana fans will hope that trend continues.

SMU’s Roderick Daniels Jr. scores a touchdown against Louisville on Oct. 5, 2024 / Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

- No. 18 Pittsburgh (7-0) at No. 20 SMU (7-1), 8 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2: The only unbeaten Power Four conference school that has received less poll respect than Indiana is No. 18 Pitt.

That could change if the Panthers go to Dallas and take down a good Mustangs team. Pitt would suddenly have a better win on its resume than Indiana does, no matter what happened to the Hoosiers in East Lansing. Pitt looked good in a 41-13 home win over Syracuse last week, so the Panthers have momentum.

Hoosiers fans should back the Ponies this Saturday, but with some trepidation. If it beats Pitt, SMU would have a road win over Louisville and a victory over Pitt, both of which would be better wins than Indiana has. I would think in this scenario, SMU would close the gap on the Hoosiers but wouldn’t pass them due to having a loss, though it was a close three-point defeat at the hands of No. 9 BYU.

- Idle teams within five spots of Indiana: No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 9 BYU, No. 14 Alabama, No. 15 Boise State, No. 16 LSU.

Strength Of Schedule Watch

- Florida International 34, New Mexico State 13: It’s probably silly to think that FIU is going to have much influence on Indiana’s strength of schedule, but every little bit helps, no?

The Panthers played their seemingly weekly mid-week game and vanquished the visiting Aggies in a rout. That moved FIU to 3-6 overall.

- Tulane 34, Charlotte 3: Charlotte played on national TV on Thursday night as Tulane visited the 49ers. The Green Wave are one of the better teams in the American Athletic Conference, and they showed it in an easy victory. Charlotte drops to 3-6 and will have to win out to be bowl eligible.

- Northwestern (3-5, 1-4) at Purdue (1-6, 0-4), Noon Saturday, BTN: The Wildcats went down hard in a 40-14 loss at Iowa last Saturday, and Northwestern has lost four of its last five. It’s only win in that stretch was a victory over Maryland, so there was no net gain for the Hoosiers either way.

There won’t be here either, as Indiana finishes the regular season with Purdue. The “better” outcome is a Northwestern victory, but the effect on SOS is marginal at best.

- UCLA (2-5, 1-4) at Nebraska (5-3, 2-3), 3:30 p.m. Saturday, BTN: Indiana has also beaten both of these teams, but here there is a clear better outcome for Indiana. Nebraska has the better resume than UCLA at present, so the Hoosiers should be rooting for the Cornhuskers from here on out. Every win Nebraska gets just makes that 56-7 victory look that much better for Indiana.

- USC (4-4, 2-4) at Washington (4-4, 2-3), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, BTN: This is a more clear-cut case of where Indiana loyalties should be. The Hoosiers don’t play USC, and they defeated Washington. Every Washington win just enhances Indiana’s resume. The Trojans have sunk to the point where a home loss to them would be considered a bad defeat.

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