Indiana football: No breakthrough in sight for Hoosiers

Schedule and preview

Indiana will never have an easy schedule. No matter what their non-conference slate or cross-divisional draws look like, it’ll always be a struggle for Indiana. That comes with the territory of being in one of the best divisions in all of football.

Having to play Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan every single year makes getting to six wins extremely difficult for a team like Indiana. No matter how good they are, you can almost always mark them down for at least four losses. Luckily, the rest of this schedule is about as friendly as it could be.

FIU, Virginia and Ball State are all going to be very, very bad. Unless Ball State’s defense causes a ton of havoc, or Virginia finds a quarterback, Indiana will start the year with three wins. Everything becomes very iffy after that.

It’s nice to get Michigan State at home, but I just don’t see this team pulling many upsets. Rutgers should be a win, despite it being on the road, and Ohio State in Columbus does not inspire much hope. The last six games will make or break this season for Indiana. A 4-2 start seems very possible for this group, but the back half has far more toss-ups, and two more likely losses

The losses, Penn State in Bloomington, and Michigan on the road are fair to chalk up. What will matter most are the home games with Minnesota, Iowa and Purdue, and a road trip to Minnesota.

All four of those games should be winnable if Indiana’s offense is decent like it should be. Iowa is the best of that group, and I don’t see Indiana winning that, but it doesn’t take much to see wins over the other three remaining teams.

Prediction: 6-6

Just like last year, I think Indiana will lose to Purdue in the final game of the season. Unlike last year, I don’t think it’ll keep them from a bowl game. I don’t think Minnesota is ready for the bright lights under PJ Fleck, and Maryland is in a similar place.

Next: Preseason Top 25 following spring practices

A lot of times, toss-up games like the four I mentioned will come down to defense. I think Indiana has the defense to take at least two of those games, if not even more. Their offense may struggle at times, but I trust this team more than I probably should. I think Tom Allen builds some trust among Indiana fans this year, with a bowl appearance, and ultimately, a bowl win. It’d be the Hoosiers first since the Copper Bow in 1991.