College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 final rankings

Had Indiana defeated Ole Miss in the Outback Bowl and finished 7-1, they had a real chance to finish in the top five of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1967. Instead, the Hoosiers collapsed in a 26-20 loss against the Rebels for the team’s second loss of the season. Coming as it did against a team with a sub-.500 record entering the bowl game, Indiana is probably going to drop out of the top 10 in the final poll, but the Hoosiers will still finish ranked for the first time since 1988.

Jack Tuttle was no Michael Penix Jr., as the backup quarterback finished with 201 yards and an interception on 26-of-45 passing. The Hoosiers racked up 168 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground, but ending two turnovers in the hole proved costly in a six-point loss. Indiana’s defense faltered, allowing Matt Corral to throw for 342 yards and two touchdowns as the Rebels racked up nearly 500 total yards of offense in the upset.

On one hand, Tom Allen’s team can celebrate the school’s first ranked season in more than three decades. On the other hand, Hoosiers fans still have legitimate gripes about how the Big Ten managed the situation around the conference championship game and about being left out of the New Year’s Six by the College Football Playoff committee. After losing their star quarterback, though, Indiana still ended up overachieving in 2020 despite all their setbacks.