Indiana Football: Can Hoosiers sustain newfound success in 2021?

Indiana football players are all in on what head coach Tom Allen is selling. After back-to-back 5-7 seasons under Allen, the Hoosiers broke through with an 8-5 record in 2019. Then, last season, they took the Big Ten by storm, finishing with a 6-1 record in the conference-only slate.

Now the Hoosiers are poised to take it even further. They have 17 starters back and are looking for the program’s first bowl victory since the conclusion of the 1991 season.

The next step is to cement the winning.

Last year was great, beating Penn State, Michigan, and Wisconsin all in the same season. The Hoosiers’ only blemish in the regular season was a close seven-point defeat at Ohio State. If the Hoosiers pull off 8-10 wins this season, the naysayers will dwindle and they’ll need to be taken as a serious contender, at least as long as Allen is at the helm.

This year’s schedule will be no cakewalk. The Hoosiers have plenty of opportunities to be tested and prove they are a contender in the Big Ten East.

Let’s preview both sides of the ball plus analyze their schedule.