Indiana can win the whole damn thing
I can't explain how Indiana is doing it, but they're doing it. PLUS, Penn State is also baffling, but for different reasons! And Kirby Smart's powers of persuasion cannot be overstated.
Last week I wrote that UCLA’s stunning win over Penn State told us more about Penn State than UCLA, and then wrote several paragraphs about Penn State’s performance and why it was so humiliating.
I want to take it back, I was wrong. Not just because UCLA went on to crush Michigan State for its second consecutive win — I guess the Bruins’ interim offensive coordinator figured out how to use his headset — but Northwestern beat Penn State yesterday, and as a Northwestern fan, I now feel strongly that it’s important to celebrate the team that pulls off an upset instead of just crapping all over the team that lost.
Is Penn State really in total freefall, or was it just outfoxed by the mighty Wildcat defense? Come on, guys! Isn’t it more fun to talk about how Northwestern’s offense is clicking with Preston Stone and Griffin Wilde than something boring like James Franklin’s job status? Guys? GUYS?!?!??!?!?!
HOOSIER DADDY
Four years ago, in the midst of a 38-3 loss to Rutgers, several hundred Indiana students ripped off their shirts and began jumping around the completely empty upper deck of Memorial Stadium, overcome with mass-onset Hoosier Madness:
That moment was easily the most most memorable thing about the 2021 Indiana Hoosiers, who finished 2-10 and 0-9 in conference play. Indiana experienced a glimmer of relevance during the 2020 COVID season, but it was still the losingest program in college football history, without a bowl win since 1991. The Hoosiers had no hope and no ambition — nothing to do except rip their shirts off and mosh, as far away as possible from the actual football taking place on the field.
Four years later, Indiana is still the losingest program in college football history, and it still hasn’t won a bowl game since 1991. And yet the undefeated Hoosiers have arguably the strongest resume of any team in the country. They are virtual locks to play in the Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff after comfortably defeating #3 Oregon in Eugene.
The win was Indiana’s first over a Top 5 opponent since 1967. It had gone 0-46 against Top 5 competition over the previous 58 years. And the Hoosiers didn’t win a flukey, NCAA Tournament-style upset in which the underdog keeps hitting threes and the better team keeps missing layups. (Basketball terms for our adapting Hoosier friends.) Indiana was simply the better team. The Hoosiers moved the ball consistently, tracked down Oregon quarterback Dante Moore like Hoosier homing missiles, and stoned the Ducks in multiple short-yardage scenarios. If not for an atypical Fernando Mendoza pick-six, literally his first interception of the year, the game wouldn’t have been particularly close.
Indiana’s overnight leap in success from 2023 to 2024 was one of the biggest in college football history. Curt Cignetti and his transfers took Indiana to the College Football Playoff out of nowhere in their first year in Bloomington. But Indiana may have taken a bigger leap in Year 2, going from a solid team that was clearly outclassed by the best programs in the sport to a legit national title contender.
Going from bad to good quickly has happened before. Going from good to elite typically takes significantly longer, and requires major structural changes. Just ask Oregon, which has risen from football obscurity to powerhouse status through decades of strategic planning and billions of dollars invested by a single benefactor, the founder and CEO of the largest athletic clothing brand ever. Oregon couldn’t break through overnight. It has had to build wisely by hiring the right people and spending in the right ways, creating systems that would enable it to beat the best teams in the sport. In 2025, the Ducks looked as if they finally made it to the top: They had the right coach, who was able to land the best recruits from all over the country and get them to buy in.
And then Indiana came into their house and kicked their asses with a year-and-a-half of Curt Cignetti and nothing else. These Hoosiers aren’t the result of careful planning. They are just four years removed from being so directionless and incoherent that “shirtless dance party?” was a defining ethos.
Indiana can win the national championship. It hasn’t shown any flaws and, unlike last year, its schedule isn’t lacking. The Hoosiers entered this week as the #3 team in Bill Connelly’s SP+ ratings and just beat the #1 team on the road. Indiana’s opponents this year are 22-4 against Not Indiana, and 0-6 against Indiana.
I can’t explain how Indiana did it. I have no road map for the next team who wants to replicate its success, because there’s only one Curt Cignetti and Indiana already hired him. But Oklahoma State fans had the next-best idea this weekend: A random Shirtless Section during Saturday’s 39-17 loss to Houston in a cargo cult attempt at recreating Indiana’s rise.
See you in the 2030 national championship game, Pokes.
Fun fact about the Hoosier Madness incident: Our friend, Mr. Homefield Apparel, was in the crowd that day, watching all those freezing, frenzied students and all those Rutgers touchdowns:
It was that day that Mr. Homefield came up with an idea: What if people could cover their upper bodies in some form of garment? Perhaps made out some sort of cloth or fabric? Not only could these “shirts” provide warmth and comfort to the wearer, they could feature words or images that represent things the wearer is passionate about.
Everything has changed in the past few years. Indiana has become a national contender. Homefield’s invention of “shirts” has been copied by rival brands, but everybody agrees that they are the originator and the best. They’ve even expanded to products such as their new Homefield Varsity Jackets, which are SICK. (Oregon fans, cheer yourself up with that vintage Duck!)
Oops, they did it again
If its loss to UCLA was an alarm, Penn State hit snooze. It looked just as flat and lifeless against Northwestern as it did the week before. Perhaps even worse. The Nittany Lions started putting up points after falling into a hole against the Bruins. On Saturday they never woke up.
Penn State is now the first team ever to lose back-to-back games as a 20-point favorite. It won’t be a 20-point favorite again this season, especially after quarterback Drew Allar went down with a season-ending injury.
Normally, when I hear people doom-and-glooming about a couple of weird losses, I think they’re being overreactive … but considering the context around Penn State, the reaction feels appropriate. This season was supposed to be the culmination of talent and program-building under 12th-year head coach James Franklin. When I previewed Penn State for Split Zone Duo’s Big Ten preview, I saw a complete team with elite, experienced players at virtually every position. Allar seemed poised for a star turn in his final season after years of development. The biggest question mark was the receiver room, so Penn State spent big on multiple high-quality transfer receivers to plug the gap.
This season was everything Penn State was building towards … and in two weeks, it has crumbled and collapsed.
A Smart move
I’m trying to decide: Is Kirby Smart a liar, a genius, or a just really convincing salesman?
On a key third down in the fourth quarter against Auburn, Smart sprinted towards the officials signaling “timeout.” The refs granted Georgia a timeout with one second on the play clock, preventing a delay of game. However, Smart told the officials that he actually wasn’t timeout. He explained that he was just clapping at them, and in their confusion, they misinterpreted his hand gestures. The officials, remarkably, bought the explanation, and did not charge Georgia with a timeout. The Bulldogs got a fresh play clock, which is the intended effect of calling a timeout, without actually having to use one.
Here’s the weird thing: Smart may have been telling the truth. Yes, he was clearly running down the sidelines doing the “timeout” gesture. But he explained after the game that he was trying to tell the referees that Auburn players were clapping before the snap to trick Georgia into snapping the ball early, simulating the claps the Bulldogs were using to trigger the snap in a loud road environment. Smart said he alerted officials to Auburn’s use of this illegal trick before the game, and that he’d lost games at Auburn because of it. (Not sure which games Kirby is referring to, but Auburn did use a clap to trick Alabama into a bad snap during the Iron Bowl in 2023, setting up a fourth-and-31 … which Alabama famously converted!)
And sure enough, if you look at the play in question, Auburn defenders were clapping before the snap! The Tigers should’ve been given a five-yard penalty.
So I’m a little confused. On one hand, I believe Kirby Smart when he says he was trying to get in the refs’ ears about Auburn’s clapping. The Tigers clearly have a history of doing it, they were clearly doing it Saturday, and Smart is clearly fed up with it. I’m a little skeptical that Kirby would freak out so aggressively just to trick the refs into giving him one free timeout, especially with so much time remaining.
But on the other hand … we have the video, and he was clearly making the timeout gesture and not clapping.
One thing is clear: Auburn can’t stay away from bad officiating scenarios. It had a goal line QB sneak that kinda looked like a touchdown turn into a fumble on Saturday night. And of course, they were on the wrong end of this:
I guess Hugh Freeze freaking out at officials gives them the ick and convinces them to make even more calls against Auburn, and Kirby Smart freaking out at officials causes them to rethink the calls they’ve already made. A useful skill!
Oklahoma rushed QB John Mateer back from surgery on his throwing hand for the big Red River matchup with Texas … and he looked like a guy who got rushed back from surgery on his throwing hand as Oklahoma lost, 23-6.
UNLV stayed undefeated by beating Air Force, 51-48, and has a legit chance at the G6 spot in the College Football Playoff. Air Force is now dead last in the nation in total defense, allowing 497 yards per game. Honestly, I’m a bit worried about our national security at this point.
I’m not writing about the latest embarrassing Bill Belichick loss … because UNC was on bye. We’ll be back next week.
Boise State pulled off the extremely rare botched snap-to-touchdown pass Saturday night. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw this …
This sort of thing used to happen more often when teams used backup quarterbacks to hold kicks in case the snap went bad and they needed a QB to make a play. But now teams use full-time long snappers who are almost always perfect, and most use a punter as the holder because it’s just easier to let the special teams guys hang out with each other in practice. Long story short: This was an Aussie Rules convert, Oscar Doyle, likely throwing a pass for the first time, under extreme duress … and dropping in a perfectly placed pass with touch on the run!
Oregon State wishes they could do this. The Beavers have had the most disastrous special teams season in recent memory with a variety of blocked kicks, allowed return touchdowns, and missed field goals. They tried to fix their problems by firing their special teams coordinator … and had yet another kick blocked on Saturday.
I’m still stumping for the two-QB offense. Look at this play Washington State ran for a touchdown against Ole Miss:
The ball was snapped to backup QB Julian Dugger, who handed it off to starter Zevi Eckhaus, who the defense clearly read as a runner rather than a QB. He briefly faked an option look before wheeling around and tossing a TD to a wide-open receiver.
Iowa State’s starting kicker was hurt entering Saturday, and then its backup kicker got hurt mid-game. So the Cyclones turned to Carson Rhodes, a 310-pound offensive lineman who punted and played soccer in high school.
Can we get any footage of this 310-pound guy playing soccer?
Kent State won its first game against another FBS team since 2022 … and it wasn’t close! The Golden Flashes beat UMass, 42-6. The winless Minutemen seem significantly worse than any other team at this level.
As an IU alum & fan this has just gotten so weird. Great! But weird