The Indiana Hoosiers aren’t going to rip themselves, so let’s get to it.
Take a wild guess which unbeaten, fifth-ranked college football team has made it through nearly three months of arguably the greatest season in school history without having faced a single ranked opponent. Take a blind stab at which squad has racked up 10 straight wins while compiling the worst strength-of-schedule ranking — 106th nationally — of anybody in the power conferences.
A word comes to mind, and it starts with “over,” follows with “rated” and definitely doesn’t end with the Hoosiers in Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game.
Right?
Why should we believe No. 5 Indiana (+10½) at No. 2 Ohio State (11 a.m., Fox 32) is an up-for-grabs brawl between two heavyweights and not merely three-plus miserable hours of reckoning for an upstart team that isn’t in the same orbit as the luminous Buckeyes?
I went into the season envisioning the Buckeyes (9-1) as eventual national champions. I still believe they could go to Indy, exact revenge on Oregon — the only team to beat them, by a single point — and end up the last ones standing on the College Football Playoff mountaintop.
But the thing is, Indiana just might blow that whole narrative to bits. No matter how much doubt exists about the Hoosiers — and there is a lot of it — they might be the cockiest, most confident team in the country. It starts with Curt Cignetti, who might be the cockiest, most confident coach in the country, and the fearless flock (including 13 players, most of them now key Hoosiers starters) that migrated with him last offseason from James Madison to Indiana.
“We’ve got a group of guys and coaches that have won 24 out of their last 25 games,” Cignetti said this week, “so we don’t have a confidence problem.”
Cignetti just signed an eight-year extension that would earn him over $70 million and keep him at IU into his 70s. What a thing, for a school in these wild-west times in college football to throw in with a 63-year-old coach so unblinkingly. Did I mention Cignetti was confident?
“Some people say, ‘Why would you do that when this [job] may open, that [job] may open and you’re going to be a hot commodity?’ ” he said on Fox. “Blah, blah, blah. The fact of the matter is we’re the emerging superpower in college football. Why would I leave?”
“Superpower” is a real mouthful considering IU hasn’t finished atop the Big Ten since it was in a three-way tie with Minnesota and Purdue in 1967, hasn’t beaten the Buckeyes even once in the last 28 tries and is in double-digit-win territory for the first time ever.
Why, then? Why believe the Hoosiers can hang in there?
It’s because of players such as quarterback Kurtis Rourke. He isn’t one of the JMU transfers, but he spent five years at Ohio University — hold the “State” — and was MVP of the MAC. He knows how to win and, at 24, knows how precious this opportunity is. He has receivers in Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. who make one big play after another. He has teammates on the other side of the ball who rank third nationally in total defense.
The Hoosiers have been the Big Ten’s best at piling up sacks and tackles for loss — and the Buckeyes’ offensive line is in disarray due to injuries that have led to the point spread dropping from 13½ at the start of the week. This could be the story within the story.
Do we need to state the obvious, that no Big Ten team ever has more talented players than Ohio State? No, we don’t. But mojo can be a powerful thing. The Hoosiers have it like crazy, and they have a chance. If they punch like a heavyweight Saturday, they’ll probably be able to withstand the loss and get into the playoff. Buckeyes 27, Hoosiers 24.
WEEK 13 PICKS
All games are Saturday.
No. 25 Illinois (+1½) at Rutgers (11 a.m., Peacock, 890-AM): Remember that time Rutgers ripped off three Big Ten wins in a row to finish the season with a pretty darn decent four wins in the conference? No, you don’t, because neither has ever happened — not the three straight, not the four total — since the Scarlet Knights (6-4) joined the Big Ten for the 2014 season. They can scratch both off the list by beating the Illini (7-3) in this one … or not. Illini, 24-19.
Northwestern (+10½) at Michigan (2:30 p.m., FS1, 720-AM): The Wildcats (4-6) are playing for their bowl lives. The Wolverines (5-5) are, too. One team’s story — that of a defending national champion gone bust — is a lot darker and sadder than the other’s. NU coach David Braun seems to think his boys have a real shot to win. Is he right? Is he even close? Michigan, 20-14.
No. 19 Army (+14½) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (6 p.m., NBC 5, 780-AM): Army is 9-0 and a winner of 13 straight, the longest such streak in the country. Are you scared yet, Irish fans? Perhaps you needn’t be; Army’s strength of schedule ranks 133rd out of 134 teams in the land. From that, ahem, murderer’s row to the 9-1 Irish at Yankee Stadium? A whole different ballgame. Irish, 31-14.
My favorite favorite: No. 7 Alabama (-13½) at Oklahoma (6:30 p.m., ABC 7): The Crimson Tide are in boom-or-bust mode in regard to the playoff. The Sooners have the worst offense in the SEC. This can’t stay close throughout, can it? Boomer Tide by a lot.
My favorite underdog: Minnesota (+11½) vs. No. 4 Penn State (2:30 p.m., CBS 2): Call it a hunch. And, please, no need to remind me of all my hunches gone wrong lately. Nittany Lions in a squeaker.
Last week: 5-1 straight-up, 2-4 against the spread.
Season to date: 52-23 straight-up, 35-39-1 against the spread.