Indiana picked as No. 9 seed in first College Football Playoff predictions
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Hoosiers are heading to the College Football Playoff — well, if the season ended right now.
Head coach Curt Cignetti’s crew was picked as the No. 9 seed in the first College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, which serves as the first predictions ahead of the new 12-team format that kicks off in late December. There will be five more rankings determined by the 13-member committee before the final bracket is set.
The Hoosiers are actually ranked 8th overall, but because No. 9 BYU is currently the Big 12 Conference leader, the Cougars get pushed into the No. 4 seed with a first round bye. That bumps all other teams down a seed — ultimately forcing the now No. 9 seed Hoosiers to travel to the No. 8 seeded Tennessee Volunteers for a first round game in Knoxville.
Cignetti said Monday that he’ll look at these first predictions, but he’s not putting a lot of weight on them.
“I mean, I’ll see the rankings, but the only thing that really matters is that you get the result when you play, and to do that you got to keep the main thing the main thing and eliminate the noise and the clutter,” Cignetti said. “(We need to) stay focused on what’s going to help you play the best on Saturday to give you the best chance to get the result.”
This past weekend, the Hoosiers earned their highest ranking since 2020, coming in at No. 8 on the AP Top 25 Poll. That was five spots higher than IU’s 13th rank the week prior — making the Hoosiers one of the biggest movers on the poll.
Indiana is one of only five undefeated teams remaining in FBS. Not only have the Hoosiers not lost, they’ve dominated every opponent that’s been on the schedule — most recently beating Michigan State in East Lansing, 47-10. The Hoosiers are outscoring opponents by an average of 32.9 points a game.
Indiana hosts Michigan this Saturday as they try to stay undefeated and towards the top of the Big Ten standings.