Indiana Football: Best remaining chance at an upset

Indiana has won the games they were supposed to win this year, but have failed to pull off an upset. Which team do the Hoosiers have the best chance at upsetting this year?

The Indiana football team is coming off their first bye of the year with a 3-2 record. They need just three more wins to become bowl eligible, and according to ESPN’s matchup predictor, they are favored in three of their final seven games. If they can win all the games they are favored in they will go bowling for the first time in three years.

But if they were to slip up in any of those games, they will need to pull off an upset in order to improve their bowl chances. Either way, I don’t think the Hoosiers fans would mind a nice upset sometime this year.

The three games they are favored in are at home against Rutgers and Northwestern and on the road at Purdue. Rutgers is bad this year and their starting quarterback and running back just decided to take a redshirt so they are very shorthanded.

Northwestern is a pesky team, but they are struggling to put points on the board and the Hoosiers playing at home is a big advantage. The Purdue game is always a toss-up, but with the Boilermakers being without their starting quarterback it makes the Hoosiers the favorite.

On the flip side, the Hoosiers are small underdogs against Maryland and Nebraska, a big underdog against Michigan and a huge dog when they travel to Penn State. So which one of these teams do the Hoosiers have the best chance to upset?

Penn State has been drilling teams that they should be and that doesn’t bode well for Indiana especially on the road. Maryland has scored a ton of points on defenses that aren’t very good. Indiana’s isn’t as bad as some of the teams they have played but that is a weakness so let’s throw the Terrapins out. Josh Jackson’s ankle injury is something to keep an eye on as the next few weeks develop, however.

That leaves Michigan and Nebraska. The Wolverines are not scoring many points this year and that could play into the hands of the Hoosiers as they look for the upset. Indiana has also played Michigan tough lately and believes they are this close to pulling off the upset. Playing in Bloomington for this game is also a plus for the Hoosiers, as this is a possible upset chance as the Wolverines play IU while being bunched between a Michigan State and Ohio State after matchup. I think the Hoosiers keep it close and have a shot but the Wolverines pull it out, especially if they are still in the hunt for a Big Ten East crown.

Then there is Nebraska. The team everyone thought was going to be much improved and possibly win the West. Instead, the Cornhuskers have lost to Colorado, got blown out by Ohio State and struggled to beat Northwestern, Illinois and South Alabama. Yes, this game is in Lincoln, but it is not nearly as intimidating to play there as it has been in the past.

Indiana will be able to score on the Cornhuskers and Nebraska’s offense isn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard. This is the best chance the Hoosiers have at pulling off an upset. This would be huge for the Hoosiers as it will hopefully either give them win number five or six if they pull the upset at Maryland the week before. This game could be the difference between just squeaking into a bowl game or heading somewhere warm.

Overall, the Hoosiers have a chance at three upsets this year (they probably aren’t winning in Happy Valley). Can they get over the hump and finally come away with a big win and maybe propel themselves to an even better 2020 season?