Indiana Football: Biggest game of year awaits Hoosiers
By Adam Childs
The Indiana Hoosiers will come out of their bye week with a date at Penn State awaiting them. Can the Hoosiers continue their magical season and pull an upset next Saturday?
The Hoosiers entered their bye week 7-2 on the year and bowl eligible before November for the first time in decades. But the knock on Indiana is that they haven’t beaten anybody good. Their best win was probably against a below-average Nebraska team on the road.
Despite their lack of big wins, they were able to crack the top 25 in the Coach’s Poll and AP Poll for the first time since 1994. It is a huge accomplishment for a team that has won only seven games three times in the last 26 years.
Their resume might not be great so far, but they will get a chance to fix that next Saturday when they head to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions. Penn State is coming off a tough loss at Minnesota and will be looking to keep their Big Ten Championship hopes alive.
Penn State has looked good this year but has looked vulnerable at times and the Hoosiers will be looking to take advantage. It is arguably the biggest game the Hoosiers have played a long, long time. Can they step up to the occasion and prove they aren’t a fluke?
Indiana had some bad news, though, during their bye week when starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr had season-ending surgery. Peyton Ramsey has come in and been great in relief and is more than capable of leading the Hoosiers, as he looks to do for the rest of the year.
Even better for the Hoosiers is they still have leading receiver Whop Philyor and leading rusher Stevie Scott III playing well coming into the game. Indiana will need them to have a great game if they want to win on the road.
They are sure to be an underdog for the game, but after watching Minnesota beat them, the Hoosiers have to believe they have a chance to pull off the big upset.
While losing the game won’t kill their season, the Hoosiers could find themselves inside the top 20 with the big win. The start for the Hoosiers has been great, but winning at Penn State next weekend will be even greater.