Indiana Football: Ranking each game on the schedule by difficulty
By Adam Childs
8. Maryland
The Terrapins struggled last year after starting the season out on fire. Maryland does return some players that were lost to injury and should be better this year. Even with the struggles, the Hoosiers still had some trouble winning on the road last year. They do get them at home this year and this is one of those games that should be a win for Indiana if they seriously want to take the next step in the Big Ten. They are better than the Terrapins and need to show it.
7. Michigan State
The Spartans are under a lot of change after Mike Dantonio suddenly resigned right before signing day. Michigan State quickly hired Mel Tucker from Colorado and he is making some noise on the recruiting trail but this year could see some growing pains. Rocky Lombardi will look to take the reigns of the offense and has a lot of potential but hasn’t played much in his college career. This is a great year for the Hoosiers to take advantage of a down Spartans team and get a win, especially with it being in Bloomington.
6. Illinois
The Illini surprised everybody last year by making it to a bowl game after being awful under Lovie Smith. But Michigan transfer Brandon Peters has made a huge difference at quarterback for Illinois. He will keep them in many games this year and it will be tough to stop for the Hoosiers. This will also be tough for the Hoosiers as it is sandwiched between games at Ohio State and at Michigan. If the Hoosiers lose this game it could be a very rough end to the year. Beating the Illini is necessary to keep up some momentum that they hopefully had heading into the closing stretch of the season.
5. Purdue
Michigan State and Illinois might be more talented than the Boilermakers, but beating Purdue is always going to be tough. No matter how could the Hoosiers and Boilermakers are when they face off it is normally a very good game. The importance of this game is huge. Bragging rights for the state of Indiana, bringing home the Old Oaken Bucket, and possibly becoming bowl eligible are all up for grabs. The Hoosiers were much better in 2019, but it still took them two overtimes to dispatch Purdue. This game is always great, but one the Hoosiers need to win.