The Indiana Hoosiers are off to a 4-0 start in their National Championship-defending season. Curt Cignetti's squad began the season with non-conference wins over North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky, and began Big Ten play with a hard-fought 29-23 win over Northwestern on Friday night. It wasn't the prettiest win, but the Hoosiers found a way to win their 20th straight game. That's all that matters.
3 winners and 2 losers from Indiana's close call against Northwestern
Indiana entered the 2026 season ranked as the No. 6 team in the country via the AP Top-25 preseason poll. The Cream and Crimson quickly moved up to No. 5 in the Week 1 poll and climbed again to No. 4 in the Week 2 poll. But after Week 3, the AP voters pushed the Hoosiers babk to No. 5. After struggling against the Wildcats and avoiding an upset scare, the Hoosiers have once again moved back in the polls.
Indiana falls one spot in AP Poll following Northwestern scare
The Week 4 AP-Top 25 Poll was released on Sunday afternoon. The Hoosiers entered the week ranked No. 5, but now find themselves in the No. 6 spot. Indiana dropped one spot while both Miami (FL) and Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 4 and No. 5 respectively.
BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/x2LaKBIFNd pic.twitter.com/QamhnesNNb
— On3 (@On3) September 27, 2026
The top-three teams remain unchanged with Texas at No. 1, Georgia at No. 2, and Notre Dame at No. 3. The biggest jump this week comes via the Florida Gators, who skyrocketed up 13 spots to No. 8 after taking down Ole Miss on Saturday.
Along with Ohio State at No. 5 and Indiana at No. 6, other Big Ten teams featured in this week's poll include Iowa at No. 14, Oregon at No. 15, USC at No. 18, and UCLA at No. 23.
Indiana's upcoming schedule gives strong opportunities to move up
After playing four straight home games to begin the new season, the Hoosiers are set to hit the road for the first time in 2026 in Week 5. Indiana's next game comes at Rutgers on Saturday. After that, the Hoosiers will head west to face Nebraska in Lincoln in Week 6. The Hoosiers figure to be favored in both of those games, which puts them in a solid spot to move up in the polls moving forward.
But Indiana's toughest tests don't come until later in October. IU will host No. 5 Ohio State on October 17, followed by a trip to Michigan to face the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Other battles against Minnesota, No. 18 USC, and at Washington are no cake walks either.
All in all, Indiana football fans shouldn't be panicking after seeing the Cream and Crimson drop in the AP Top-25 Poll for two consecutive weeks. All of the Hoosiers' goals are still in front of them, and Northwestern seems to be a much-improved team. That hard-fought win could end up looking better as the season goes on. Looking ahead, Cignetti and company have plenty of chances to take care of business and get back into the Top-5.
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