The Indiana Hoosiers come in at No. 2 for the second week in a row in the College Football Playoff rankings, this ranking coming after a close call against Penn State. The Hoosiers just about dropped a game against a 3-5, now 3-6 Penn State team, and if they did, the committee probably would not have been very forgiving.
Many top teams that lost this week dropped in the rankings, including BYU, which dropped from No. 7 to No. 12 and is now no longer in the field to make the CFP. Indiana had an amazing comeback win, capped off with one of the greatest catches in college football history, and the selection committee rewarded them for that.
Indiana's win over Penn State passed the selection committee's eye test
The NEWEST 12-team seeded CFP bracket projection 🏈
— ESPN (@espn) November 12, 2025
Did your favorite team make it? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/qN2ilNUVbm
As seen above, Indiana is in a great spot in the rankings for the College Football Playoff, sitting at No. 2 with a first-round bye. The Hoosiers came very close to losing that if they had lost to Penn State this past weekend, but luckily, they pulled off the crazy comeback.
Many speculated that because of that close game with a majorly struggling Penn State team, the Hoosiers could slip in the rankings, maybe even be jumped by Texas A&M, but instead, everything remained as it was last week. Not only did the win Indiana had help the Hoosiers, but the fact that Texas A&M played a third strong quarterback with Mizzou aided it as well.
"Indiana found a way to find a way," selection committee chairman Mack Rhoades said on the rankings release show. "You know, Mendoza down the stretch, second-rated quarterback in passing efficiency, so those were all the things that we talked about that gave Indiana the edge."
That win over Penn State is looking more and more important as the committee is giving Indiana more credit for being able to come back in a tough game in a tough environment. The fact that Indiana's resume has also spoken for itself this season, with ranked wins over Oregon and Iowa, is what helped edge the Hoosiers over the Aggies.