In his Monday press conference on Monday afternoon, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti simply said his team “left 35 points on the field” in the victory.
“I’m never going to apologize for a win,” Cignetti said. “They’re too hard to get. Same team that should have beat South Carolina last year in the opener. (We) really dominated the game. Not reflected in the score.”
Coach Cig was correct about the Hoosiers overall performance on Saturday afternoon but regardless IU is 1-0 and that was the goal heading into week two against Kennesaw State but a few polls knocked IU for their struggles on Saturday.
In the newly updated Associated Press top 25 poll, the Hoosiers fell three spots from No. 20 to No. 23.
Indiana moving down to No. 23 even after beating Old Dominion on Saturday, 27-14 win is no surprise. ODU was actually dominate as the Monarchs had the lead in the first quarter until returner Jonathan Brady took an ODU punt back 91 yards for a touchdown. That play shifted the momentum in the Hoosiers’ and the Hoosiers outscored ODU 27-7 through three quarters.
Indiana has a couple of injuries to now have to deal with at the safety position with Byron Baldwin Jr out (day to day) and Bryson Bonds out for the season with a knee injury.
The Hoosiers will need to clean up their mistakes this upcoming weekend as Indiana will host Kennesaw State University at noon Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington
The other Big Ten Conference teams ranked are: Ohio State (No. 1), Penn State (No. 2), Oregon (No. 6), Illinois (No. 11) and Michigan (No. 15), with USC and Nebraska received votes.
The first College Football rankings – which determine who will play for the national championship – won’t be released until Tuesday, November 4, at 8 p.m. ET.
Week 2️⃣ loading... pic.twitter.com/cn4gp5UwOE
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) September 2, 2025