#5 Indiana University Football faces its Biggest Test at #2 Ohio State The #5 Indiana Hoosiers battle #2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the one of the biggest games of the College Football Season Saturday at Noon at the “Horseshoe” Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio with the game televised on Fox. It’s so big that both Fox Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’S College Gameday Shows will be televising their Live Pre-Game Shows from outside the Stadium. The Hoosiers are 10-0 under first year Head Coach Curt Cignetti and rewritten the record books this season. Indiana is 7-0 in the Big Ten and win on Saturday would almost guarantee a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game against Oregon on December 7th at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indiana has won 10 games and 7 Big Ten Games for the first time ever and it’s been since 1988 that Hoosiers have beaten the Buckeyes. Indiana won 41-7 in Bloomington as it was referred to as the “Darkest Day” in Ohio State Football history. Indiana won 31-10 in Columbus in 1987 and it’s the only time the Hoosiers have beaten Michigan and Ohio State in the season. Indiana beat Michigan 20-15 in a Sold-out Memorial Stadium 2 weeks ago. The Hoosiers have lost 29 in a row to the Buckeyes and 30 of the last 31 since 1989 with. 27-27 tie in Bloomington in 1990. Ohio State leads the all-time series 80-12-5
Former Ohio State Wide Receiver and ESPN Analyst Joey Galloway said on ESPN’s College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings Show Tuesday Night that the Hoosiers should bench Quarterback Kurtis Rourke against Ohio State to maintain the Hoosiers College Football playoff path. “If we believe in what our metrics are saying, If I’m Indiana, I don’t know if I’m playing Rourke Saturday against Ohio State” Galloway Said. Galloway played at Ohio State form 1991-94 as a Wide Receiver and last season Florida State Quarterback Jordan Travis went down in Week 12 with a season ending injury against North Alabama and Florida State finished the regular season undefeated and was left out of the four team College Football Playoff. This year the field has increased to 12 teams with the four conference champions receiving a first round bye. The Highest ranked group of five Conference Champions would get the fifth automatic bid, and they will be 7 at large spots. Both Ohio State and Indiana are in the mix to land in the College Football Playoff and seeds 5 though 8 would host a first round playoff game December 20 or 21. In Tuesday’s College Football Playoff Projections Indiana would be the 7th Seed and host 12 Seed Ole Miss in the first round and Ohio State would be the 5 seed and host 12 Seed BYU.
Indiana has won nine of their ten games by double digits and has only trailed twice briefly to Michigan State 10-0 and Michigan 3-0. Indiana has outscored its opponent 439-138 averaging 43.9 points on offense and allowing 13.8 on defense. Indiana has 57 offensive touchdowns on the season which is the most since 2013 when they had 61 and are tied in the FBS with Miami Florida. The Hoosiers have 32 Rushing Touchdowns on the season and are the most since 2001 with 33 in 12 games. The Hoosiers are one of three teams in the FBS that remain undefeated along with Oregon and Army. Kurtis Rourke has thrown for 2,410 yards and has 2,427 yards total offense and 21 passing touchdowns along with 7 games with 200 or more passing yards in a game. Those marks ranked 17th in total offense, 13th in passing yardage 5th in touchdowns and 7th in 200 or more yards passing for a single season. The Hoosiers held Michigan to 69 yards rushing and it was the 7th game this season that Indiana has done that and broke a tie with 1990 team who held opponents under 100 yards six times that season.
Ohio State is 9-1 on the season and 6-1 in the Big Ten with those only lost to top ranked Oregon 32-31 in Eugene on October 12. The Buckeyes beat Penn State 20-13 in State College on November 2 and Penn State is still in the mix for the Big Ten Championship at 6-1 but need a lot of help to get to title game. Ohio State beat Northwestern 31-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago last Saturday. Quarterback Will Howard threw for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Wildcats. Howard has thrown for 2,484 yards with 24 touchdown passes and 5 interceptions. The Buckeyes have a 1-2 rushing attack of Quinshon Judkins who has 723 yards and 8 touchdowns along with Treveyon Henderson who has 662 yards and 5 touchdowns. Freshman Wide Receiver Jeremiah Smith has 865 yards and 9 Touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka has 612 yards and 8 touchdowns along with Carnell Tate who has 457 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Ohio State suffered a huge loss up front as Center Seth McLaughlin tore his Achilles Tendon in practice Tuesday and will be out the rest of the season and this is second loss for the Ohio State Offensive Line as Left Tackle Josh Simmons went down at Oregon. The Buckeyes have allowed 12 sacks and 51 Quarterback pressures. The Hoosiers who lost guard Nick Kidwell in fall camp and guard Drew Evans to weeks ago have allowed 11 sacks and 53 Quarterback Pressures. This game is going to come down to three things. Who can make the big plays on both sides of the ball and which line protects its quarterback better. Indiana has had an extra week to prepare for the Buckeyes.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball bends but does not break in a win over UNC Greensboro The Indiana Hoosiers are 4-0 on the season after a 69-58 win over the UNC Greensboro Spartans Thursday Night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers wrap up a four game homestand will travel to the Bahamas to face the Louisville Cardinals next Wednesday at Noon the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in Nassau. The Hoosiers never trailed as the Spartans tied the game 40-40 with 15:57 left in the game when Malik Henry completed a three-point play hitting the free throw. Bryson Tucker made a layup with 15:08 left to make it 42-40 as the Hoosiers held the lead the rest of the way.
Myles Rice led the Hoosiers with 20 points and Freshman Bryson Tucker was the spark off the bench for IU adding 14 points. “He came in and shined. He’s a guy that can help us, and I leaned on him tonight” Indiana Head Coach Mike Wodson on Freshman Bryson Tucker. The Hoosiers finished 25-60 from the field for 41%, 5-19 from three-point range for 26% and 14-16 from the free throw line for 87%. Indiana pulled down 43 rebounds as Oumar Ballo had 11 and Malik Reneau had 10. Indiana dished out 16 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks, 24 points in the paint, 19 bench points and committed 14 turnovers. Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo and Mackenize Mgbako all scored 9 points apiece. Ron Polite III led the Spartans with 17 points and Donovan Atwell added 10 points. The Spartans finished 20-63 from the field for 31%, 9-32 from three-point range for 28% and 9-15 from the free throw line for 60%. The Spartans pulled down 38 rebounds, dished out 14 assists, 10 steals, 5 blocks, 22 points in the paint, 18 bench points and committed 14 turnovers.
Indiana started the game on a 7-0 run and after Kenyon Giles hit a three to get the Spartans on the board with 17:32 left in the first half. Indiana went on a 10-0 to make it 17-3 with 13:42 left in the first half. The Hoosiers led 21-5 with 11:07 left and then UNC Greensboro fought back and outscored the Hoosiers 22-15 as Indiana went into the locker room leading 36-27 at halftime as Myles Rice led the Hoosiers with 14 points at the half. UNC Greensboro outscored the Hoosiers 10-4 leading up to game being tied 40-40 with 15:57 left in the game. Indiana outscored the Spartans 29-18 the rest of the way and the Hoosiers outscored the Spartans 33-31 in the second half. UNC Greensboro is 2-2 on the season but they held their own against an Indiana team that had a size advantage and Coach Mike Woodson was not happy with his team performance. “This game was just backwards. We’ll watch the film tomorrow and break it down. And then we’re going to have a tough practice tomorrow ” Head Coach Mike Woodson said after the game. Woodson did praise UNC Greensboro for the way the played tonight and battled the Hoosiers for 40 Minutes. “I gotta give this Greensboro team credit. They played harder than us, and that’s not acceptable.”
The Hoosiers will play three games in three days in the Bahamas and if they are going to have a good showing they have to rebound the ball, take care of the ball and not take plays off along with playing a complete game. Mike Woodson did not like the fact his team had 16 assists and thinks they should have 25 to 30 assists per game. “We had 16 assists tonight, that’s awful, the way we played tonight was selfish as hell.” Woodson Said. Indiana will have to prepare for its first trip away from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against three tough teams in three days.
Bloomington South Battles Decatur Central for the Class 5A Football Semi State Championship The Bloomington South Panthers host the Decatur Central Hawks in the Class 5A Semi State Championship at 7pm this evening at Fred Huff Memorial Field on the Southside of Bloomington. The Panthers won their 13th Regional Championship at home last Friday beating Castle 28-21. Bloomington South is looking for their fourth State Finals Appearance and first since 1998. The Panthers won it all in 1993 and 1998 and lost in 1997. Since 1998 the Panthers are 0-5 in Semi State Championship games and lost last year’s Semi State Championship Game 28-14 at Decatur Central. This is the sixth all time postseason meeting between the two teams as Decatur Central leads the series 3-2 and have won the last three meetings. Bloomington South won the 1993 Sectional Championship game 28-14 and 1995 Sectional First Round game 17-8 with both meetings at Bloomington South. The Hawks won all three meetings at home 2007 Sectional First Round 17-14, 2018 Regional Championship game 28-0 and last years’ Semi State Championship game.
The Panthers are 8-4 on the season and come in with a four-game winning streak. The Panthers are averaging 33.3 points on offense and giving up 23 points on defense outscoring their opponents 360-203 for 7th year Head Coach Gabe Johnson. Decatur Central is 9-2 on the season and enters the game on an 8-game winning streak. The Hawks are averaging 35.7 points on offense and giving up 20.5 points on defense outscoring their opponents 393-226 for 9th year Head Coach Kyle Enright. Decatur Central won its 3rd Regional Championship and second in a row beating East Central 21-16 at home last Friday. The Hawks are 2-0 in Semi State Championship games after beating Columbus East on the road 27-24 in 2018 and the Panthers are home last season. The winner of this game will play at 7 PM Next Saturday in the Class 5A State Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis against the winner of Merrillville and Warsaw.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball faces Columbia in the Battle 4 Atlantis The Indiana Hoosiers face the Columbia Lions on Saturday at 4 PM in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. The game will be streaming on Flo Hoops, and it will take place at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in Nassau inside a big ballroom called the Imperial Arena which will converted into temporary a basketball arena that seats 3,500. The Hoosiers will face Southern Miss or Baylor in the Second game and North Carolina, Ball State Texas A&M and Villanova are the Hoosiers potential third round opponent depending on results as each team will play three games in three days with the final day coming on Monday. Indiana is 2-2 on the season and will have 5 days rest after knocking off #24 Stanford on Sunday Afternoon 79-66 at Simon Sjkodt Assembly Hall. This will be the Hoosier third Ivy League opponent after knocking beating Brown in the season opener 82-60 and falling to Harvard 72-68 in overtime both at home. The Hoosiers know that this will not be an easy first round opponent against a team who made the NCAA Tournament a season ago. This will be the first ever meeting between Indiana and Columbia.
Yarden Garzon is the team’s leading scorer averaging 16 points. Garzon scored 16 points in the win over Stanford and knocked down 4 triples to tie a season high which she did in the season opener against Brown. Lilly Meister is averaging 11.5 points and a team leading 7.2 rebounds. Sydney Parrish is averaging 10.3 points and a team leading 1.8 blocks per game. Shay Ciezki had her beat game as Hoosier scoring 19 points against the Cardinal. The Penn State transfer is averaging 10.3 points and leads the team with 2.8 assists per game. Chloe Moore-McNeil who led the Hoosiers with 21 points in Sunday’s win over Stanford is averaging 10 points and a team leading 2.2 steals per game. The Hoosiers are averaging 68.8 points and committing 18 turnovers per game. Indiana shoots 42.4 percent from the field, 31.1 percent from three-point range and 84.1 percent from the free throw line. Indiana held the Cardinal to season low 9 points in the second quarter and the cardinal were 2-11 from three-point range. Indiana led 42-28 at halftime and led by 19 points at 57-38 with under three minutes left in the third quarter as the Hoosier went up 24-22 at the end of the third quarter and never trailed the rest of the way.
Columbia is 4-1 on the season and is coming off a 84-50 win against Pacific at Home Wednesday Night in New York City. Riley Weiss led the Lions with 20 Points and Cecelia Collins added 18. Columbia went 31-67 from the field for 46 percent, 14-30 from three-point range for 46 percent and 8-16 from the free throw line for 50 percent. The Lions pulled down 42 rebounds, dished out 26 assists, 16 steals, 3 blocks and committed 19 turnovers. The Lions have wins over Stony Brook 87-47, at Providence 77-69 in overtime and Florida Gulf Coast 62-51. Columbia’s only loss of the season came at Villanova 68-67. The Lions are led in scoring by Riley Weiss who averages 15.6 points per game. Cecelia Collins averages 14.2 points per game. Kitty Henderson averages 12.5 points per game along with a team leading 5.8 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Perri Page is averaging 10.8 points and a team leading 8 rebounds per game. Susie Rafiu leads the team in 0.6 per game.
Columbia shoots 45 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and 58 percent from the three-point line. The Lions are averaging 75.4 points and commit 17 turnovers per game. The Lions have a 13-player roster that represents Washington, Pennsylvania, Florida Massachusetts, New York, Spain, Serbia, Estonia and England. Head Coach Megan Griffith is in her 9th year at her alma mater and 8th season after the Ivy League canceled the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Griffith has an overall record of 126-85 and has been to the WNIT Tournament in 2022 and 2023 and the NCAA Tournament in 2024 after winning back to back Ivy League Regular Season Titles and Two Time Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2023 and 2024.The 39 year old from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania scored 1,061 points in 105 games for the Lions from 2003-2007 Griffith was an assistant coach at Princeton from 2012-2016.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer to Host Akron Sunday in the NCAA Tournament Second Round It’s tournament time, and Indiana men’s soccer has earned a national seed for the 24th time in program history – extending its NCAA record. The No. 14-seeded Hoosiers received a first-round bye and will host its first match of the NCAA Tournament Sunday Against the Akron Zips on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The NCAA announced the 48-team tournament field during its selection show Monday. First round action kicked off on Thursday. The tournament will finish in the NCAA College Cup, set to return to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, December 13-16.
Indiana will host the Akron Zips who beat the Princeton Tigers 1-0 Thursday Night in Akron in the Second Round. Sunday’s kickoff time is set for 1 PM. Fans can purchase tickets here. Admission is free for IU students. IU is one of 16 programs to receive a national seed, its 10th in 11 seasons. 1995-1996, when four teams received seeds, was the last two-year period in which the Hoosiers did not earn a seed. Despite a 2-3-4 start to the season, Indiana captured its second straight Big Ten regular season title – sharing with Ohio State – thanks to a 10-game unbeaten run. The Hoosiers recorded 32 goals in that 10-game stretch, scoring multiple goals in each match – the program’s longest multi-goal stretch since 1997. Indiana has won eight national championships, the nation’s most since the program’s inception in 1973. IU also owns NCAA records for consecutive tournament appearances (38), tournament victories (104), and appearances in the round of 16 (42), quarterfinal (29), final four (22) and title match (17).
Three Former Indianapolis Colts Players named Semifinalist for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class The Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday narrowed its list of Class of 2025 candidates to 25 semifinalists, with three Colts greats making the cut: Defensive end Robert Mathis, wide receiver Reggie Wayne and kicker Adam Vinatieri. Robert Mathis has now made it to the semifinal round of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process in each of his four years of eligibility. During his 14-year career, spent entirely in Indianapolis, the 2003 fifth-round pick became the NFL’s strip sack king: No player in league history has more forced fumbles (52) and strip-sacks (47). His 123 career sacks are a franchise record, and he was a five-time Pro Bowler and 2013 first-team AP All Pro. Mathis in 2013 finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and led the NFL with 19 1/2 sacks and 10 forced fumbles.
Reggie Wayne proved to be one of the best, most prolific wide receivers in NFL history over his 14-year career with the Colts. Now in his third year as the Colts’ wide receivers coach, Wayne caught 1,070 passes for 14,345 yards with 82 touchdowns over 211 regular season games from 2001-2014. Wayne is one of nine players in NFL history with at least 1,000 receptions, 14,000 yards and 80 touchdowns. He also saved some of his most impactful moments for the postseason, with his 93 receptions second-most in NFL history and his 1,243 yards fourth.
Adam Vinatieri, in his first year of eligibility, will look to become only the second kicker enshrined in Canton. Widely regarded as one of the best kickers – if not the best kicker – in league history, Vinatieri was a three-time first-team AP All-Pro and is the NFL’s all-time leader in points scored (2,673). His clutch kicks in big moments helped him become a four-time Super Bowl champion, and he was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2000s first team and the NFL 100 All-Time Team. Later this year, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce 15 modern era finalists to be considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Those 15 finalists will be considered by the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee ahead of Super Bowl LVIX, and between three and five modern era finalists will be chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.