Indiana football is undefeated. The Hoosiers are 5-0. They just went on the road and dismantled Rutgers 47-15.
So naturally, one might expect Indiana to climb—or at the very least hold steady—in the latest Associated Press Poll.
Instead, the Hoosiers fell.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Indiana dropped from No. 6 to No. 7 despite dominating Rutgers from start to finish, adding another emphatic victory to what has been an extraordinary run for Curt Cignetti and his program.
And while dropping one spot might not sound like a major controversy, the bigger picture tells a much more frustrating story for Indiana fans.
Less than nine months ago, Indiana completed a remarkable 16-0 season by defeating Miami to capture the national championship. The Hoosiers went from one of college football’s most unlikely success stories to the team everyone was forced to take seriously.
Yet somehow, it already feels like portions of the college football world are beginning to forget just how good this program has become.
Indiana has now won 27 of its last 29 games.
But apparently, that still isn’t enough for everyone.
Indiana Destroyed Rutgers—Then Fell in the Poll
Saturday night’s matchup with Rutgers was barely a contest.
Indiana came out firing and completely overwhelmed the Scarlet Knights. By midway through the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers had built a staggering 37-0 advantage.
At that point, the game was essentially over.
Rutgers eventually managed to get on the scoreboard, but Indiana continued to control the contest and eventually walked away with a convincing 47-15 victory.
The result moved the Hoosiers to 5-0 on the season.
And yet, when the latest AP Poll was released the following day, Indiana had moved backward.
Alabama, meanwhile, jumped from No. 7 to No. 6 after routing Mississippi State on the road.
There is certainly an argument that Alabama deserved recognition for its performance. The Crimson Tide were impressive, and the victory represented Alabama’s first win over a ranked opponent this season.
But the question Indiana fans are asking is simple:
**Has Alabama really been better than Indiana to this point?**
That is where the debate becomes interesting.
One Voter’s Ballot Makes the Situation Even More Interesting
Perhaps the most revealing part of the latest rankings is the ballot submitted by AP voter Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.
Wilner ranked Alabama No. 3.
Indiana?
No. 12.
That means Wilner had teams such as Utah, BYU, Ole Miss, Oregon and LSU ahead of the defending national champions.
Obviously, one individual ballot doesn’t determine the final AP Poll. However, individual ballots contribute to the overall point totals, and enough voters taking a similar approach can significantly affect where a team lands.
Indiana ultimately ended up at No. 7.
The Hoosiers’ position therefore raises an obvious question: What exactly does Indiana have to do to receive the same level of respect as the traditional powers around it?
The Hoosiers aren’t simply scraping by opponents.
They’re winning.
And they’re winning convincingly.
Indiana Isn’t the Only Big Ten Team Being Overlooked
Perhaps the bigger issue for Indiana fans is that the Hoosiers aren’t the only Big Ten team receiving surprisingly little recognition.
Nebraska is undefeated at 5-0, yet the Cornhuskers remain outside the AP Top 25.
They received the 31st-most voting points this week.
Wisconsin has also been left outside the rankings despite moving to 4-1. The Badgers’ only loss came against Notre Dame, a team viewed as a legitimate national championship contender.
Wisconsin sits at No. 28 in the voting.
Then there is Northwestern.
The Wildcats were criticized earlier in the season after struggling against Indiana, but Northwestern responded in emphatic fashion by routing Penn State and improving to 3-1.
Despite that result, Northwestern sits at No. 30.
Put all of those situations together, and it is easy to understand why some Big Ten supporters believe the conference isn’t receiving the same benefit of the doubt that the SEC routinely receives.
Would Nebraska, Wisconsin or Northwestern be viewed differently if they had an SEC logo on their helmets?
That is the question hanging over the rankings.
The Problem With Indiana’s Schedule
There is, however, another side to this argument.
Indiana’s schedule has been a subject of discussion since Cignetti arrived in Bloomington.
Cignetti has never hidden his philosophy when it comes to scheduling. The Hoosiers have been willing to schedule opponents that can give the team opportunities to build confidence and develop before facing tougher competition.
That approach is completely legitimate.
Every program has to construct a schedule, and there is nothing inherently wrong with attempting to put your team in the best possible position to succeed.
But it also creates a potential problem when voters evaluate Indiana.
Some voters may look at the Hoosiers’ record and ask:
Who have they actually beaten?
That is the reality of college football rankings.
Being undefeated matters, but who you beat matters too.
Winning by 30 or 40 points can make a statement, but voters still have to determine how much those performances mean against the quality of competition.
Indiana can control what happens on the field.
It cannot control how voters interpret the schedule.
## The AP Poll Doesn’t Decide Indiana’s Fate
Fortunately for Indiana, there is an important reason not to panic.
The AP Poll doesn’t determine who makes the College Football Playoff.
The rankings are useful for creating national attention, television storylines and weekly debates, but they don’t ultimately determine Indiana’s postseason destiny.
That responsibility belongs to the College Football Playoff selection committee.
And the committee’s rankings don’t arrive until later in the season.
In other words, Indiana still has plenty of time to change the narrative.
Every game provides another opportunity.
Every victory gives the Hoosiers another chance to demonstrate that last season wasn’t a fluke and that this program belongs among college football’s elite.
And if Indiana continues winning at the pace it has established, eventually it may become impossible for voters to ignore.
## Indiana Still Controls Its Own Destiny
That might be the most important takeaway from all of this.
Indiana can complain about the AP Poll.
Its fans can argue about Alabama.
They can point toward Nebraska, Wisconsin and Northwestern and question whether the Big Ten is being treated fairly.
But none of that changes what actually matters.
The Hoosiers are 5-0.
They just destroyed Rutgers.
They remain one of the most successful teams in college football over the past two seasons.
And they still have every opportunity to accomplish everything they set out to accomplish this year.
The number beside Indiana’s name on a weekly AP Poll may be frustrating, but it doesn’t win football games.
The College Football Playoff committee will eventually make its own judgments.
Until then, the Hoosiers have only one real response available to them.
Keep winning.
If Indiana continues putting up dominant performances, the rankings will eventually have to catch up.
For now, the AP Poll may have dropped the Hoosiers from No. 6 to No. 7.
But if Curt Cignetti’s team keeps playing like this, Indiana won’t need anyone’s permission to prove that it belongs at the top.
The disrespect might be real.
But so is the opportunity.
And Indiana still has everything it wants right in front of it.
