It’s never too early to look at odds for the Big Ten football landscape this fall, even if spring ball hasn’t fully hit yet.
Badger Wire’s Ben Kenny examined whether Las Vegas bookmakers accurately predicted all 18 teams’ over-under win totals, which included arguably the College Football Playoff’s biggest surprise team: the Indiana Hoosiers.
Losing in the opening round to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend last December, the Hoosiers have much to prove whether they can duplicate their same postseason appearance success again.
The Hoosiers rolled through their regular-season schedule with their only loss against defending national champion Ohio State in Columbus in November.
Kurtis Rourke’s quarterback departure to the NFL, among other departures, ultimately hurts the Hoosiers. According to Kenny, expect speed bumps in Cignetti’s second season in Bloomington, as his team might be lucky even to sniff a bowl game, much less win it.
“Indiana will have a hard time replicating its 11-win 2024 season,” Kenny wrote. “The team should still have no trouble making a bowl game. 8 1/2 wins may be a bit steep for a program that is far from an established winner.”
At the end of the day, the Hoosiers aren’t exactly a “football school,” so Kenny could be onto something.
Ultimately, it appears Cignetti is going to have his doubters again. Whether he proves them wrong is entirely on him.
Indiana opens its season against Old Dominion Saturday, Aug. 30, as the team sees its first four games at home before a difficult late September and early October stretch begins.
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