INDIANA’S LOSS to Ohio State was no surprise. I was among the football fans who thought the Hoosiers might be able to pull off a win, however improbable it may have sounded. But head football coach Curt Cignetti put it best saying, “In life, all good things come to an end eventually.”
Boy, did they.
IU came out and poked the dragon on their first possession, scoring easily and taking the lead. Then Ohio State made them look pedestrian.
Cignetti, gracious in defeat during the postgame conference, acknowledged his team was beaten and that the OSU is a talented team while giving them credit for the win. He pointed out his team hung with Ohio State when getting a turnover and a goal-line stand for a minute before a botched punt snap and a touchdown on a punt return escalated the contest in the opposition’s favor the rest of the way.
Like many of the IU faithful, I believed this squad was better than they are. I thought all the wins over non-ranked opponents would somehow transform this team into a worthy opponent because this team has the horses to run with the Ohio State beast. Sports have a way of putting things in perspective and Hoosier fans, although not done with this great season, should brace themselves for another similar result when Cignetti’s guys face off against other blue-blood programs in the playoffs.
This game was reminiscent of Purdue’s foray into big-time football in the 2022 Big Ten championship game with Michigan as then-coach Jeff Brohm’s Boilers—surprise winners of the West Division that season—went against the No. 2 Wolverines and suffered a similar fate, succumbing 44-22 and looking outplayed in the process.
If Indiana played Purdue’s schedule this season, they could be looking at five or six losses, judging by the performance against an elite team like Ohio State. The fact that IU has won so much so fast with this group of portal players says good things about the athletic qualities of those transfer players. But to reach the performance levels of teams like Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, and Notre Dame, it’s a whole new recruiting game.
There are reasons Cignetti’s transfer players were not recruited by Ohio State. And the differences between the two talent tiers were on full display last Saturday. To Cignetti’s credit, he has positioned Indiana just under the ultra-elite top tier. With an eight-year contract and millions of dollars in his pocket, he will bring stability that this program has never enjoyed and maybe get IU to that next level of talent.
Up next is the Old Oaken Bucket Game and a much-needed healing session for the Hoosiers. They’ll gain back their swagger and winning ways against the hapless Boilers. This game is Purdue’s bowl game, and a win would make this terrible season have a happy ending, so IU should be on high alert.
So, I think I’m done rooting for Indiana again. This is the second time I rooted for them. The last time I was a closet Indiana fan was in 1987 when Keith Smart hit the game-winning baseline jumper for IU’s last national hoops championship over Syracuse. I dislike Syracuse a lot.
