Against all odds the Indiana Hoosiers are in the College Football Playoff and they have no interest in being remembered as just a Cinderella story
The Indiana Hoosiers have been quite the story this season. Once looked at as an afterthought in, the Big 10 conference has a new identity and confidence that the program is not accustomed to having. They finished the regular season 11-1 and third in the Big 10 standings, only missing out on the conference championship due […]
The Indiana Hoosiers have been quite the story this season. Once looked at as an afterthought in, the Big 10 conference has a new identity and confidence that the program is not accustomed to having.
They finished the regular season 11-1 and third in the Big 10 standings, only missing out on the conference championship due to questionable, at best, tie-breakers within the Big 10.
Even without appearing in that game, they earned their spot in the College Football Playoffs during the first year of the new 12-team format. To the dismay of Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, they will be starting the playoff on the road as the tenth seed, but they won't have to travel far after all.
The Battle of Indiana: Indiana Vs. Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff
After weeks of speculation about who and where the Hoosiers would play in the first round, the official bracket has been released. IU is set to travel to South Bend, Indiana, to take on Notre Dame in a battle to decide who the best college football team in the great state of Indiana is.
Like IU, Notre Dame finished the season 11-1, with their only loss of the year coming in Week 2 at home against Northern Illinois. They finished the year as the fourth-ranked team in the nation and are the seventh seed in the College Football Playoff bracket.
With this being an in-state matchup, you'd assume the two teams would play each other in recent years, but that is not the case. The last time these teams squared off was in 1991, a game in which Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis led the Fighting Irish to a 49-27 win over the Hoosiers.
Even now, with their spot in the College Football Playoffs official, many still question the legitimacy of this IU team that lost in convincing fashion to the only ranked team they played this season in Ohio State. With the bracket officially in place, the Hoosiers will be underdogs traveling to South Bend. Some may think the team's "Cinderella Season" is set to come to an end in the first round. But if I know anything about this Cignetti-led Hoosiers squad, they have no interest in being remembered as just another Cinderella story. They want to show they belong in these big games and now have the chance to prove it. So, mark your calendars because Friday, December 20th at 8 pm Eastern Standard Time in South Bend, Indiana is set to be the biggest football game in the history of Indiana University.
An early look at the Indiana Hoosiers and everything they bring to the table against Notre Dame
Early names to know for the Indiana Hoosiers
