Until the 2024 season, Indiana football fans were hoping to make bowl games again. The team was at the bottom with three straight losing seasons, fired its head coach, and all hope seemed buried. But then came Curt Cignetti. And with him came a football revival no one saw coming.
The 2024 season was one of the best comebacks. The Hoosiers had 11 wins, an undefeated home record, and a Cinderella sprint to their first-ever College Football Playoff. This was one of Indiana’s best years in a long time. They won eight Big Ten games. Even after falling short in a tiebreaker for the Big Ten Championship game, there was no ignoring the games they played. So now the only question remains: can the Hoosiers do it again?
List of Indiana Hoosiers 2025 Opponents
- Aug 30 – Saturday
Old Dominion (Bloomington, Ind.) - Sep 6 – Saturday
Kennesaw State (Bloomington, Ind.) - Sep 13 – Saturday
Indiana State (Bloomington, Ind.) - Sep 20 – Saturday
Illinois (Bloomington, Ind.) - Sep 27 – Saturday
at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa) - Oct 11 – Saturday
at Oregon (Eugene, Ore.) - Oct 18 – Saturday
Michigan State (Bloomington, Ind.) - Oct 25 – Saturday
UCLA (Bloomington, Ind.) - Nov 1 – Saturday
at Maryland (College Park, Md.) - Nov 8 – Saturday
at Penn State (University Park, Pa.) - Nov 15 – Saturday
Wisconsin (Bloomington, Ind.) - Nov 29 – Saturday
at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.)
Indiana’s 2025 schedule starts soft with three straight home games, and then things get tough. Road trips to Oregon, Penn State, and a rivalry week clash with Purdue are not going to be easy. But the real challenge is definitely the roster.
Indiana’s magic run came with a price to pay. With 16 players hitting the transfer portal and a slew of seniors heading to the NFL, there is a lot to rebuild. And Curt Cignetti is on it. He has brought in 19 new players, including a new QB and some much-needed reinforcements on both sides of the ball. But no doubt, the losses are going to be hard to replace.
Top defensive back Shawn Asbury II is off to the NFL after putting up 69 tackles. Losing a lockdown guy like that, especially when he’s the only returning starting corner, isn’t ideal. Then there’s the quarterback room. Both starter Kurtis Rourke (eligibility) and backup Tayven Jackson (transfer) are gone. Jackson, who kept the season alive during Rourke’s injury, is now at UCF.
Cignetti brought in Fernando Mendoza from Cal, who is a promising bet. But chemistry is not built in a day. It’ll be a race to see how quickly the new signal-caller gels with the offense. And the run game is also in a tough spot. Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton, who had a combined stat of 1,500 yards and 22 touchdowns, are both gone. Losing them, plus Elijah Green, means Indiana is rebuilding its entire backfield.
KEEP READING: Utah 2025 Football Schedule: How High Will Devon Dampier Lead the Utes?
Can the Hoosiers run it back in 2025? The pieces are there, and so is the coach. But it is going to be a tough journey.
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