Indiana Football Ranked Top 20 in USA Today Coaches Poll

In its second year under coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana football is ranked No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Head Coach Curt Cignetti at Indiana University football practice on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Fresh off the heels of the greatest season in program history, Indiana football will begin the 2025 campaign ranked No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

The poll, which was released Monday, featured votes from 67 coaches who indicated their interest to the American Football Coaches Association.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti was one of nine Big Ten coaches to participate, joining Ohio State's Ryan Day, Penn State's James Franklin, Oregon's Dan Lanning, Wisconsin's Luke Fickell, Maryland's Mike Locksley, Northwestern's David Braun, Nebraska's Matt Rhule and Washington's Jedd Fisch.

Here's a full look at the rankings, with parentheses indicating the number of first-place votes received.

1. Texas (28)
2. Ohio State (20)
3. Penn State (14)
4. Georgia (3)
5. Notre Dame
6. Clemson (2)
7. Oregon
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami (FL)
11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13. South Carolina
14. Michigan
15. Ole Miss
16. SMU
17. Florida
18. Tennessee
19. Indiana
20. Kansas State
21(T): Texas A&M
21(T): Iowa State
23. BYU
24. Texas Tech
25. Boise State

Others receiving votes:  Oklahoma 221; Missouri 142; Louisville 126; USC 116; Utah 86; Baylor 76; Auburn 50; Iowa 49; Memphis 34; Army West Point 33; Tulane 31; Georgia Tech 27; TCU 24; Nebraska 19; Syracuse 16; Washington 15; Navy 14; Arkansas 14; Duke 12; Colorado 12; Minnesota 11; UNLV 8; Florida State 8; Kansas 6; Vanderbilt 3; Buffalo 1.

Indiana is the sixth-highest ranked Big Ten school, trailing No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Penn State, No. 7 Oregon, No. 12 Illinois and No. 14 Michigan. Four other Big Ten prorgrams received votes: No. 33 Iowa, No. 39 Nebraska, No. 41 Washington and No. 46 Minnesota.

The Hoosiers also ranked No. 6 in the preseason Big Ten poll.

Indiana will play Penn State, Oregon and Iowa on the road, and it will host Illinois in front of a sold-out Memorial Stadium in Week 4.

The Hoosiers' last preseason ranking came in 2021, when they entered the season ranked No. 17.

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