Ranking Indiana Football's 2026 Opponents Easiest To Hardest

Indiana approaches perhaps the most highly anticipated football season in program history in 2026, coming off a national championship in coach Curt Cignetti's second season.

Below, we'll break down Indiana's 2026 schedule and rank the games from easiest to hardest, as Cignetti aims to guide the Hoosiers to another undefeated season.

Here's the full schedule.

Saturday, Sept. 5 vs. North Texas at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday, Sept. 12 vs. Howard at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Western Kentucky at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday, Sept. 26 vs. Northwestern at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday, Oct. 3 vs. Rutgers at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.
Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Nebraska at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.
Saturday, Oct. 17 vs. Ohio State at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday, Oct. 24 vs. Michigan at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, Oct. 31 vs. Minnesota at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
BYE
Saturday, Nov. 14 vs. USC at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday, Nov. 21 vs. Washington at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash.
Saturday, Nov. 28 vs. Purdue at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

And here's how we'd rank Indiana football's 2026 opponents, easiest to hardest.

Howard

Saturday, Sept. 12 vs. Howard at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

Rationale: Howard coach Larry Scott stepped down after a 5-7 season in 2025 and became Auburn's tight ends coach. To replace him, Howard hired Ted White, who most recently served as an offensive analyst at Maryland. White graduated Howard in 1999 as the MEAC's career leader in passing yards, touchdowns and completions. He's also been an assistant at UCLA and with the Houston Texans, among other stops. Howard is Indiana's lone FCS opponent, so it should be the Hoosiers easiest win.

North Texas

Saturday, Sept. 5 vs. North Texas at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

Record last season: 12-2
Incoming transfer class ranking (per 247Sports Composite): 67
Freshman class ranking (per 247Sports Composite): 137

Rationale: This was shaping up to be a difficult nonconference matchup for the Hoosiers, as North Texas led the nation in total offense and scoring last season. But coach Eric Morris left the Mean Green to become Oklahoma State's coach and brought quarterback Drew Mestemaker. North Texas had to do a complete roster overhaul, losing 37 players to the transfer portal and bringing in 49 transfers. That leaves plenty of uncertainty going into year one under coach Neal Brown, who was fired by West Virginia after going 37-35 across six seasons.

Purdue

Saturday, Nov. 28 vs. Purdue at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

Record last season: 2-10
Incoming transfer class ranking: 39
Freshman class ranking: 56

Rationale: Purdue had a rough first year under coach Barry Odom, going 0-9 in the Big Ten and losing seven total games by at least 16 points. Odom's incoming portal class ranks 10th in the Big Ten, which is perhaps better than expected considering Purdue has won six games over the last three years. He's running it back with quarterback Ryan Browne, who ranked 89th nationallly in total QBR last season. Cignetti is 2-0 against Purdue with wins of 66-0 and 56-3, and the third matchup shouldn't be close either.

Western Kentucky

Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Western Kentucky at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

Record last season: 9-4
Incoming transfer class ranking: 101
Freshman class ranking: 86

Rationale: Coach Tyson Helton has built a consistent winner at Western Kentucky, with at least eight wins in each of the last five seasons and five bowl wins in his seven total seasons. He has produced an NFL quarterback in Bailey Zappe, as well as Conference USA passing leaders like Austin Reed and Caden Veltkamp. Next in line at quarterback could be Brock Glenn, a transfer from Florida State and former Ohio State commit. Western Kentucky doesn't have the athletes and size to compete with Indiana, but they should have another good season under Helton.

Rutgers

Saturday, Oct. 3 vs. Rutgers at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.

Record last season: 5-7
Incoming transfer class ranking: 71
Freshman class ranking: 37

Rationale: Rutgers seemed to be building some momentum with seven-win seasons in 2023 and 2024, but it regressed back to five wins in coach Greg Schiano's sixth season. Going into 2026, it has a talented running back in Antwan Raymond, who rushed for 1,241 yards. But Rutgers could be relying on an inexperienced quarterback in AJ Surace, and its defense was abysmal last season, allowing the 19th-most points per game in the nation at 31.8. Oddly enough, Cignetti hasn't faced Rutgers in his first two seasons at Indiana, but this game shouldn't be too tricky.

Northwestern

Saturday, Sept. 26 vs. Northwestern at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

Record last season: 7-6
Incoming transfer class ranking: 45
Freshman class ranking: 52

Rationale: A 19-19 record with two bowl wins is better than many expected from Northwestern in David Braun's first three seasons, considering he'd never been a head coach before and took over after a controversial end to Pat Fitzgerald's tenure. Northwestern gave Cignetti's Hoosiers a fairly competitive game in 2024, losing 41-24, and it had the nation's 23rd-ranked scoring defense in 2025. Quarterback play has been an issue at Northwestern, but it landed dynamic Michigan State transfer Aidan Chiles in the transfer portal this offeason. The Wildcats won't be a pushover this season by any means, but Indiana should still get a comfortable home win.

Minnesota

Saturday, Oct. 31 vs. Minnesota at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

Record last season: 8-5
Incoming transfer class ranking: 34
Freshman class ranking: 28

Rationale: PJ Fleck has maintained a high floor at Minnesota, averaging eight wins over the last five seasons and winning a bowl game each year. And in an era with so many transfer quarterbacks, it'll be good to have Drake Lindsey back after a solid redshirt freshman season. Expect another bowl-eligible season from the Gophers, but I don't see Fleck getting them over the hump and beating a potential top-five team on the road.

Nebraska

Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Nebraska at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.

Record last season: 7-6
Incoming transfer class ranking: 37
Freshman class ranking: 92

Rationale: With quarterback Dylan Raiola transferring to Oregon, Rhule will try to get past the seven-win threshold with former UNLV and Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea. He completed 65.9% of his passes for 3,459 yards, 23 touchdowns and 9 interceptions while totaling 649 rushing yards and 10 scores. Like Minnesota, Nebraska feels like a safe choice to win around seven or eight games, but it's not at the level of Indiana or other Big Ten title contenders yet.

USC

Lincoln Riley USC Football — Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) and coach Lincoln Riley against the UCLA Bruins at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Saturday, Nov. 14 vs. USC at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

Record last season: 9-4
Incoming transfer class ranking: 26
Freshman class ranking: 1

Rationale: Quarterback Jayden Maiava should be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten this season, returning for his senior season under offensive-minded coach Lincoln Riley. USC also had an impressive offseason recruiting the transfer portal and bringing in the top freshman class. But the issue under Riley has been beating physical teams like Notre Dame, Oregon and Illinois last season. Indiana will have the advantage at the line of scrimmage, leading to Cignetti's first win over the Trojans in his first try.

Michigan

Saturday, Oct. 24 vs. Michigan at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Record last season: 9-4
Incoming transfer class ranking: 17
Freshman class ranking: 11

Rationale: Michigan was tough to rank, given the uncertainty around having a first-year coach. But Kyle Whittingham won consistently at Utah and recruited well in his first offseason with the Wolverines, so they should still have a fairly high floor. Quarterback Bryce Underwood returns for his sophomore season and is as talented as they come, though he's had turnover issues. This will be a difficult road game for the Hoosiers, but one they can still win.

Washington

Saturday, Nov. 21 vs. Washington at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash.

Record last season: 9-4
Incoming transfer class ranking: 48
Freshman class ranking: 12

Rationale: Washington's only home loss in two seasons under Jedd Fisch came against No. 1 Ohio State last season, so this will be a very difficult road trip. Washington returns quarterback Demond Williams Jr., a dangerous runner who also 69.5% of his passes for 3,065 yards last season. The Huskies also ranked 15th nationally in scoring defense last season, making them a serious threat to take down the Hoosiers.

Ohio State

Saturday, Oct. 17 vs. Ohio State at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

Record last season: 12-2
Incoming transfer class ranking: 5
Freshman class ranking: 5

Rationale: A rematch of the 2025 Big Ten championship game will be one of, if not the biggest regular season games of the 2026 college football season. It's certainly the most anticipated game Memorial Stadium has ever hosted. Ohio State lost several key contributors from its elite defense last season, but the Buckeyes recruit at such a high level every year that there shouldn't be a huge dropoff. Quarterback Julian Sayin returns for his sophomore season after being a Heisman Trophy finalist last year, setting up a potential all-time matchup against the Hoosiers.