What Does Saturday's Cancellation Mean for Indiana Football?
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For the first time all season, one of Indiana's games is canceled.
Heading into the final week of this eight-game regular season, only four teams had played its prior seven games — Indiana, Iowa, Penn State and Rutgers.
It looks like the other three are good to go for this Saturday, but for Indiana, it had to pause all team-related activities due to a rise in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
- UPDATED SUNDAY, 4 p.m. ET —— Indiana to play Purdue on Friday night, Dec. 18. For the new story, CLICK HERE
The Hoosiers' opponent, in-state rival Purdue, did the same thing Tuesday. So, both programs decided on Wednesday to officially cancel the Old Oaken Bucket game.
With Ohio State officially in the Big Ten Championship game against Northwestern on Dec. 19, it now begs the question, how does this cancellation affect Indiana?
We're going to provide some context on some of the bigger questions surrounding the Hoosiers right now.
Will Indiana be able to play next weekend?
This is the biggest question right now.
Wisconsin, Maryland and Minnesota all shut down at some point during this season due to COVID-19, and each of those programs missed two straight weeks of action before resuming play.
However, when Ohio State canceled its game against Illinois, the Buckeyes were able to play the very next week against Michigan State.
It's worth pointing out that in Ohio State's case, they canceled the Illinois game out of precaution, not because they reached the number of COVID-19 cases to where the Big Ten would force them to cancel.
In Indiana's case, we don't know how bad it is right now. The press release the program put out said the game with Purdue was canceled "due to rising COVID-19 numbers at both schools."
It sounds precautionary since this is the first time all Big Ten season where both teams who were scheduled to play one another had COVID problems at the same time.
If Indiana is just playing it safe and can get it under control, the Hoosiers would have a chance at playing next weekend in the crossover games.
What happens if Indiana can't play next weekend?
If the Hoosiers can't play its crossover game, it's not the end of the world.
At 6-1 on the season and No. 8 in Associated Press top-25 poll and No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings, Indiana would definitely still be in line for a pretty good bowl game even if it doesn't play another game until then.
However, not playing next weekend would probably diminish the Hoosiers' chances at getting into a New Year's Six Bowl, which, for those who don't know, are the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.
Indiana's likely opponent for the crossover game would be No. 16 Iowa.
Another chance to beat a top-25 team could definitely help Indiana find itself in one those bowl games, which is why not playing that game could hurt the Hoosiers' chances.
But regardless if they play the crossover game or not, Indiana is going to have a chance to win a bowl game this season for the first time since 1991.
Could Indiana potentially play Purdue in the crossover game?
Originally, the crossover game was intended to have the seeds in the Big Ten East matchup with the Big Ten West, so the two first-place teams play each other in the Big Ten title game, second in the East plays second in the West, three versus three, etc.
But, the Big Ten has made it clear that it wants to try to avoid any repeat games.
Indiana is going to be the second-place team in the Big Ten East no matter what, so say Wisconsin somehow got second place in the Big Ten West, the conference would probably switch that around so the Hoosiers and Badgers wouldn't have to play twice.
Since Indiana and Purdue are in separate divisions, it is definitely possible the two could match up against each other on Dec. 19, if both teams are cleared to play.
That game might not be for the Old Oaken Bucket, but it is a possibility.
However, Iowa is going to end up as the second-place team in the Big Ten West. So, if Indiana is cleared to play, it'd be tough to imagine the Big Ten not wanting a top-25 matchup between the Hoosiers and Hawkeyes next Saturday.
Does this cancellation affect Indiana's chances at the CFP?
Unfortunately, it seems like Indiana's chances at the College Football Playoff are close to over with.
Even if Ohio State suffers a loss to Northwestern in the Big Ten title game, it's hard to imagine the committee favoring Indiana over the Buckeyes, or any SEC team for that matter.
The College Football Playoff Rankings have come out three straight weeks now, and Indiana has been ranked No. 12 each time. It was a shock to many the Hoosiers didn't move up after defeating a top-25 Wisconsin team on the road last Saturday.
You would think a game being canceled wouldn't be a bad thing in the committee's eyes because it has happened to so many teams this season, but it could just be another reason to keep Indiana out.
Does this tarnish Indiana's historic season?
It'd be foolish to think anything can take away what Indiana has done this season.
First and foremost, the Hoosiers did a really nice job of staying healthy throughout the year, and it's unfortunate they're dealing with these issues now right at the end.
But just because Indiana can't play its rivalry game against a 2-4 Purdue team who is on a four-game losing streak, it doesn't diminish anything the Hoosiers have done this season.
Indiana has made it clear that it is a team that is going to be force for years to come in the Big Ten, and it turned its luck around this season by defeating the likes of Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin, and the Hoosiers did so by looking like the best team on the field in each game.
This season has turned around the perception of Indiana football, and Tom Allen's vision of what he thought this team could be finally rose above the surface.
Indiana will be just fine, and it's no secret that whenever the Hoosiers play again, the team will be more motivated than ever.
