BLOOMINGTON — The middle of October used to be the time when Hoosier fans stopped watching football and focused on basketball. This year, Hoosier football remains in the spotlight as a possible championship contender.
Indiana defeated #3 Oregon on the road in Eugene 30-20 on Saturday. The unbeaten Hoosiers replaced the Ducks as the #3 team in the Associated Press poll this week, which is Indiana's highest ranking in program history.
"As a freshman, this was a team that was struggling to beat Western Kentucky," said senior Nick Rodecap, who called the game from Autzen Stadium for student radio station WIUX. "Now they're going into one of the toughest places to play in the country and coming out with a win while making a statement. It is unbelievable to watch."
"It's cool to see the fans' heart rate go from next to nothing to through the roof," said fellow senior Daniel Flick, who reported from the field for Sports Illustrated.
The Hoosiers had not beaten a top-five-ranked team since 1967, when they defeated then #3 Purdue.
Both Rodecap and Flick believe the football team has taken attention away from the basketball team since coach Curt Cignetti's arrival, especially after the win against Oregon.
"Just two years ago, we were counting down, 'How long until basketball season starts so we can put football on the back burner?' And now people can't get enough of IU football," Rodecap said. "As they kept winning, students said, 'Okay, we're going to check this out.' Now you can't get a student ticket to a football game."
"I have to be cognizant of when I have to start writing about IU basketball because so many people are crazy for IU football content," Flick said. "Who would have thought that would be a problem?"
Indiana returns home to Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium this Saturday for the homecoming game against Michigan State.
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Taj Simmons is a multimedia journalist who joined WRTV in August 2023. The Oakland, CA native is not a Hoosier by birth, but is excited to learn all about the area and tell the stories of the people who make this state feel like home. Share your story ideas and important issues with Taj by emailing him at taj.simmons@wrtv.com.
