When the Big Ten changed its rules to put Ohio State in the league’s title game, IU coaches and administrators took the high road.
As each College Football Playoff rankings update went public, once again IU took the high road.
On Sunday night when pressed on being left out of the New Year’s Six bowl games, head coach Tom Allen did his best to take the high road.
Later on Sunday night, former athletic director Fred Glass needed to get it off his chest.
And he did not take the high road.
“I’m not AD anymore, nor officially affiliated with IU, so I can tell you what I think, and that is this: Our program, our coach and our kids got done in by the good-old-boy Big Ten football power structure,” Glass told Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star.
“There are influential people who don’t want Indiana to be good in football. They’re used to coming into our state and poaching our best high school players and counting us a ‘W’ on their schedules.
“That’s why they don’t advocate for us. Is there any real doubt we’re the second-best team in the conference? Look at the polls, even the CFP. Look at the common opponents. To those who are trying to kill a resurgent Indiana football program, I say, it’s not going to work. You’re just putting more logs on the fire. I love Tom Allen, and I love these kids.”
Indiana (6-1) is ranked No. 7 in both the AP and coaches poll.
The Hoosiers could never get past No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings despite wins over Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin. IU’s only loss was to playoff bound No. 3 Ohio State, by seven points.
Iowa State was ranked one spot ahead of IU at No. 10 in the CFP rankings despite three losses including a loss to Louisiana (not LSU) by 17 points.
The Citrus Bowl passed on Indiana to take Northwestern.
IU is the first top-10 team to play in the Outback Bowl. Ten Big Ten programs have been unranked when they played in the event.
The chair of the college football playoff committee is Iowa athletic director Gary Barta. He credited Ohio State for their win over ranked Indiana as support for the Buckeyes reaching the playoff, while keeping Indiana out of the top ten despite only losing to Ohio State.
This isn’t the first time Glass took aim at the Big Ten power structure. He famously said after a win over Nebraska in 2019 that school “had no respect for our program.”
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