Indiana is not just 9-0, they’ve gone scorched earth.
With a scoring margin on the that season averages out to a 33-point advantage per game, IU has destroyed everyone in their path so far.
So it’s reasonable to wonder just how good these Hoosiers are on a competing for championships level.
ESPN updated their Football Power Index overnight, and the Hoosiers are now a top-10 team (No. 10), with a 86.6% chance to make the College Football Playoff, a 16.3% chance to win the Big Ten, and, gulp, a 5.6% to win a national title.
Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith has faced two of the Big Ten’s best this season — Ohio State and Oregon — so he has a unique frame of reference when it comes to the Hoosiers. IU beat Michigan State by 37, more than Ohio State (31) and Oregon (21) beat the Spartans.
And both the Buckeyes and Ducks are widely considered to both be national title contenders.
So is Indiana on that level?
Much has been made of Indiana’s offense this season. It has clearly been one of the nation’s best.
But after Indiana’s defense chewed up and spit out his Spartans, Smith says Indiana can compete on the highest stage.
“I think the physicality, the (Indiana) d-line gave us issues,” Smith said. “I think they’ll match up pretty well there (against Ohio State and Oregon) or within that ballpark. I do think their execution in all three phases, they do not beat themselves. When plays are there to be made, they’re making it, and so I think they can play with anybody.”
IU coach Curt Cignetti won’t engage in this conversation of course.
He was asked Saturday evening what the story should be now that he has IU off to their best start in program history.
“My job is to make them the best they can be,” Cignetti said following his team’s 47-10 win at Michigan State. “We’ll fly home, they’ll get to enjoy it. Tomorrow (Sunday) we’ll meet with the staff, I’ll be in there early in the morning, and we’ll start the process all over again. I haven’t had time to reflect. In this business you can’t because the next challenge is always coming up.”
It seems that militant level of unwavering day-to-day focus Cignetti maintains is the secret sauce. Indiana is not only prepared to win schematically. They are physically and mentally prepared execute the plan on the field.
Smith said the Hoosiers outperformed his Spartans at every level.
‘Those guys (Indiana) executed at a very high level,” Smith said. “The separation between the two execution levels of the two teams, I think that’s why the score is where it’s at. All three phases.”
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