Unbeaten Indiana football rises in updated CFP rankings

Indiana football continues to rise in the rankings with every passing week and it happened again following Tuesday’s updated College Football Playoff rankings reveal.

After debuting as the No. 8 team — and 9 seed — in the initial rankings, IU moved up to No. 5 overall and the 7-seed. That would be a home game in the first round against Alabama. .

Indiana football moved to 10-0 following its win over Michigan over the weekend. 10 wins is the first time Indiana has reached double-digit wins in a season — all within the debut season of Curt Cignetti in Bloomington.

“We recognize it’s a big accomplish,” IU wideout Ke’Shawn Williams said. “But we recognize we aren’t done yet.”

In addition to Indiana’s 10 wins, the 7-0 start in Big Ten play extends the best start to a conference slate and sets the record for most conference wins in a single season in program history. IU won six games in 1967, 1987 and 2020. 

“I really felt confident that we could make some noise and have a special season this year. So it’s not necessarily a surprise, but you love to be 10-0,” Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke said. “That’s the goal starting at the beginning of the year, win every game. And we’re just gonna keep rolling.”

Indiana has two games remaining in the regular season — an away matchup with No. 2 Ohio State next weekend following its bye week. Then, it’s the regular season finale at home against Purdue.

“It tells you a lot about the resiliency of this team, its competitive character,” Cignetti said. “At the end of the day, they all count as one, whether it’s 72-6 or 3-2. They count as one.”

Seeds 1-4, which are the highest-rated conference champions, receive a first-round bye and then seeds 5-8 receive a home-game in the first round.

The playoff field is determined by the five highest-ranked conference champions — the power four leagues and the highest group of five champion. They each receive an automatic bid. The Group of Five champion will be seeded at No. 12, if it is not among the top 12 teams in the final poll.

@espn

SEE ALSO: ‘Gave us a real shot’ — How Ke’Shawn Williams stepped up for IU football when it needed him — and how he wasn’t letting a big moment ‘slip away again’

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