Indiana football saw its perfect season come to an end on Saturday when it fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 38-15.
Previously No. 5 overall in the College Football Playoff rankings, Indiana fell to No. 10. And, it’s also seeded 11th with a first round matchup against 6-seed Penn State. It should be noted that former IU head coach Tom Allen is the current defensive coordinator at Penn State.
“We viewed Indiana — they played well at times against Ohio State and Ohio State pulled out a victory, and really came on in the second half of that game,” CFP Committee Chair Warde Manuel said on the rankings show. “But we were impressed with some of the stuff Indiana did. They dropped five (spots), but we still felt their body of work was strong enough to remain in the Top 10.”
Now 10-1, Indiana looks to its final test of the regular season — a home matchup against Purdue.
“Looking forward to this game,” Cignetti said about Purdue. “I said what I had to say about the College Football Playoff after the (Ohio State) game. The only thing I’m going to say today is we’re sitting in a good spot. But we’ve got to take care of business. That’s that.”
His comments following the Ohio State loss? An astounding and defiant answer saying it’s ‘so obvious’ Indiana football deserves to be in the 12-team playoff at the end of the day.
Indiana also ranks 10th in both the coaches and AP polls.
Seeds 1-4 of the College Football Playoff are the highest-rated conference champions, receiving 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.
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