Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 90. Indiana
Hoosier Daddy?
Hoosier Daddy? Indiana finally comes in at 90 after weeks of clamoring from their fans. The Hoosiers don’t have a lot of historical success, with just 2 AP top 10 finishes since 1936, when the poll originated. What they do have, is a loyal and passionate fanbase. I can’t imagine they’ll continue to struggle forever, as each of their last 3 coaches have gotten them to a bowl game, and they have a strong alumni base. Still, they come in as the 4th worst Power 5 team on this list and the last placed team in the Big Ten.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
| 21 | Indiana | 1988 | 16.958 | 8-3-1 |
| 25 | Indiana | 2020 | 14.813 | 6-2 |
| 26 | Indiana | 1987 | 10.76 | 8-4 |
| 27 | Indiana | 1993 | 9.215 | 8-4 |
| 32 | Indiana | 1991 | 8.94 | 7-4-1 |
| 50 | Indiana | 2019 | -0.987 | 8-5 |
| 52 | Indiana | 1990 | -6.329 | 6-5-1 |
| 51 | Indiana | 1994 | -6.404 | 6-5 |
| 60 | Indiana | 2007 | -6.49 | 7-6 |
| 61 | Indiana | 2001 | -9.143 | 5-6 |
| 54 | Indiana | 1986 | -9.35 | 6-6 |
| 72 | Indiana | 2015 | -10.429 | 6-7 |
| 62 | Indiana | 1989 | -12.269 | 5-6 |
| 78 | Indiana | 2018 | -12.319 | 5-7 |
| 75 | Indiana | 2013 | -12.406 | 5-7 |
| 69 | Indiana | 2016 | -12.984 | 6-7 |
| 82 | Indiana | 2017 | -16.099 | 5-7 |
| 66 | Indiana | 1992 | -16.837 | 5-6 |
| 67 | Indiana | 1998 | -18.081 | 4-7 |
| 73 | Indiana | 2006 | -20.689 | 5-7 |
| 76 | Indiana | 1999 | -20.726 | 4-7 |
| 94 | Indiana | 2022 | -23.599 | 4-8 |
| 83 | Indiana | 2010 | -24.55 | 5-7 |
| 78 | Indiana | 1996 | -24.727 | 3-8 |
| 92 | Indiana | 2014 | -25.542 | 4-8 |
| 93 | Indiana | 2009 | -27.758 | 4-8 |
| 86 | Indiana | 2000 | -28.932 | 3-8 |
| 90 | Indiana | 2012 | -29.149 | 4-8 |
| 81 | Indiana | 1985 | -29.364 | 4-7 |
| 98 | Indiana | 2005 | -30.671 | 4-7 |
| 90 | Indiana | 2004 | -32.732 | 3-8 |
| 85 | Indiana | 1983 | -32.762 | 3-8 |
| 91 | Indiana | 1995 | -38.537 | 2-9 |
| 105 | Indiana | 2008 | -39.597 | 3-9 |
| 100 | Indiana | 2002 | -42.548 | 3-9 |
| 114 | Indiana | 2021 | -43.031 | 2-10 |
| 100 | Indiana | 1997 | -45.071 | 2-9 |
| 108 | Indiana | 2003 | -50.839 | 2-10 |
| 114 | Indiana | 2011 | -56.035 | 1-11 |
| 105 | Indiana | 1984 | -57.235 | 0-11 |
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 8059 (90th)181-281-3 record
0 conference titles
2-9 bowl record
4 consensus All-Americans
55 NFL players drafted
Woof. The only reason Indiana’s this high is because of strength of schedule being a Power 5 team. Other than that it’s been rough, with no top 20 finishes in 40 years according to the JB Rankings. One thing Indiana’s been underrated at? Producing a few extremely good RBs. All 4 of their consensus All-Americans are shared between 3 RBs (Anthony Thompson 1988 and ‘89, Vaughn Dunbar 1991, Tevin Coleman 2014). Tevin Coleman ran for 2036 yards and 15 TD on 7.5 YPC, finishing 7th in Heisman voting in 2014 for just a 4-8 team. Notable NFL players include Coleman, QB Trent Green, OL Roger Saffold, WR Antwaan Randle El, and CB Tracy Porter.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1984 (0-11 overall, 0-9 Big Ten)
1984 Indiana wouldn’t have even been the best team in their state if they went down a level—Indiana State was ranked atop the Division 1-AA polls for most of the year after a 9-0 start. Still, the theme of the season for the 1984 Hoosiers was “growing pains”. Led by first year head coach Bill Mallory, Mallory would go on to become the school’s winningest coach with a record of 69-77-3 from 1984-96, making 6 bowls and appearing in the AP Top 25 in 6 separate years. So for the 1984 season, it was about laying the foundation to break a losing culture that had lasted over 3 decades. After starting the season losing 24-31 to (eventual) 2-9 Duke and 14-48 to Kentucky, Indiana slowly improved throughout the year, losing 6 Big Ten games by one possession. QB Steve Bradley threw for 2544 yards 10 TD 20 INT, but somehow was drafted in the 12th round of the 1986 NFL Draft despite never posting a single season with more TDs than INTs. OT Kevin Allen was by far the most talented player on the team, picked with the 9th overall selection by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1985 NFL Draft, but would go on to be a collasal bust and despised in Philly. Allen was ranked as the 4th worst player in NFL history by Deadspin in 2011.
5. 1991 (7-4-1 overall, 5-3 Big Ten)
We’ll see 4 seasons from coach Mallory in this top 5. After a great 1987 and ‘88, Indiana had fallen back into their old ways in ‘89-90, going 11-11-1 and 6-9-1 in the Big Ten. Mallory brought Indiana back to the Big Ten’s top 4 in 1991, mostly thanks to the consensus All-American season by RB Vaughn Dunbar, but also because of the emergence of QB Trent Green. Dunbar finished 6th in Heisman voting, amassing 2068 yards and 12 TD from scrimmage. He set the school record for rushing yards with 1805, unbroken until Tevin Coleman in 2014. Green led the Big Ten in TDs with 25, completing 59% of passes for 2627 yards and 12 TD 14 INT, while rushing for 202 yards and 13 TD. Indiana mostly beat up on teams that finished with losing records (but are known today as solid programs) like Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. One possession losses to #4 Michigan and #19 Ohio State showed they could compete with the big boys too. The season came down to 5-4-1 Indiana vs 4-6 Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket and a bowl appearance for Indiana. Purdue lined up for the winning 36 yard FG with 30 seconds left…and sailed it wide right. Indiana took the Bucket, made the Copper Bowl, and trounced Baylor 24-0 to finish 7-4-1 and 32nd in my rankings.
4. 1993 (8-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten)
This was the last great Mallory-coached team, and the last Indiana team to make a bowl game until 2007. The run game was much weaker than usual, but this was easily the best defense in the Mallory era, giving up just 16.4 PPG with 9 players that played in the NFL. Indiana jumped out to a 5-1 start, giving up just 12.3 PPG, then shut out Northwestern 24-0 and #22 Michigan State 10-0. Indiana was ranked #17, at 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten, and had one of the best defenses in the country giving up just 9.3 PPG. A pivotal game against #19 Penn State was one of the biggest “prove it” games in recent memory for Indiana, and they nearly delivered, losing just 31-38. Indiana would also put up a great fight against #5 Ohio State, losing 17-24, before finishing 8-3 with a win over Purdue for the 5th time in 7 years. #21 Indiana lost 20-45 to #22 Virginia Tech in the Independence Bowl to finish the year 8-4, 4th place in the Big Ten, and #27 in my rankings.
3. 1987 (8-4 overall, 6-2 Big Ten)
This Indiana team was subtly stacked. This was Mallory’s 4th year as head coach, going from 0-11 to 4-7 to 6-6 the previous 3 years. 1987 was when they put the Big Ten on notice for the first time, and was in serious contention for the Big Ten title. After starting 3-1, Indiana headed to #9 Ohio State, who was coming off 8 straight years of AP top 15 finishes. The game wasn’t close—and not for the team you think. Indiana held Ohio State to just 10 rushing yards in the 2nd half of a 31-10 win, which Buckeyes coach Earle Bruce called “The darkest day in Ohio State football since I have been associated with it,” dating back to 1979. After a win over Minnesota, #15 Indiana hosted #20 Michigan in front of a nearly sold out crowd of 51,000, and caused delays on Michigan’s drives in the 2nd quarter because of crowd noise. The Indiana defense dominated yet again, winning 14-10, and this was the last time Indiana would beat Michigan until 2020.
The Big Ten was suddenly an unexpected 2-horse race between Indiana and Michigan State. #11 Indiana, their highest ranking in 18 years, made the trek to Kinnick Stadium, where dreams go to die, and Iowa beat the Hoosiers 29-21. Following up with a win over Illinois—Indiana controlled their destiny: Beat Michigan State and Purdue, and you’re Big Ten champions. Playing on national TV, #13 Michigan State dominated #16 Indiana 27-3, and the Spartans won the conference title. Purdue kicked the (old oaken) bucket in the rivalry game, and Indiana rolled to a 35-14 win and a 3rd place finish in the B1G. A close loss to Tennessee in the bowl and they finished 8-4.
The team was subtly stacked as I mentioned. RB Anthony Thompson ran for 1000+ yards and would go on to become a 2x consensus All-American. WR Ernie Jones caught 66 passes for 1265 yards and 13 TD, and was the Big Ten co-Player of the Year and a 1st Team All-American. OT Eric Moore was 2nd Team All-Big Ten and a top 10 NFL Draft pick in 1988. LB Van Waiters was 3rd Team All-American. Coach Mallory won Big Ten Coach of the Year. This has a real claim as the “best” Indiana team due to the wins over Ohio State/Michigan.
2. 2020 (6-2 overall, 6-1 Big Ten)
One of the darlings of 2020. The Penix → Fryfogle connection took the Big Ten by storm first in name, then in production. Indiana was coming off an 8-5 year in which they nearly missed out on 9WINDIANA status, and brought momentum into 2020. It seemed like everyone else overlooked them, though. The turning point in the season came immediately—week 1 against #8 Penn State. Down 35-28 in OT, Indiana scored on a 9 yard TD and elected to go for 2. Going for the left corner, Penix DIVED from the 5 yard line, reaching for the pylon…GOT IT! INDIANA WINS 36-35! 2 weeks later they’d beat #23 Michigan 38-21, their first win against the Wolverines since 1987. 1 week later Indiana would beat Michigan State 24-0 thanks to a standout defensive effort and a breakout 200 yard receiving performance from WR Ty Fryfogle.
That set up #9 Indiana at #3 Ohio State, the top 10 matchup we all saw coming. And boy, Indiana came to PLAY. Ohio State narrowly escaped with a 42-35 win, with Justin Fields throwing 3 INTs and Fryfogle going for 7 catches, 218 yards, and 3 TD. This Indiana team was legitimately a really good team, and they even beat #16 Wisconsin 14-6 to finish off the regular season. They’d lose the Outback Bowl in an upset to 4-5 Ole Miss, but finished #12 in the AP Poll, the highest in over 50 years. Penix finished 2nd Team All-Big Ten with 1645 passing yards 14 TD 4 INT. Fryfogle won the Big Ten WR of the Year, catching 37 balls for 721 yards and 7 TD. A whopping 4 defensive players finished 1st Team All-Big Ten, with the entire secondary making the 1st-3rd Team. Even special teams had no weaknesses, with kicker Charles Campbell going 10/11 on FGs. Penix has since transferred to Washington and continues to live up to his potential, finishing 8th in Heisman voting in 2022.
1. 1988 (8-3-1 overall, 5-3 Big Ten)
2020 was good…but 1988 was dominant. They opened with 41-14 and 35-16 wins over Rice and Kentucky. After tying Missouri and blowing out Northwestern, Indiana hosted Ohio State a year after the “darkest day” in Ohio State history. This was arguably worse. Indiana scored on 4 of their first 5 possessions, held a 28-0 lead at halftime, and big brother’d the Buckeyes 41-7. An unthinkable result today. Fast forward a few weeks later, 5-2 Indiana hosted 4-2-2 (their record, not a soccer formation) Iowa. Iowa QB Chuck Hartlieb would set the single game school record with an insane 558 passing yards, and Indiana RB Anthony Thompson broke a school record with 47 carries. Indiana won 45-34, after Iowa nearly came back from a 35-3 deficit. In the last week of the regular season, Indiana blew out Purdue 52-7 on their home turf, in one of the greatest performances in the rivalry’s history. Even the bowl game was a wipe, beating 8-3 South Carolina 34-10.
Indiana scored 33.0 PPG while giving up just 19.6 PPG. 7 wins were by 20+ points, and 4 by 30+. QB Dave Schnell, former 1985 high school player of the year, was 2nd Team All-Big Ten, leading the conference in yards per attempt. RB Anthony Thompson won his 1st of 2 Big Ten POTYs, rushing for 1686 yards and 26(!) TD on 4.7 YPC. 9 players total were 1st/2nd Team All-Big Ten. Kicker Pete Stoyanovich was 1st Team All-B1G, and went on to be Dan Marino’s kicker on the Miami Dolphins for 7 years from 1989-95. He also served as a kicking double in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994).
5th Quarter
Will Indiana ever surpass Purdue as a football program? Why hasn’t Indiana been as good in football as they’ve been in basketball? Did Penix score that 2 point conversion against Penn State in 2020? Who was really the best Indiana squad between 2020 and the 1980’s teams? And where do you think Indiana stands as a program going forward?
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub
