Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti looks on during spring practice at Memorial Stadium on Thursday, April 3, 2025. Bobby Goddin/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Early Look at MSU's 2025 Opponents: Indiana

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 6:00 AM ET

Michigan State will head right back on the road next season following its Homecoming game against UCLA.

The Spartans will face Indiana in Bloomington in what should be one of the tougher games on Michigan State's schedule.

Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti returns for Year 2 at the helm after shocking the nation and taking his team to the College Football Playoff. He won both Big Ten Coach of the year and AP Coach of the Year.

Indiana lost its all-conference quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, but replaced him with transfer redshirt junior Fernando Mendoza from Cal, a veteran who is expected to be one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.

The Hoosiers won't have their two leading rushers from last season, running back Justice Ellison, who will be on the sidelines as a quality control coach, and running back Ty Son Lawton. They did bring in transfer redshirt senior Roman Hemby from Maryland and transfer redshirt junior Lee Beebe Jr. from UAB. But the lack of familiarity poses concern.

Fortunately for Indiana, it returns its leading receiver, senior wideout Elijah Sarratt, who made All-Big Ten Third Team last year. It also returns its second-leading receiver, redshirt junior Omar Cooper Jr., who led the conference yards per reception (bowl games included) at 21.2.

Mendoza will be well-equipped.

And he should be well-protected, as Indiana returns three starters up front and also added transfer redshirt senior guard Pat Coogan, who was a two-year starter at Notre Dame.

Defensively, the Hoosiers return senior linebacker Aiden Fisher and junior defensive back D'Angelo Ponds, who were each first-team All-Big Ten honorees last season. They also added transfer redshirt junior Amariyun Knighten from Northern Illinois.

Indiana is set up in a great position to have the same level of success it did last season -- perhaps even better.

It's going to be a tough matchup for the visiting Spartans. Should Michigan State be in a good place by the time it heads to Memorial Stadium, this game could serve as a good measuring stick as the Spartans enter the final stretch of their season.

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