Indiana Football Bowl Projections Following 8-0 Start

Indiana is in the heart of the College Football Playoff discussion.

The Hoosiers defeated Washington 31-17 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, improving to 8-0 in coach Curt Cignetti's first season and matching the best start in program history with the 1967 team. No. 13 Indiana sits atop the Big Ten standings at 5-0 in conference play, rivaled by No. 1 Oregon at 5-0, No. 3 Penn State at 4-0 and No. 4 Ohio State at 3-1.

Indiana travels to Michigan State next, and then it wraps up the regular season with a home game against Michigan (5-3), a trip to Ohio State (6-1) and the Old Oaken Bucket rivalry game against Purdue (1-6) in Bloomington.

The College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams this season. The four highest-ranked conference champions will earn the top four seeds and receive a first-round bye. Teams seeded No. 5 through No. 12 will play first-round games on campus, followed by quarterfinal and semifinal games at historic bowl venues. The 2025 national championship is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The first College Football Playoff rankings come out on Nov. 5, and the bracket will be officially released on Dec. 8.

With four games left in the regular season, here's a list of recent bowl game projections for Indiana.

ESPN (Andrea Adelson) – College Football Playoff: No. 6 Indiana vs. No. 11 Notre Dame on Dec. 20 or 21 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

ESPN (Kyle Bonagura) – College Football Playoff: No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 12 Boise State on Dec. 20 or 21 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

ESPN (Bill Connelly) – College Football Playoff: No. 6 Indiana vs. No. 11 Pittsburgh on Dec. 20 or 21 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

ESPN (Eli Lederman) – College Football Playoff: No. 11 Indiana at No. 6 Ohio State on Dec. 20 or 21 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

ESPN (Chris Low) – College Football Playoff: No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee on Dec. 20 or 21 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

ESPN (Max Olson) – College Football Playoff: No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Penn State on Dec. 20 or 21 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa.

ESPN (Adam Rittenberg) – College Football Playoff: No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 9 Tennessee on Dec. 20 or 21 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

ESPN (Mark Schlabach) – College Football Playoff: No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Clemson on Dec. 20 or 21 at Frank Howard Field at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C.

ESPN (Jake Trotter) – College Football Playoff: No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee on Dec. 20 or 21 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

ESPN (Paolo Uggetti) – College Football Playoff: No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 9 Clemson on Dec. 20 or 21 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

ESPN (Dave Wilson) – College Football Playoff: No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 12 Boise State on Dec. 20 or 21 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

USA Today Sports – Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Indiana vs. Alabama on Dec. 31 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

CBS Sports – Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Indiana vs. Missouri on Dec. 31 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

Action Network – Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Indiana vs. Alabama on Dec. 31 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

247Sports – College Football Playoff: No. 11 Indiana at No. 6 Texas on Dec. 20 or 21 at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

College Football News – Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Indiana vs. LSU on Dec. 31 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.