Purdue Coach Weighs in on Indiana Football Non-Conference Scheduling

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana football's non-conference scheduling tactics have emerged as a controversial subject amid three cancellations in the past two years.

First-year Purdue head coach Barry Odom has noticed, and the Boilermakers, who are set to play Notre Dame in Week 4 this season, don't intend to follow the same path.

In an appearance Friday on The Fan Morning Show on 107.5 The Fan in Indianapolis, Odom touched on Purdue's approach to non-conference games and took a subtle jab at the Hoosiers.

"I could take the approach of one of the other schools in the state and cancel games, do some of those things, but the schedule is what it is," Odom said. "We're going to try to get as good as we can get and go win those games."

Odom believes a stronger non-conference slate generates greater fan interest and presents the chance for an early-season statement by his team.

"I think it's exciting for the fans. I know the players will look forward to it," Odom said about Purdue's road game at Notre Dame. "That's how you, when you grew up and you looked at competitive games across the country on national TV, what a great opportunity for us to go put on display who we're going to be this year."

Indiana, conversely, began emphasizing a lighter non-conference schedule before it hired head coach Curt Cignetti after the 2023 season.

In the fall of 2023, Indiana canceled the final two years of a three-year series with the University of Louisville and replaced the subsequent vacant slots with games against Western Illinois in 2024 and Kennesaw State in 2025.

The Hoosiers have since cancelled a 2026 road game against UConn -- it was the second part of a home-and-home series in which the Huskies traveled to Bloomington in 2019, while Indiana's return trip to UConn in 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19 -- and a home-and-home series with the University of Virginia in 2026 and 2027.

Instead, Indiana will play Kennesaw State in 2027, Austin Peay in 2028 and Eastern Illinois in 2029, according to The Herald-Times. The Hoosiers don't currently have a Power Four opponent scheduled for any future non-conference slates, though they have a home-and-home set with independent power Notre Dame in 2030 and 2031.

The reason for Indiana's shift toward a lighter non-conference schedule centers around the nine-game Big Ten slate. The Big Ten and Big 12 play nine conference games apiece, but the SEC and ACC have only eight-game conference schedules.

Indiana's 2024 schedule drew criticism during the Hoosiers' run to the College Football Playoff, but Cignetti noted in May that Indiana played both teams who made the national championship game -- Ohio State and Notre Dame -- and three others who made bowl games.

The Hoosiers' non-conference schedule in 2025 elicits similar external dissatisfaction. They play Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State before kicking off Big Ten play against Illinois in Week 4.

Cignetti believes Indiana's nine Big Ten games will be more than enough to overcome a non-conference slate that lacks resume-building opportunities.

"We'll have a very competitive Big Ten schedule," Cignetti said. "We’re looking forward to it, some good road challenges for sure."

Indiana plays five road games in 2025, including trips to Iowa, Oregon, Penn State, Maryland and Purdue. And in light of Odom's comments, the Hoosiers' Black Friday Bash with the Boilermakers may have just a bit more intrigue.