Indiana one of five B1G teams that won’t play 10 Power conference opponents in 2026
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
One of the main criticisms about Indiana en route to an undefeated run to its first national championship was its strength of schedule. To that point, Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, and Indiana State were never going to give the Hoosiers any trouble. (Old Dominion did open up a 7-0 lead on Indiana, but all the Hoosiers did was score 27 unanswered on their way to a 27-14 win.)
If Curt Cignetti’s team is to shake the sideways glances at their non-league schedule, though, it may not happen in 2026. The season begins with North Texas, which, to its credit, was one of the nation’s top Group of Six teams in 2025. After that are FCS Howard and Western Kentucky.
That strength-of-schedule discussion has led to the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 to require their teams to play 10 Power Four teams a year beginning with the 2026 season. The Big Ten hasn’t followed suit. At least not yet.
As Brett McMurphy notes, Indiana is one of five B1G teams that don’t play a Power Five school in non-league play, along with Nebraska, Penn State, USC, and Washington. Washington was already scheduled to play Washington State in 2026, but the Cougars, as part of the revamped Pac-12, are no longer considered a P4 team.
Looking ahead, Indiana’s next non-conference game against a team not in the Group of Six is in 2030. That’s when the Hoosiers are scheduled to face Notre Dame.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
