Rece Davis analyzes Indiana's chances to reach College Football Playoff
With a 42-28 win over Maryland on Saturday, Indiana improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1967. On Wednesday, ESPN College GameDay co-host Rece Davis evaluated the Hoosiers’ chances of sneaking into the College Football Playoff.
“I don’t think they are a real playoff contender, but I do think they’re good enough to have a say by clipping somebody,” Davis said. “There aren’t a lot of opportunities for Indiana, but there is the Michigan game that you mentioned. They are at Ohio State.
“Certainly, I don’t think that they are likely to win that game, but I saw a Michigan State team go into Columbus in 2015 and, in all honesty, with a backup quarterback, had no business winning that game, zero business winning the game. And they not only won the game, they went to the College Football Playoff and won the Big Ten Championship.”
Indiana will have lots of time to prepare for Michigan and Ohio State. The Hoosiers will host Michigan on Nov. 9 and enjoy a bye week before invading Ohio State. Nonetheless, history isn’t on Indiana’s side.
Indiana has lost its last three meetings against the Wolverines and its last 28 meetings against the Buckeyes. Further, the Hoosiers haven’t defeated both programs in one season since 1987.
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Of course, Indiana is already having a historic season. Before this season, the Hoosiers had not begun a season 5-0 in 57 years. On Saturday, Indiana looked solid in its win over Maryland, notching 510 total yards of offense.
Alas, there was undoubtedly room for improvement. Indiana committed four turnovers in the win, including two interceptions. If the Hoosiers can clean up their mistakes by November, they’ll have a chance to make their first appearance in the CFP.
Nonetheless, they’ll have to show Davis a lot more before he’s a full believer.
“I think Colorado, Indiana — different conferences, obviously — but Indiana is sort of in the same boat, in that I think they are more likely to have a say in who does win it by maybe pulling an upset than they are to win it themselves,” Davis said.