Welcome to the 2025 Countdown to IU Football Kickoff. Hoosier Huddle has been doing a 100-day countdown to kickoff for over a decade now. For those who have not followed us, for the next 100 days we will profile and breakdown the potential role of each player on the known roster. To kick us off this year, here are the top storylines to follow for the 2025 IU Football Season.

The 2024 Indiana football season was one for the ages. An 11-win campaign with blowout wins over Purdue and Michigan State as well as a win over Michigan resulted in a College Football Playoff berth. IU went from national joke to national darling in just a year.

IU ended the year with four-straight sellouts , proving that if you build and invest in a winner, people will come out and support the team. When IU has had success in the past, they have not taken advantage of it. IU made significant investments into retaining Curt Cignetti and most of his staff heading into 2025. There are also plans to replace the turf in the stadium and the lights (oh those buzzing lights) in the indoor facility.

The Hoosiers should get off to another fast start in 2025 with an underwhelming non-conference schedule (that does serve a purpose). The excitement has never been higher for an Indiana football season, including 2021. Add in the videos teasing the addition of a bison mascot, IU is finally putting the resources needed for football.

The Indiana Hoosiers will enter the 2025 season with high expectations, even though some national pundits expect a massive step back. How they handle the expectations will determine the future of the program. Head coach Curt Cignetti knows how to win, has a plan to fight complacency and get the Hoosiers back to the postseason. Stacking winning seasons is the key to building a successful program. IU can start by backing up the 2024 campaign with another postseason, CFP or bowl trip, in 2025.

The other side of this coin is losing sight of what makes a successful season. Obviously the standard of making the College Football Playoff was set last season. It was proven that it could be done at IU. Does that mean that every season is CFP or bust now? No, a 9-3 season that has IU outside the CFP bubble is still a successful season. If you’re in the national title or bust camp, I am sorry that is not what college football has ever been and that mindset really is killing the sport.

The Hoosiers still have boxes to check off. Ending the bowl losing streak should be near the top of the list. Clearing those items that appear on every infographic is huge for the perception of the program. IU started the season ranked in the top 25 twice (1969 14th and 2021 17th) and both of the next seasons ended in disappointing fashion. We’ll see if IU starts the season ranked in the top 25, they should, but ending the season inside the top 25 is more important to building the program brand.

The Hoosiers have NFL talent on both sides of the ball in 2025. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza has shown up in many early mock drafts and Pro Football Focus has Mikail Kamara, Elijah Sarratt and D’Angelo Ponds among their top 50 draft prospects in 2026. It is probably the best NFL talent that IU has had on paper in a very long time.

IU fans finally experienced what I have been saying for over a decade. Football Saturday’s, when your team is good, hit differently. IU finished the season with four-straight sellouts. Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’s College GameDay were on campus for big games. The CBS production of the IU-Michigan game is an absolute gem.

The Hoosiers have seven home games in 2025, headlined by what should be a top-25 matchup with Illinois on September 20th. IU hosts the Old Brass Spittoon game that will also be homecoming, which the away team has won the last five meetings. The Hoosiers' three non-conference opponents are Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State. UCLA will make their first ever trip to Bloomington (Oct. 25) and Wisconsin rounds out the home schedule on November 15th.

Football Saturdays in Bloomington are awesome, however there is an excitement about going to a great road venue to play a top team as well. The Hoosiers have five road trips this season and three of them are to some of the best venues in the country.

IU has trips to Iowa (Sept. 27) and Oregon (Oct. 11) with a bye week sandwiched in between. The Hoosiers last trip to Iowa was the beginning of the end of the Tom Allen era. Kinnick Stadium is a tough place to play, especially if this ends up being a night game. IU last visited Oregon in 2004 and left Autzen Stadium with a win over a top 25 Oregon team. Autzen is considered one of, if not the, loudest stadiums in the country despite their low capacity.

IU will also head to Happy Valley on November 8th, where it has never won a game. Penn State is considered a national title contender and by then should know exactly where they stand as they play Oregon, Iowa and Ohio State all prior to this matchup.