The first AP poll of the 2021 college football season has been released, and Indiana came in at No. 17 on the list. This is only the third time the Hoosiers have cracked the top 25 in the AP preseason poll. The prior instances occurred back-to-back in 1968 and 1969.
Tom Allen coached his team to one of the best seasons in program history last year. The Hoosiers went 6-2 on the year and wrapped up the regular season ranked at No. 13 in the country. A 26-20 loss to Ole Miss in the Outback Bowl put a negative end cap on an otherwise fantastic season.
The Hoosiers set some impressive milestones last season that will be tough to outdo. They broke a program record for most weeks ranked in the top 25 (9) and cracked the top-10 for the first time since 1969. Indiana also beat three top-25 teams, matching a school record from 1945.
With such a prominent season now in the past, the standards are higher for the Hoosiers, both locally and nationally. "A lot of expectations," Allen said of the 2021 season. "That's been the challenge, is to go from believing, and I believe we have a team that believes, to now expecting a certain outcome on game day."
This season, starting quarterback Michal Penix Jr. is back healthy after tearing his ACL and is on the watchlist for several national awards, such as the Davey O'Brien award. Penix has standout wideout Ty Fryfogel returning as his top weapon, who was voted as Big Ten receiver of the year last season. The defense is returning several key players including two potential All-Americans in Micah McFadden and Taiwan Mullen.
Indiana will begin their journey when they take on No. 18 Iowa on September 4. They will seek to continue last season's success in hopes of eventually winning their first bowl game since 1991, but Allen wants even more for his team.
"We've been pretty clear on our goals. Haven't shied away from it," Allen told the media. "We finished second in the Big Ten East last year. Our goal is to play in the Big Ten championship and win the game. There's a lot of things that have to happen before that occurs."
