Indiana football’s preseason hasn’t exactly been the confidence boost fans were hoping for. After a 10-place tumble in the 2025 preseason AP Poll, dropping from last year’s lofty status to No. 20, Curt Cignetti is staring at the gap between 2024’s playoff highs and the reality of a team still getting its act together. That drop in the rankings might not just be preseason disrespect, either. It’s starting to look like a reflection of what’s happening on the field in camp. The early vibe is that this year’s team is still struggling to match last season’s standard.

Head coach Curt Cignetti made that clear after Indiana’s latest scrimmage. He admitted that while there were bright spots, there’s a long way to go. He said, “Well, you know, we had pretty good offensive success overall last week in practice. But still, a lot of mistakes. And there are a lot of areas that we’ve got to get better.” That blend of positives and glaring gaps is telling that Indiana can move the ball, but execution lapses and missed assignments are preventing sustained drives. But you know what the reason is for those gaps? Unavailability.

Cignetti tied some of these issues to the team’s defensive situation, explaining, “The defense was short-handed. You know, [Rolijah] Hardy returned to practice today but had a groin [issue], missed most of last week. Amare Ferrell had a personal matter; his mother passed away, [he was gone most of the week. He’s back today. [D’Angelo] Ponds went out of the scrimmage early and tweaked his ankle. He practiced today.” The result? Backups were forced into roles against the first-team offense, creating situations that looked good on paper for one side of the ball but revealed worrying depth issues on the other.

Cignetti’s take on the offense offered cautious optimism but no finality. He said, “I think we have a chance to be a good offense. We’ve got to be balanced running the ball, throwing the ball. Do a good job of protecting the quarterback, separating, and getting open. But you know, there’s not an area on the team right now offensively where if we’re ready to play a game, you know, we’re still in stone. ” Meaning they’re still in the installation and fine-tuning phase, and no position group is at total game-ready status yet. That lack of certainty in late August isn’t panic-inducing, but it does mean Indiana will need to use every bit of its early-season soft schedule to fix these flaws before Big Ten play ramps up.

The Hoosiers open with Old Dominion and have a couple of manageable matchups before the real tests arrive in the form of Illinois and Penn State. That’s their chance to get healthy, sharpen timing, and close the execution gap Cignetti keeps pointing out. The AP Poll drop might have stung, but if Indiana can clean up its mental mistakes and firm up depth, it’ll have an opportunity to restore its top-10 reputation before the season’s midpoint.

Not everything is grim and sad.

While Indiana’s preseason has had its share of sloppy moments and injury frustrations, Curt Cignetti is also seeing encouraging developments that suggest this team is far from stuck in neutral. The Hoosiers may not be game-ready yet, but the past week in camp has shown signs that the work is starting to pay off. Cignetti pointed out that the tempo and rhythm of practice have noticeably improved over time, evidence that the players are responding to the coaching staff’s demands for sharper execution.

As Cignetti explained, “But I think we’re progressing, and where I see the progress, aside from the scrimmage, as the week went on, I thought the competition picked up, the speed and tempo picked up, and the execution was starting to improve.” His focus is on the day-to-day intensity rising within the squad. The internal competition is often the fuel that sharpens both starters and depth players before the season kicks off. For a team with Big Ten title hopes, that growth in pace, precision, and competitive edge could become one of their most important preseason victories.

Cignetti also highlighted a mental toughness element he’s pushing hard in camp, saying, “Now, I think one of the biggest things we’ve got to do now is we can’t let mental fatigue precede physical fatigue. When guys start to get a little gassed, they can’t give in 98% of this game is between your ears.” He drove the point home with an example from practice conditioning: “It’s amazing if you run the team at the end of practice, you run them on 10 10s or 10 40s, and make them do it again, start at zero if they’re not perfect by everybody, how on that 10th one, they run faster than they’ve ever run. And it’s all between the ears.” For Cignetti, these bursts of late-practice energy prove the physical ability is there, and it’s the mindset he wants locked in.