Indiana is riding on the waves of glory with their recent 47-10 victory over Michigan State. They’re one among the five undefeated teams through Week 10 of the 2024 regular college football season. But as successful as they are this season, AP Poll still thinks they don’t deserve to go high in their Top 10 ranking. And this snub isn’t sitting well with Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt.

In a recent YouTube episode on The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast on November 5, Joel Klatt dropped his views on Indiana sitting at No. 8 after an undefeated 9-0 season. He feels that the only thing that’s pulling Indiana down from the ranks is because they’re Indiana, a program whose history is marked with losses for the last three seasons. He said, “If they had any other logo on the side of their helmet, they’d be No. 2 or No. 3 in the country at a minimum. This is why our AP Poll process is so stupid.”

Consider Indiana’s 2024 schedule. They haven’t really faced tough opponents other than Nebraska and Michigan State. Right now, they lead the FBS in point differential, outscoring opponents by 32.9 points per game (27 points per game against Big Ten opponents). Their last game against the Spartans saw them score a straight 47 points to victory. 

According to Joel Klatt’s updated top 10 rankings after Week 10, Indiana sees a spot up to sit at No. 6 under Curt Cignetti’s first season. This brings the spotlight to the new HC who transferred from James Madison after five seasons. One thing about him is that he knows how to win with an overall coaching record of 128-35. He’s already turning around a program that went 9-27 in the last three seasons. And what does he feel about the rankings?

Curt Cignetti doesn’t care about distractions

Distraction isn’t something Curt Cignetti would put up with. Despite enjoying a sweet honeymoon phase, the 63-year-old isn’t giving any chance to distractions, including ranking controversies. He said, “I’ll see the rankings but the one thing that really matters is that you get the result on when you play. And to do that you got to keep the main thing and eliminate the noise and the clutter and stay focused on what’s going to help you play your best on Saturday to give you the best chance to get the result.” 

Losing focus would be the “kiss of death” as Curt Cignetti says. And the way he kept his team together even when Indiana had an ESPN College GameDay visit is a testament to his dedication. But the Hoosiers are set to face some real challenges in the upcoming games against Michigan and No. 3 Ohio State. But for now, we’ll see if AP Poll is thinking along the lines of Joel Klatt about underrated Indiana when they release their latest rankings on Tuesday night.