No. 5 Indiana begins defense of Big Ten championship against improved and unbeaten Northwestern

The Indiana Hoosiers spent Curt Cignetti's first two seasons rebranding the program. Now the fifth-ranked and still unbeaten Hoosiers face the next big challenge — maintaining their status as a national football powerhouse. That next step begins Friday night when the 2025 national champions host unbeaten Northwestern, marking the first time in nearly 60 years the Hoosiers enter a Big Ten game holding the title of defending conference champs. And Cignetti thinks his program is in good position. “I like the way we developed and where we are right now,” he said when asked to evaluate his team after finishing non-conference play. “Every team you have you've got concerns, whether they be depth issues, upcoming opponents, how to best attack them, preparing your team day to day, week to week so we’re ready for Big Ten competition.” Indiana (3-0) overwhelmed its first three opponents by a combined score of 145-16 and produced the program's first back-to-back shutouts since 1993. It hasn't allowed a point in 136 minutes, dating to a North Texas field goal with 1:18 left in the third quarter of Week 1. But even Cignetti understands why the critics contend this team hasn't been seriously tested while extending the Football Bowl Subdivision's longest active winning streak to 19 and longest active home winning streak to 18. Facing Northwestern (2-0) could help alter that perception. Coach David Braun hired Chip Kelly to change the Wildcats from a low-scoring, run-heavy offense to a more balanced attack. The result: Northwestern ranks 45th nationally with 37.5 points per game. Can it work against an Indiana defense that has been among the nation's stingiest since Cignetti took over in 2024? “It presents an incredible challenge for us, going on the road on a Friday night,” Braun said. “You can tell this group has been at it for three years and they've won a lot of big games, won a Big Ten championship and a national championship. There's just a certain level of confidence they move with." For the Hoosiers, this feels familiar — palying a team from Illinois in prime time in a Big Ten opener. A year ago, they were facing the same questions when the ninth-ranked Fighting Illini came to town. Indiana sent them home with an embarrassing 63-10 rout. Cignetti isn't talking about a repeat — he just wants his team focused on passing their first big test. “They do the things you've got to do to win football games,” Cignetti said. “They’re plus-4 in the turnover ratio, they’re averaging 38 points a game, they’re running for over 200 (yards), 465 (yards in) total offense, they're holding teams to one out of eight touchdowns in the red area. They've given up six points in the first half and the quarterback has really developed.” Model program Braun has watched the Hoosiers remarkable turnaround under Cignetti from afar and believes Indiana could serve as a model for Northwestern — or any program that has struggled to win consistently. The lesson for his team is simple. “That it can be done,” Braun said. "I think that's the biggest lesson you can learn. This game is won through brotherhood and something that is bigger than self. You don't win a national championship without a group of people that are fully bought into that. I think it starts with the mentality of why not us?" Sending a message During the first part of Cignetti's first season, he would routinely challenge Indiana's fans to show up to games — and stay until the end. He hasn't had to do that recently with ticket availability next to nil. But after seeing empty bleachers throughout Memorial Stadium in the second half of the last three weeks, Cignetti sent fans another message. “We need to have a great crowd that stays the whole game,” he said. “We've played our three sauna games in the afternoon. I can understand having to leave in the second half, particularly when the game is out of hand and it’s 152 (degrees) on the turf. It’s hard to coach in these games, too. But this will be low 70 (degree) weather this week and it will be a nice, cool football kind of night, and we need to have a great crowd." ------ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here