BLOOMINGTON — The chaotic results during Indiana football's off week impacted IU's standing in the latest set of College Football Playoff rankings.

The Hoosiers (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) moved down five spots to No. 9 in the rankings released on Tuesday by the CFP selection committee. Their strength of schedule took a major hit after the Big Ten teams they have faced this season went 0-6 last weekend.

According to ESPN, IU's strength of schedule dropped to No. 42 in the FBS.

If Indiana remains outside of the top four come Selection Sunday, it would play a first-round game instead of receiving a bye through to the quarterfinals. Based on the current rankings, the Hoosiers would head to No. 8 Tennessee for an opening-round matchup.

Indiana could pick up another quality win this weekend going against No. 18 USC (7-2, 4-2).

The Trojans still could claim a spot in the Big Ten title game by wining their final three regular-season games, which includes a showdown at the end of the year against No. 4 UCLA. The Hoosiers are 0-4 all-time against USC, and the programs haven't played since 1982.

2026 CFP Rankings (Nov. 10)

  1. Georgia (8-1)
  2. Utah (9-0)
  3. Alabama (7-2)
  4. UCLA (9-0)
  5. Notre Dame (8-1)
  6. Texas (7-2)
  7. Miami (8-1)
  8. Tennessee (7-2)
  9. Indiana (8-1)
  10. BYU (7-2)
  11. Kentucky (7-2)
  12. Texas Tech (8-1)
  13. Wake Forest (8-1)
  14. Houston (7-2)
  15. Iowa (7-2)
  16. Oregon (6-3)
  17. South Carolina (6-3)
  18. USC (7-2)
  19. Ole Miss (6-3)
  20. Ohio State (6-3)
  21. LSU (6-3)
  22. Missouri (6-3)
  23. Arizona (7-2)
  24. Boise St. (8-1)
  25. Oklahoma State (6-3)

How does the College Football Playoff work?

The College Football selection committee build a 12-team field following these guidelines, as outlined on the organization's official website:

  • The conference champions from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC receive automatic bids;
  • The highest ranked team from among the Group of Six (American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, and Sun Belt Conferences) gets an automatic bid;
  • The next seven highest-ranked teams fill out the field as at-large selections;
  • Notre Dame makes it if it finishes in the committee's top 12.

The seeding for the bracket follows the rankings with teams ranked in the top four all receiving byes. If an automatic qualifier finishes outside the top 12, it is slotted at the bottom of the bracket at No. 12.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football fell in CFP rankings ahead of big game vs USC

Source: Yahoo Sports