The Indiana Hoosiers have been looking to duck the Notre Dame Fighting Irish series in 2030 and 2031 for a while and officially saw the cord cut on the in-state rivalry reigniting in a few years with an announcement on Monday.
On3's Pete Nakos confirmed the series' cancellation in the wake of Notre Dame reintroducing the USC Trojans rivalry, and On3's Chris Low provided bleak context that makes Curt Cignetti's football program look weak.
"Got the feeling when I was in Bloomington this summer that the Indiana-Notre Dame series scheduled for 2030 and 2031 would not survive. Indiana AD Scott Dolson told me the Hoosiers were continuing to evaluate their scheduling approach as the playoff format, etc. evolves," Low said.
For weeks, it's been a topic of conversation behind enemy lines. The Hoosiers are literally scheming their withdrawal in advance. This is the feared, high, and mighty defending national champions the Big Ten needs to be looking out for?
Ohio State fans, don't fear this shaken Indiana program
That Indiana has been eyeing this cancellation for so long proves that the brain trust only cares about making the CFP, and not the damage that's done when you cancel games like this. The Alabama Crimson Tide may be bullied into keeping the OSU series, for reference.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has clowned the Hoosiers for their national championship and the road it took for them to get there. Indiana's road to the 2024/2025 CFP was also scrutinized at the time.
During the past two non-conference portions of the schedule, Indiana played the FIU Panthers, Western Illinois Leathernecks, Charlotte 49ers, Old Dominion Monarchs, Kennesaw State Owls, and Indiana State Sycamores.
Now, to be fair, Old Dominion and Kennesaw State are great Sun Belt and Conference USA teams. Still, that's not like the 2026 gauntlet the Buckeyes are facing. It's nothing close.
For all the trash talk Cignetti has for the SEC, his team isn't exactly going out and proving that it plays the best of the best year in and year out.
Indiana isn't acting like a true Big Ten powerhouse
The toughest teams in the Big Ten actually face difficult competition. Ohio State has had the Texas Longhorns, Fighting Irish, and Oregon Ducks (when they were in the Pac-12) in recent years. TTUN has played the Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners in recent years. Even the Iowa Hawkeyes willingly play the Iowa State Cyclones every year.
The Hoosiers don't even want an in-state rivalry like that. Indiana is hoping to continue skirting around maximum challenges most years.
There have been few less humble coaches than Cignetti. The bravado works because his program just had one of the best seasons the sport has ever seen, mainly because of Indiana's final few wins against the Buckeyes, Crimson Tide, Ducks, and Miami Hurricanes.
Eventually, though, when the Hoosiers become known for not actively seeking out the best games every week, which hurts the sport, the chickens will come home to roost, in one way or another.
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