2021 Indiana Hoosiers football team
The 2021 Indiana Hoosiers football team will represent Indiana University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hoosiers will play their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana and compete as a member of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. The team will be led by fifth-year head coach Tom Allen.
| 2021 Indiana Hoosiers football | |
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| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| East Division | |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Nick Sheridan (2nd season) |
| Co-offensive coordinator | Grant Heard (2nd season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Charlton Warren (1st season) |
| Co-defensive coordinator | Kevin Peoples (2nd season) |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 52,626) |
Uniform | |
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| 2021 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: December 4, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Spring Game
The 2021 Spring Game is tentatively scheduled to take place in Bloomington, Indiana in the Spring; however, the dates for the game have not yet been announced.
| Date | Time | Spring Game | Site | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN |
Previous season
The Hoosiers finished the 2020 season 6–1 in Big Ten play to finish in second place in the Eastern Division. This would be the Hoosiers' best finish to a season since the 1967 season. The Hoosiers were invited to the Outback Bowl, where they would lose by six points to Ole Miss, 26–20.[1]
Following an initial cancelation of the football season by the Big Ten on August 11, 2020, the Big Ten would reverse their decision on September 16.[2] The truncated season was due to ongoing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
The COVID-19 pandemic was particularly impactful on the Hoosiers late in the season, when on December 9, Purdue and Indiana announced a mutual one-time cancellation of the Old Oaken Bucket rivalry game (originally scheduled for December 12). Team-related activities were paused because of an elevated number of coronavirus cases within both the Boilermakers' and Hoosiers' programs.[4] On December 13, Purdue and Indiana came to a mutual agreement to reschedule the Old Oaken Bucket game for one week later, on December 18;[5] however, on December 15, both teams again mutually agreed to cancel the Friday contest, due to issues remaining on both teams with COVID complications.[6]
Offseason
Coaching changes
On December 12, 2020, the South Alabama Jaguars announced that they had hired Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Wommack as their new head coach; Wommack had previously served three years for the Hoosiers in a defensive coaching capacity, first as its linebackers coach in 2018 and then as its defensive coordinator for 2019 and 2020.[7] On January 17, 2021, Indiana announced that they had hired Georgia Bulldogs defensive backs coach Charlton Warren as the Hoosiers' new defensive coordinator; Warren had served as the defensive back coach for Georgia for two years (2019-2020).[8]
On January 13, 2021, the Michigan Wolverines announced that they had hired Indiana running backs' coach Mike Hart as their new running backs' coach; Hart had served four years as the Hoosiers' running backs coach (2017-2020) and also split time as the Assistant Head Coach.[9]
Transfers
Outgoing
Notable departures from the 2020 squad included:
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Crider | 57 | Offensive Lineman | 6'4' | 311 | Senior | Columbus, Indiana | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Jerome Johnson | 98 | Defensive Lineman | 6'3' | 304 | Senior (Redshirt) | Bassfield, Mississippi | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Whop Philyor | 1 | Wide Receiver | 5'11' | 180 | Senior | Tampa, Florida | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Jovan Swan | 51 | Defensive Lineman | 6'2' | 280 | Graduate Transfer | Greenwood, Indiana | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Haydon Whitehead | 94 | Punter | 6'2' | 219 | Graduate student | Melbourne, Australia | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Rashawn Williams | 13 | Wide Receiver | 6'2' | 200 | Freshman (Redshirt) | Detroit, Michigan | Transferred |
Incoming
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes | Prev. School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Carpenter | 58 | Offensive Lineman | 6'5" | 329 | Sophomore | Cincinnati, Ohio | Transfer | Michigan |
| DJ Matthews | 1 | Wide Receiver | 5'10" | 160 | Senior (Redshirt) | Indianapolis, Indiana | Graduate transfer | Florida State |
Schedule
The Hoosiers' 2021 schedule consists of 6 home games and 6 away games.[10] The Hoosiers are scheduled to play three non-conference games, against Idaho and Cincinnati at home and on the road against Western Kentucky.
The Hoosiers are scheduled to host Rutgers, Ohio State, Michigan State and Minnesota. They are scheduled to travel to Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Penn State and Purdue.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 4 | at Iowa | No. | |||||
| September 11 | Idaho* | No. | |||||
| September 18 | Cincinnati* | No. |
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| September 25 | at Western Kentucky* | No. | |||||
| October 2 | at Penn State | No. | |||||
| October 16 | Michigan State | No. |
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| October 23 | Ohio State | No. |
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| October 30 | at Maryland | No. | |||||
| November 6 | at Michigan | No. | |||||
| November 13 | Rutgers | No. |
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| November 20 | Minnesota | No. |
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| November 27 | at Purdue | No. | |||||
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- Sources:[11]
Rankings
| Week | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| AP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CFP | {{{cfp_pre}}} | {{{cfp_1}}} | {{{cfp_2}}} | {{{cfp_3}}} | {{{cfp_4}}} | {{{cfp_5}}} | {{{cfp_6}}} | {{{cfp_7}}} | {{{cfp_8}}} | Not released | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radio
Radio coverage for all games will be broadcast on IUHoosiers.com All-Access and on various radio frequencies throughout the state. The primary radio announcer is long-time broadcaster Don Fischer with Play-by-Play.[12][13]
References
- "Gator Bowl 2021 - Box Score". ESPN.com. January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- "Big Ten Will Play Football in 2020, Reversing Decision". NYTimes.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "Big Ten to play conference-only football schedule for 2020 season amid COVID-19 pandemic". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
- "Purdue, Indiana mutually agree to cancel Saturday's Old Oaken Bucket". IndyStar.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "No. 7 Indiana and Purdue Have Bucket Game Rescheduled For Friday Dec. 18". HoosierHuddle.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "Indiana and Purdue Mutually Agree to Cancel Bucket Game". IUHoosiers.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "KANE WOMMACK NAMED SOUTH ALABAMA HEAD FOOTBALL COACH". USAJaguars.com. 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "Indiana Hoosiers to hire Georgia Bulldogs DB coach Charlton Warren as defensive coordinator". ESPN.com. 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- "Mike Hart Joins Michigan Staff as Running Backs Coach". MGoblue.com. 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- "2021 Schedule". IUHoosiers.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "2021 Indiana Hoosiers Football Schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "Broadcast Information". www.IUHoosiers.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "Inside IU – Voice of IU sports". www.wslmradio.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.