Setting aside the Ohio State loss, Indiana is having a pretty decent season, sitting at 8-1. After securing overtime wins over Michigan and Minnesota, Curt Cignetti’s team had a bye this week.

While Indiana is preparing for its upcoming game against USC, it was dealt a significant blow in the latest College Football Playoff rankings after the Hoosiers suffered a five-spot slide.

Indiana, previously ranked No. 4, is now at No. 9, prompting reactions from many in the college football community.

CFB World Split as Indiana Suffers Massive Bye-Week Drop

The latest rankings placed Indiana behind Georgia, Utah, Alabama, UCLA, Notre Dame, Texas, Miami, and Tennessee. The five-place skid marked the largest drop by a team coming off a bye in the CFP’s 13-year history, with the biggest decline for an idle team being three spots, recorded by Nebraska in 2014 and Penn State in 2022.

“How does Indiana drop 5 spots on a bye week?” former Oregon offensive lineman turned Fox Sports analyst Geoff Schwartz wrote.

“Indiana dropping 5 spots after a bye week tells you everything you need to know about how the committee views the Big 10,” ex-NFL quarterback Chase Daniel remarked.

“The CFB Playoff committee not only has bad rankings, but the worst part is they stand on NOTHING. Indiana falls from #4 to #9 after a bye week. UCLA goes from #8 to #4 after a road win vs. Minnesota,” a fan page named “College Football Report” wrote.

“Miami falls 6 spots, below two 2-loss teams after a close ROAD loss to #5 Notre Dame. Oregon jumps 7 (!) spots, and USC only jumps 2 spots while OSU is a complete disaster without Julian Sayin (#2 to #20 in 3 weeks). Insanely volatile, no rhyme or reason. Going with whichever way the wind blows.”

“Indiana drops 5 spots on a BYE week. Looks like that committee didn’t appreciate Curt Cignetti’s comments this week,” analyst Danny Kanell opined.

CFP selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek explained Indiana’s slide, noting that all six teams Indiana had faced in Big Ten play lost over the weekend. It negatively affected the Hoosiers’ strength-of-record and strength-of-schedule evaluations.

Yurachek also said Indiana was unfortunate with the timing of its bye week. He pointed out that seven games involving teams ranked in the top 25 took place that weekend, creating additional opportunities for other programs to strengthen their standings.

However, some believe Indiana’s slide is justified.

“This might be a hot take… but I think they got it right. Indiana dropping that many spots after a bye week is wild, but I don’t think they should have been that high the first week,” Taylor Lewan, co-host of the “Bussin With The Boys,” wrote.

“I think Indiana was ranked too high last week, so I’m fine with them at No. 9, but this is why these weekly shows do such a disservice. It appears like they got worse on a bye week,” The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel said.

“Whoa. Indiana falls five spots off a bye. CFP selection committee seems to course-correct after the Hoosiers were higher than expected a week ago,” NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach said.

Indiana’s playoff ambitions remain very much alive despite the setback. According to PFN’s Playoff Meter, the Hoosiers still have an 81.1% chance of reaching the CFP this season.