For the first time, Indiana has a national championship to defend in 2026. The schedule is out, with eight home games in Bloomington and a critical stretch in October with games against Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan on consecutive weekends. Here's the full schedule, with history on each matchup.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Well, this is new. Indiana has a national title to defend in 2026.
The schedule is out for the 2026 Indiana Hoosiers, and they'll look to defend the school's first national title after going 16-0 and winning the title on Jan. 19 when they beat Miami 27-21.
The Big Ten plays a nine-game conference schedule, and Indiana has five league home games in even-numbered years, including 2026. They also have three nonconference home games, for eight total.
The highlight, of course, is the showdown with Ohio State on Oct. 17. The two teams met last year in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis, with the Hoosiers winning 13-10 for their first outright league title since 1945. Ohio State was ranked No. 1 in the nation heading into that game, and Indiana was No. 2. It was the first 1 vs. 2 game ever in Big Ten history. It's only happened twice before in any conference, with Alabama and Florida played in the 2008 and 2009 SEC Championship games as 1 vs. 2.
Indiana also hosts USC for the first time since xxx and will also host the Old Oaken Bucket game again.
Here is the 2026 Indiana schedule:
Sept. 5 — North Texas at Indiana
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: North Texas was 12-2 last season, finishing in a three-way tie at 7-1 with Tulane and Navy in the American Conference. They lost to Tulane 34-21 in the conference championship game in New Orleans, and won their bowl game, beating San Diego State 49-47 in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 27.
HEAD COACH: Neal Brown.
SERIES HISTORY: Series tied 1-1.
LAST MEETING: Indiana won 49-24 on Oct. 4, 2014 in Bloomington. North Texas won the first meeting in 2011, beating the Hoosiers 24-21 in Denton, Texas.
NOTABLE NUGGET: It's very likely the Hoosiers will see a familiar face at quarterback for North Texas. Former Hoosier Tayven Jackson transferred to the Mean Green from Central Florida last month and is the projected starting quarterback in 2026. He is the younger brother of former Indiana basketball star Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Indiana quarterback Tayven Jackson (2) is pictured during a spring practice in Bloomington on April 15, 2023. He is the projected starting quarterback for North Texas in 2026. (Rich Jansuruk/Imagn Images)Sept. 12 — Howard at Indiana
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Howard was 5-7 overall in 2025, and 2-3 in the MEAC.
HEAD COACH: Larry Scott.
SERIES HISTORY: First meeting
NOTABLE NUGGET: Howard plays two other Big Ten teams in 2026, Maryland and Rutgers.
Sept. 19 — Western Kentucky at Indiana
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Western Kentucky finished 9-4 a year ago and went 6-2 in Conference USA, good for third place. They beat Southern Miss 27-16 in the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 23. Their one Power 4 game was Nov. 22 at LSU, and they hung tough but lost 13-10.
HEAD COACH: Tyson Helton
SERIES HISTORY: Indiana leads the series 5-0. The Hoosiers have won every game, but they've been surprisingly competitive. The last three games have all been decided by three points or less.
LAST MEETING: Indiana won 33-30 in overtime on Sept. 17, 2022 in Bloomington. The Hoosiers won on a 51-yard field goal by Charles Campbell in OT. Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak threw for 364 yards and two touchdowns.
NOTABLE NUGGET: The Hilltoppers have another Power 4 game the week prior with a trip to Georgia. That's quite a back-to-back, with Georgia and Indiana both projected to be top-5 teams.
Sept. 26 — Northwestern at Indiana
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Northwestern finished 7-6 a year ago, and 4-5 in the Big Ten, tied for 10th in the 18-team league. They beat Central Michigan 34-7 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
HEAD COACH: David Braun.
SERIES HISTORY: Northwestern leads the series 47-36-1.
LAST MEETING: Indiana beat Northwestern 41-24 on Oct. 5, 2024 at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill. Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns in the win, and the Hoosiers moved to 6-0. ... The last meeting in Bloomington was Nov. 2, 2019 and the Hoosiers won 34-3. Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. broke his clavicle in the second quarter and was lost for the season. The Hoosiers were 7-2 at the time.
NOTABLE NUGGET: Northwestern's offense will have a new look with Chip Kelly taking over as offensive coordinator. He was with the Las Vegas Raiders and Ohio State previously, winning a national title with the Buckeyes in 2024. He's hired UCLA's Jerry Neuheisel as his quarterbacks coach. Neuheisel got a lot of credit for UCLA's turnaround a year ago.
Oct. 3 — Indiana at Rutgers
LOCATION: SHI Stadium, Piscataway, N.J.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Rutgers finished 5-7 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten, tied for 14th with Wisconsin in the 18-team league.
HEAD COACH: Greg Schiano.
SERIES HISTORY: The series is tied 5-5.
LAST MEETING: Rutgers beat Indiana 31-14 on Oct. 21, 2023 in Bloomington. Rutgers rushed for 276 yards that day, and Brendan Sorsby was just 15-for-31 passing for Indiana, with 126 yards. Rutgers also won the last meeting in New Jersey, winning 24-17 on Oct. 17, 2022. Rutgers has won three straight in the series after Indiana had won five in a row.
NOTABLE NUGGET: These two teams used to play every year as part of the Big Ten East. This is their first meeting since the league expanded and got rid of divisions. This is Indiana's first road game of the year.
Oct. 10 — Indiana at Nebraska
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Nebraska finished 7-6 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten, tied for 10th with Northwestern in the 18-team league. They lost 44-22 to No. 15 Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 31.
HEAD COACH: Matt Rhule.
SERIES HISTORY: Indiana leads the series 11-9-3, which might come as a complete shock to college football fans, considering the divergent path of the two programs. Indiana won seven straight games from 1941-48.
LAST MEETING: Indiana won 56-7 on Oct. 19, 2024 in Bloomington. Indiana had 495 yards of total offense and forced five turnovers. Indiana lost the last game in Lincoln, falling 35-21 on Oct. 21, 2022.
NOTABLE NUGGET: Dylan Raiola, who threw three interceptions for Nebraska in the 2024 loss, transferred out of Nebraska in the offseason, going to Oregon. Anthony Colandrea (UNLV) and Daniel Kaelin (Virginia) are transfers, and freshman T.J. Lateef red back from Virginia, and T.J. Lateef saw action after Raiola got injured in 2025.
Oct. 17 — Ohio State at Indiana
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Ohio State was 12-2 in 2025. They won their first 12 games but lost to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game and lost to Miami in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
HEAD COACH: Ryan Day.
SERIES HISTORY: Ohio State leads the series 81-13-5.
LAST MEETING: No. 2 Indiana beat No. 1 Ohio State 13-10 in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis on Dec. 6. It was Indiana's first win over Ohio State since 1988, a stretch of 31 games. In this last Bloomington matchup, Ohio State beat Indiana 23-3 on Sept. 2, 2023.
NOTABLE NUGGET: At least in the preseason, this sets up as the game of the year in college football. The Hoosiers finally got over the hump in December, so can they do it again in October? The Buckeyes have a loaded roster returning in 2026.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was a Heisman Trophy candidate in 2025, and is expected to be a leading candidate this year. (Imagn Images)Oct. 24 — Indiana at Michigan
LOCATION: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Mich.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Michigan was 9-4 in 2024, and finished with a 7-2 record in the Big Ten, tied for fourth place with USC in the 18-team league. After losing their season finale to Ohio State for the first time in five years, the Wolverines also lost their bowl game, falling to Texas 41-27 in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. on Dec. 31.
HEAD COACH: Kyle Whittingham
SERIES HISTORY: Michigan leads the series 62-11. Indiana's win in 2020 snapped a 24-game losing streak in the series dating back to 1987.
LAST MEETING: Indiana beat Michigan 20-15 on Nov. 9, 2024 in Bloomington to raise its record to 10-0. It was the first time in school history that Indiana had won 10 games in a season. The last time the two teams played in Ann Arbor, Michigan won 52-7 on Oct. 23, 2023, during Michigan's national championship season. Indiana had four turnovers that day.
NOTABLE NUGGET: It's a new era of Michigan football with Kyle Whittingham taking over for the disgraced Sherrone Moore. The 66-year-old was the head coach at Utah for 21 years. He was the head coach at Utah when they beat Indiana in the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl.
Oct. 31 — Minnesota at Indiana
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Minnesota finished 8-5 overall last year, and went 5-4 in the Big Ten, tied for seventh with Washington and Illinois in the 18-team league. They won their bowl game, beating New Mexico 20-17 in overtime in the Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Ariz.
HEAD COACH: P.J. Fleck
SERIES HISTORY: Minnesota leads the all-time series 40-26-3. The two teams have only played seven times in the past 21 years, with Minnesota winning six of seven. Indiana's only win was in 2007 in Bloomington.
LAST MEETING: Minnesota beat Indiana 35-14 on Nov. 20, 2021 in Bloomington. That was the day Grant Gremel, a walk-on who was fourth on the depth chart to start the season, started the game at quarterback for Indiana. Indiana would lose the next week to Purdue, finishing 0-9 in the Big Ten that year. They were 6-1 a year earlier.
NOTABLE NUGGET: It's hard to believe Fleck will be starting his 10th season at Minnesota. He's never played in a Big Ten Championship Game, but he's great in bowl games, where he's 7-0 at Minnesota. The Gophers have nine straight bowl wins, the longest streak in Big Ten history.
Nov. 7 — Bye week
This is notable because there is only one bye week in 2026. The Hoosiers will have played nine straight weeks before getting to Nov. 7. This will be a good break leading into the final three games of the regular season, and hopefully another long postseason run,
Nov. 14 — USC at Indiana
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: USC was 9-4 last year and 7-2 in the Big Ten, tied for fourth with Michigan in the 18-team league. USC lost its bowl game to TCU 30-27 in overtime on Dec. 30 in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
HEAD COACH: Lincoln Riley
SERIES HISTORY: USC is 4-0 all-time against Indiana.
LAST MEETING: USC beat Indiana 28-7 on Sept. 18, 1982 in Los Angeles. The two teams have met once in Bloomington, in 1981. No. 2-ranked USC won 21-0 on Sept. 18.
NOTABLE NUGGET: The most notable Indiana-USC game came in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1968. The Hoosiers were Big Ten co-champions that year and received the Big Ten's Rose Bowl bid, losing 14-3 to Ohio State. That season came up often last year, because Indiana won its first Big Ten title in 58 years in 2025, dating all the way back to that 1967 team coached by John Pont.
Nov. 21 — Indiana at Washington
LOCATION: Husky Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Washington finished 9-4 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten, tied for seventh with Minnesota and Illinois for seventh place in the 18-team lead.
HEAD COACH: Jedd Fisch
SERIES HISTORY: Indiana leads the overall series 6-1.
LAST MEETING: Indiana beat Washington 31-17 on Oct. 26, 2024 as Indiana moved to 8-0 in that 2024 dream season. The game is more well known for being the host of ESPN's College GameDay pregame show and Lee Corso's emotional return to Bloomington.
NOTABLE NUGGET: It's highly unlikely that most Indiana fans have never been to a game at Husky Stadium, since the Hoosiers have only played there three times (1904, 1976, 2003). But it is a beautiful place to watch a game, with the stadium built right on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Might be a fun road trip, because Seattle is a great city. (Side note: When the NFL schedule comes out, see if the Seattle Seahawks have a Sunday home game. It's the loudest NFL stadium I've ever been in.)
People gather on the docks outside Husky Stadium as the Oregon Ducks take on the Washington Huskies on Nov. 29, 2025, in Seattle, Washington. (Ben Lonergan/Imagn Images)Nov. 28 — Purdue at Indiana
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TIME/TV: TBA
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: Purdue finished with a 2-10 record and went 0-9 in the Big Ten for the second consecutive year.
HEAD COACH: Barry Odom
SERIES HISTORY: Purdue leads the series 77-44-6.
LAST MEETING: Indiana retained the Old Oaken Bucket with a 56-3 win over Purdue on Nov. 28, 2025 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. With the win, the Hoosiers completed their first-ever unbeaten regular season, going 12-0.
NOTABLE NUGGET: When you add in Indiana's 66-0 victory in 2024, the Hoosiers are completely dominating this series right now. It's 122-3 over the past two years, and it's very clear that Curt Cignetti is never going to lift his foot off of Purdue's collective necks. He wants to embarrass them at every turn. Look for more of the same to close out this 2026 season.