Indiana is hosting Indiana State on Friday night of Week 3. The game will take place at 6:30 P.M. ET in Bloomington, Indiana. The Hoosiers are looking to keep the momentum rolling after a 2-0 start to the season.
The Hoosiers are 48.5-point home favorites in this game on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 59.5 points. This is a preview, prediction and pick for this Indiana State-Indiana non-conference matchup.
Indiana State vs. Indiana Preview
Indiana State Preview
This is a big game for the Sycamores. Indiana State is an FCS program in the Missouri Valley Conference. They have a decent FCS program, but have not made the playoffs since 2014. It was a rough 4-8 season for the Sycamores in 2024, but the start to their 2025 season has been much more promising. They have a 2-0 record, but it has come against inferior competition, even by their standards. In Week 1, they played a Division-II program, McKendree, and won 41-24. The following week, they knocked off fellow FCS school Eastern Illinois, 38-14. This will be a tough task for the Sycamores to even keep it reasonably competitive, but it will be good experience for them before they head into Missouri Valley Conference play.
Indiana Preview
Indiana is hoping to build off last year’s special season. In 2024, Curt Cignetti was hired from JMU to take over the Indiana football program. He brought with him a big part of his old JMU coaching staff and roster, Ohio transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke, and kept the best of what the Indiana football program previously had. In his first year with the program, he led his team to the College Football Playoff. Now, in 2025, his goal is to prove that it was not a fluke. Cignetti wants to make his program a perennial contender for a playoff spot and to win the Big Ten. Last season, his philosophy was to “smoke it down to the filter” against these inferior opponents. Cignetti never took his foot off the gas when Indiana had big leads, and those blowout score lines and high offensive metrics could have been a factor in Indiana getting a spot in the CFP.
Indiana State vs. Indiana Pick
My best bet for this game is the over 59.5 points. Based on their first two games, Indiana State can move the ball. They have used multiple quarterbacks this season, but both are dangerous dual-threat options. The Sycamores have a chance to do their part in getting the game over the total by putting a couple of scores on the board. However, the Hoosiers will be doing the heavy lifting here. They are coming off a game where they put up 56 points against Kennesaw State, where quarterback Fernando Mendoza just kept dicing that defense apart. Last season, Indiana put up 77 points against FCS opponent Western Illinois and 52 points against Charlotte, an FBS team. The Hoosiers should put up a massive number and have a chance to hit the over themselves. If Indiana State can put 10 or more points on the board, this will almost certainly get home.
