6-Banner Sunday: IU football improves to 3-0, Big Ten basketball schedule announced
- Staff
- 14m ago
Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, where we highlight the five most essential IU sports stories of the past week. 6-Banner Sunday is written by Ari Shifron.
Bloomington saw a week of major news stories. Football beat Western Kentucky, the basketball conference schedule was announced and IU hoops added a commitment.
The Hoosiers are also picked seventh in the Big Ten by a pair of publications. As usual, we’ll wrap up with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Indiana sports scene, led by field hockey pulling a major upset.
In a brief headline, Jared Jeffries is among a group of former Hoosier players in various sports to receive this honor.
Here is what is in this week’s edition:
• Football pulls away from Western Kentucky in second half
• Big Ten schedule announced for IU men’s basketball
• IU basketball lands class of 2027 commitment
• Indiana picked to finish 7th in Big Ten by two publications
• Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
• Hoosier Roundup
Banner #1 – Football pulls away from Western Kentucky in second half
IU football’s defense of its national title continued on Saturday at Memorial Stadium with that side of the ball leading the way. After their victory against Howard, Western Kentucky came to Bloomington, as the Hoosiers are once again expected to be near the top of the conference and amongst the best teams in college football.
The question was not if Indiana would win, but how they would look in doing it. While the competition level must be taken into account, the defense looked solid again this week, completing back-to-back shutouts in a 38-0 victory. The only question mark was QB Josh Hoover, who was not sharp or accurate, missing several throws that stalled drives. Nonetheless, Charlie Becker bailed out Hoover with a 79-yard touchdown catch on a less-than-perfect throw and continued to show he is arguably the best WR in the country.
Afterward, IU coach Curt Cignetti spoke, and Inside the Hall had a photo gallery.
Banner #2 – Big Ten schedule announced for IU men’s basketball
The basketball Hoosiers already knew their pre-Big Ten slate. However, the conference schedule was announced this week, filling in all the dates for the entire 2026-2027 season. Tip times and TV designations will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Big Ten schedule begins with Rutgers in Assembly Hall and a trip to Iowa in the yearly December league contests. It then resumes in early January when USC comes to Bloomington before Indiana’s west coast swing to Oregon and Washington. The matchups with arch-rival Purdue come late in the season, with the game on IU’s campus on Feb. 16 and then the showdown in West Lafayette on March 5 to close Big Ten play.
Also, the women’s squad announced their conference schedule. Theirs begins at Northwestern on Dec. 5 and concludes with hosting Nebraska on Feb. 27. Additionally, the program revealed they will hold their 10th annual Candy Stripe Crew on Oct. 18.
Banner #3 – IU basketball lands class of 2027 commitment
Indiana landed its second commit for the 2027 class this week. IU coach Darian DeVries picked up a pledge from German big man Felix Kiehlneker.
Kiehlneker is the second player to announce he will play his college ball in Bloomington for next year. Chase Branham is the other player in the class so far.
Banner #4 – Indiana picked to finish 7th in Big Ten by two publications
The Big Ten saw massive roster turnover across multiple programs, including IU. As a result, Indiana is expected to be much improved and make a return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2022-2023 season. Two different publications picked the Hoosiers to finish seventh in the conference for 2026-2027.
Banner #5 – Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
Podcast on the Brink returned this week. The IndyStar’s Zach Osterman discussed IU football, including a new book he co-wrote about the program’s turnaround to win a national title on this week’s episode.
The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup
• Field hockey upset No. 2 Iowa this week. They also topped Ball State.
• Men’s soccer shut out Washington 1-0.
• Volleyball beat Coastal Carolina as well as NC State.
• Women’s soccer fell to Ohio State.
• Cross country competed at the John McNichols Invitational.
• Baseball will host Boo at the Bart on Oct. 25.
Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-Banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
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