I was refreshing my memory this morning on past seasons, and I'm thinking this Saturday's game against the Wolverines will be our biggest home game since the 1967 Bucket game that punched our ticket to Pasadena.
What other home games since the Rose Bowl season have been huge? The first that comes to mind is the October 1987 game against Michigan, the game where Schembechler complained about the crowd noise at Memorial Stadium. That was definitely a big game (and huge win), coming on the heels of our "darkest day" win in Columbus a few weeks earlier. But it was only October, IU was just 3-0 in conference play coming in, and our #15 national ranking was lower than what it's going to be this weekend.
What else? 2020 was a special season. IU was 6-1 in conference play. But it was the shortened Covid season, and with only hundreds in attendance, it's tough to consider any of those games among IU's all-time biggest home games. (That Penn State game, though, and Michael Penix's dive for the pylon, will always be memorable).
What's at stake this Saturday? A win against Michigan would give us a 10-win season for the first time in program history. It would also enhance our position in the CFP rankings, increasing our chances of appearing in the 12-team playoff. Finally, a win this weekend would almost guarantee a no-worse-than 11-1 regular season (Purdue is awful) and a possible date in Indy on December 7.
Go Hoosiers!