Indiana and Washington football have little in common. The programs are three time zones apart and have only met three times in their histories. Coming into the 2024 campaign, one program was coming off a national championship game appearance (Washington) and the other had only finished one season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 between 1989 and 2023 (Indiana).
Yet you could argue the two teams took parallel paths this offseason after undergoing coaching changes.
Indiana fired Tom Allen and tabbed James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti. Washington lost Kalen DeBoer to Alabama and replaced him with Arizona’s Jedd Fisch.
The circumstances each coach inherited have little in common – more on that in a bit – but both attacked their transition class in a similar fashion: Via the transfer portal.
Indiana added 30 players. Washington added 26.
It’s a plug-a-gag on-the-go strategy that’s paid dividends ahead of their meeting Saturday in Bloomington (12 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network). It’s a BIG game — excuse the pun — with College GameDay in town and the No. 13 Hoosiers looking to continue the season’s least expected playoff push. For Washington (4-3), it’s a chance to continue outpacing expectations after returning two starters from a team that played for a national championship 10 months ago.
