B1G All-Decade Grades: Indiana

While 2020 has come out the gates in relatively crummy fashion, the decade leading up to it were some of the Big Ten’s best. Huge TV deals, and overall success highlighted the 10 year span in the conference.

In an attempt to reflect upon the good times — the period of time from 2010 to 2019 — we at B5Q have set out to grade each football and basketball program over that time span.

Up second, we turn our attention to the the Indiana Hoosiers.

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Football grade: C-

The Indiana football program had its fair share of ups and downs during the 2010s.

A nightmare 1-11 season in 2011 really skews their overall record of 49 wins to 74 losses, which otherwise were fairly middling nationally.

The Hoosiers were a fairly consistent 5-7 or 6-7 program for most of the decade, with three bowl appearances, all of which came after in 2015 or later under the leadership of Kevin Wilson (two bowl appearances) and Tom Allen (one bowl appearance).

While Indiana was rejuvenated back into mainstream acceptance as formidable under Wilson, Allen appears to have Indiana football playing at a higher level. Last year, Indiana finished the season with an 8-5 record, their most since since 1993.

Over the course of the 10 year span though, Indiana failed to win a single bowl game, and did not have a single player drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Indiana football appears to be in a better place now than any other time in recent history, but we can’t dismiss the nine years of mediocrity and poor play. Hence the C- grade. At least Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard were good, am I right?!?!

Oh, and who can forget Bret Bielema dropping 83 points on Indiana in November of 2010. That was very fun.

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Basketball grade: B

Wow, did the Indiana basketball program really swing in the breeze from 2010 to 2019.

One of the most prolific and historic programs in NCAA history, Indiana was able to swing from huge success to bottom dwellers of the Big Ten over the course of the recent decade.

The Hoosiers won two regular season Big Ten titles in 2012 and 2015, but also missed the NCAA Tournament in half of the years.

For a program with so much prosperity in the past, there was very little consistency in play at Indiana. The Hoosiers especially struggled though in postseason play, not eclipsing the Sweet 16 once, even with high level talent like Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Noah Vonleh, OG Anunoby and Romeo Langford (all of which were first round picks in the NBA Draft, with Oladipo, Zeller, and Vonleh all picked top 10).

Overall though, Indiana finished the period in time with a 60.8% winning percentage and two conference crowns to claim, making it hard to push them anywhere below a B on the grading scale no matter my disdain for Tom Crean and Archie Miller.