Week 6 Preview: Northwestern

Prepare for Indiana's Week 6 matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats with a comprehensive BSB Preview!

Indiana has the opportunity to not only become bowl eligible this weekend but also go 6-0 through the first six weeks of a season for just the second time in program history (1967). The only thing standing in Indiana’s way is a firm Northwestern defense on a team that ranks 79th in ESPN SP+.

In This Preview:

• Indiana’s SP+ Progress

• Advanced Stat Preview

• Northwestern OL Preview

• Northwestern’s Key Contributors

• What BSB is Watching for

• Witt’s Wager: Indiana Team Total over 27.5

• Thoughts and Numbers Related to Donaven McCulley’s Departure

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Lastly, if you missed any content from Week 5 (Maryland), it is linked below. All three Week 1 newsletters are free to the public for those curious what is enclosed here.

• Week 5 Preview

• Week 5 Gameday Roundup

• Week 5 Recap

Now, let’s get into the details.

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Indiana’s SP+ Progression

The chart below conveys a weekly progression of ESPN SP+ percentile rankings in the FBS, indicating each season 2019-23 with lines and this 2024 season with bars. 

Note: Each week indicates Indiana’s ranking after the week’s game. For example, Indiana was in the 46th percentile after its game versus FIU in Week 1.

Notes on SP+ Progression:

• In the Maryland Recap, it’s noted how Curt Cignetti, by already making a 46-point increase in Indiana’s SP+ percentile, is leading the biggest first-year turnaround in Indiana head coaching history. The previous high was James Sheldon, at +33%.

• The Hoosiers are one spot away from matching their 2021 Preseason ranking, the ranking that drew primarily from the famed 2020 season and represented their greatest favor since those 2019 and 2020 years.

• With that in mind, Indiana hasn’t been rated this high in ESPN SP+ heading into Week 6, when compared to the previous five seasons.

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Advanced Stat Preview

For an explanation of how the various algorithms (FPI, SP+, PFF, FEI) in this chart work, visit a previous Preview newsletter here.