This isn’t what Indiana had in mind.

Coming off their most-impressive season in decades, the Hoosiers had hoped they could continue to build into a program that is to be consistently reckoned with in the Big Ten East.

Instead, IU has discovered that maintaining its altitude is just as difficult, if not more so, than making the climb. And that was never more so evident than after Saturday’s home loss — a 38-24 defeat in one of the best atmospheres Memorial Stadium has seen in years — to No. 8 Cincinnati.

Let’s take stock of where Indiana stands through the first quarter of the season.

What have we learned in the first 3 games?

Repeating as the Big Ten East darling has been a challenging endeavor, but it’s not as if the losses were completely unexpected. After all, Indiana did open the season against top-10 opponents in Iowa (on the road) and Cincinnati.

But it’s the way in which IU has lost that has been the most disconcerting. The Hoosiers are discombobulated all over the field — even special teams, which had been a strength, gave up a 99-yard kickoff return to UC Saturday — and can’t find much of an identity. The offense has been a mystery, behind a shaky offensive line, a pedestrian running game and a quarterback who has yet to rediscover the magic that made him one of the most feared QBs in the Big Ten.

And the defense, which was so central to IU’s ability to fluster opponents last season, has struggled to come up with the same level of play-making. It collected 5 turnovers, but only 1 of those an interception, when Marcelino McCrary-Ball picked off an early pass vs. the Bearcats that helped the Hoosiers to an early 14-0 lead.

IU might be closer to missing the postseason all together than making a third straight bowl trip. And although challenges could have been anticipated in the preseason — IU might turn out to play top-10 opponents in Iowa, Cincinnati, Penn State and Ohio State, plus top-25 Michigan State, Michigan and Minnesota — it was a general consensus that the Hoosiers could find their way to at least 6 wins.

Now?

It’s not a forgone conclusion Indiana’s season is lost, but boy does it have a lot of spots to fix. The slate is intense: At Western Kentucky next week, then top-25 showdowns at Penn State, vs. Michigan State and Ohio State, then at Maryland (which is 3-0) and ranked Michigan. Yikes.

Should we revise those preseason expectations?

Yes.

The Hoosiers might simply need to manufacture their way back to .500. Let’s break this down.

IU is likely to beat Western Kentucky on the road and Rutgers at home in mid-November. Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan seem unlikely, unless something drastically changes in Bloomington. So the Hoosiers would need to win 3 against these 4 opponents: Michigan State, at Maryland, Minnesota and at Purdue.

Doable? Of course. But Indiana’s margin of error was likely nuked by losing to both Iowa and Cincinnati, along with looking — at least as of right now — like it’s not on the same level as the best of the East.

Who has emerged?

Transfer Ryder Anderson has been a great addition to the defense, and one might be able to argue that he’s been IU’s best defensive player.

Crazy to think, considering the talent Indiana has on its defense. But Anderson, a transfer from Old Miss, has given the Hoosiers a dose of play-making from their front four. Last season, IU had to generate a bunch of that, with a variety of blitzes to pressure the quarterback, but Anderson has been great in doing it on his own.

The 6-foot-6, 266-pounder leads the Hoosiers with 18 tackles, pretty darn impressive for a defensive end who sometimes flashes inside, with team-bests 4.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.

Who has disappointed?

Penix’s return from injury has been a bit of a nightmare. The problem is figuring out exactly why.

The junior quarterback looks uncomfortable in the pocket and less comfortable out of the pocket. He’s impatient, can’t set his feet, is holding the ball too long, isn’t seeing receivers and has been off. Penix is hitting only 48 percent of his passes, with 6 interceptions and 4 touchdowns.

Against Cincinnati on Saturday, Penix and his teammates were horrible in the red zone, coming away empty on 3 of their 6 attempts, with an interception, a fumble and a turnover on downs.

But let’s not totally bag on Penix. He’s coming off a knee injury, his third season-ending injury in as many seasons, and that will take a physical and mental toll. He’s been rusty, to say the least.

More than anything else, though, Penix is getting almost no help. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan has been insistent on bombing the ball down the field, which has resulted in almost nothing. Penix did connect on a deep pass vs. Cincy to D.J. Matthews, but that’s been it. He’s missed, mostly throwing too long, on everything deep. It’s been maddening.

And the running game as been only OK, without the kind of game-breaking ability IU thought it might get with newcomer Stephen Carr and Tim Baldwin Jr. Might as well pass all the blame around, because the offensive line has been a contributor to all of the above. Penix has been pressured into feeling uncomfortable, while the line has not opened up many holes for the running game either.

They’ll enter November with a 4-4 record …

But that probably means winning vs. the Spartans — and man, MSU has probably been the surprise of the Big Ten so far — and a win at Maryland. Those two teams’ records right now? A combined 6-0.

But look, the other options for being .500 before November include either a win at Penn State or vs. Ohio State, and that just seems so unlikely right now.