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Look, everyone, you need to come to grips with the reality that Indiana really did win the College Football Playoff National Championship under Curt Cignetti, and it might do it again.
This isn't stopping.
Anecdotal, I know, but let me sum up the prevailing attitude of just about all the various media hits I've done since the Hoosiers had, arguably, the greatest season in the history of college football.
Wonderful story, amazing job done by Cignetti. Now Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, and the other bluebloods will restore order, and Indiana will go back to waiting for basketball season.
Well done, Hoosiers, here are your commemorative t-shirts, off you go ...
Nope.
Indiana Is Built to Stay Among the Elite
It's not just that Indiana took a blowtorch to everything the stodgy world of college football knows to be holy, right, and true.
It's that now everyone - from Kentucky to UCLA to insert-your-Power-Four-school-here - has some glimmer of hope that maybe, with the right mix of miracles, can have the type of success that fans of most schools have been generationally conditioned to not dare dream possible.
It's also that the bar has been raised for the powerhouses.
Alabama didn't just lose in the College Football Playoff. Ala-FREAKING-Bama is still recovering from the atomic wedgie applied by ... Indiana?! It offends the sensibilities.
And if you think that's not sitting well for an Alabama, try Nebraska, and USC, and Florida and all the other traditional football schools that expect to compete for giant things every year, and can't.
But no, this doesn't necessarily mean Indiana will win the national title again this year, or next year, or five years from now. It means that it'll at least be in the mix.
Ohio State doesn't win it all every year. Texas still hasn't won one since Vince Young. Notre Dame hasn't won one since 1988.
Indiana has the largest living alumni base in America. Money isn't an issue, and want-to and support aren't a problem - the Hoosiers are more than holding their own in the recruiting and transfer wars.
The campus is gorgeous, the school is terrific, and it has the hottest coach in the game wearing its chain.
Indiana is a football school now.
- 2026 Indiana Schedule Analysis
Indiana Quick Hits
- Head Coach: Curt Cignetti (3rd year: 27-2, 16th year overall: 146-37)
- Best Case / Worst Case: Win the national championship/Miss out on the College Football Playoff
- Key Player: Josh Hoover, QB Sr.
- 2025 Record: 16-0
- Biggest Question: Can the Hoosiers find the same blend, efficiency, and fire with a more talented overall team?
Indiana Key 2025 Stats
- Total Offense: Indiana 7,232 yards, Opponents 4,256 yards
- Fumbles: Opponents 16 (lost 11), Indiana 8 (lost 1)
- Scoring: Indiana 666, Opponents 187
Offense
The impossibly efficient and effective offense of last year might take a step back, but offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan is still around, and so are enough pieces to continue being fantastic.
The transfer portal was a win for several key parts, as the Hoosiers try to recreate the same magic.
Even for this bunch, that's not going to be easy for a team that was No. 1 in the nation in passing efficiency and third down conversions, second in completion percentage, and third in scoring and turnovers lost.
What’s Working
Start with the offensive line. It received the proper national respect, and it wasn't always perfect, but it paved the way for the Big Ten's best running game.
It also managed to get the job done against the nation's best pass rush (Miami), the ninth-best (Old Dominion), and Ohio State (21st in sacks), Alabama (28th), Wisconsin (31st), Penn State (also 31st), Kennesaw State (35th), and Oregon (44th).
Star center Pat Coogan is gone to the Tennessee Titans, but the tackle combination of Carter Smith and Adedamola Ajani is among the best in the country.
Drew Evans should be fine at one guard spot, and stealing guard Joe Brunner from Wisconsin was a coup.
The receiving corps didn't get better, but it should at least hold serve. Omar Cooper and Elijah Surratt were killers who fought for every ball and every play, combining for 134 catches and 28 touchdowns last season.
Charlie Becker is back after averaging 20 yards per catch on 34 grabs - all of them seemed consequential - and getting NFL First Round Draft Pick talent Nick Marsh from Michigan State is big, along with Tulane's Shazz Preston.
Turnovers. How many times did the Hoosiers give the ball away in the three College Football Playoff games?
Zero.
There were two interceptions - both Mendoza brothers (Alberto is now the Georgia Tech starting quarterback) gave one away - but Fernando didn't give away two in any game all year.
Fumbles? There was one lost in the opener against Old Dominion. That was it - there wasn't another lost fumble over the last 15 games.
Speaking of turnovers ...
What Needs Work
Josh Hoover won't be another Fernando Mendoza. That's not because Hoover isn't great - he is - but you don't just grab another quarterback and expect him to match, arguably, the greatest season by any passer in the history of the sport.
Hoover is a fifth-year veteran who threw for over 9,600 yards and 71 touchdowns over the last three years at TCU. He's a wonderful downfield passer, and he certainly knows what he's doing, but the 6-2, 200-pounder isn't NFL-big like Mendoza, and he's not the same when-he-has-to runner.
This will get fixed under this coaching staff, but Hoover threw 33 interceptions over the last three years.
That was partly a function of the TCU offensive style at the time, but Indiana doesn't turn the ball over. (By the way, Kurtis Rourke only threw five picks in 2024.)
Can Turbo Richard be a star? The Boston College transfer ran for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns, and caught 32 passes, over his two years, but he missed time in both seasons.
He fits the Indiana mold and is always working for the hard yard, and now it's up to him and Khobie Martin to replace the 2,160 yards and 17 touchdowns from Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black.
The depth is super young. The recruiting classes have been great, but Cignetti didn't go after any real offensive depth in the portal. It might be trial by fire in the rotation with nine underclassmen projected to play big roles among the twos.
Player to Watch
Bray Lynch, C Sr.
How do you replace a heart-and-soul leader?
Pat Coogan had enough talent to be drafted, but he wasn't about the tools - he was a mauler who helped take over games as much as possible for a center.
Lynch started every game at right guard last season - Joe Brunner will take over there. Now the 6-5, 298-pounder has to be the new main man of another loaded front five.
Defense
Defensive coordinator Bryant Haynes turned into a star over the last year in several ways. Mostly, he's known for putting together the nation's No. 4 defense in yards allowed and No. 2 in scoring D, only behind Ohio State.
And he has enough players back to do it all again.
The offensive side might be working to replace historic talents. This side of the ball lost a few stars, but it's loaded with great veterans and brought in enough transfers to be every bit as good.
What’s Working
Experience. That last part in the Offense section about how the projected backups are almost all underclassmen - not a problem or concern here.
Seven of the projected backups are upperclassmen, and outside of likely starting sophomore defensive back Byron Baldwin Jr., the defense is loaded with old guys, with most of them battle-hardened, starting with ...
The linebacking corps will be special. It stinks to lose Aidan Fisher - a late draft pick by the Houston Texans - but Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy are All-Big Ten stars who combined for 180 tackles, 15 sacks, and 30 tackles for loss.
The secondary will be outstanding, too. D'Angelo Ponds was among the best defensive backs in the country last year - he went in the second round to the New York Jets - but Jamari Sharpe is another good pro prospect corner, and Amare Ferrell is an All-Big Ten-caliber safety.
Everything will be great with this group as long as the Hoosiers hit big on ...
What Needs Work
The transfer portal - the edge rushers. The Hoosiers will mostly rely on the new guys to play big roles on the end, but there's a lot of projection here. (And no, not questioning Cignetti's talent evaluation skills in any way here.)
Tobi Osunsanmi and Chiddi Obiazor were good edge rushers at Kansas State, and Josh Burnham is a strong prospect coming over from Notre Dame, but they weren't big-time playmakers.
The transfer portal - secondary. The new edge rushers have experience, but they were just pretty good. The new defensive backs are proven great talents, but they both got dinged up last season.
AJ Harris is a strong corner signing from Penn State, and seventh-year senior Preston Zachman from Wisconsin will be a stat-sheet filler if he can stay healthy - he missed most of last year with a leg injury.
It was a fight against the accurate passers. Nitpicking time, but outside of the national championship win over Miami, there were three close fights.
Ohio State's Julian Sayin and Penn State's Ethan Grunkemeyer each completed over 70% of their passes, and Iowa's slow-to-a-crawl style almost worked, with Mark Gronowski completing 76% of his throws.
Player to Watch
Tyrique Tucker, DT Sr.
Any elite run defense needs a big, nasty nose tackle who gums everything up. The 6-0, 307-pound Tucker does more than that.
Good at James Madison, he was one of the transfers who came over with Cignetti. Good as a sophomore, he turned into a foundational rock last year, with 40 tackles, six sacks, and 12 tackles for loss as a true anchor for the elite defense.
Keys to the Season
- Josh Hoover has to be very, very good in clutch moments and come close to matching Fernando Mendoza's production.
- Can the Hoosiers stay relatively healthy?
- Maintain the same level of efficiency on both sides of the ball.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Josh Hoover, QB Sr.
Remember, Fernando Mendoza was just okay at Cal - there's a reason no one saw what was coming.
Here's the real thing that matters in the comp, considering how everyone is worrying about the 13 picks Hoover threw last year - Mendoza threw 16 interceptions in his first two years with the Bears.
Mendoza got sharper and better at making the big plays down the field when he got comfortable with the Hoosier receivers.
Hoover already has the deep ball side of things down, and he's far more accomplished coming in than Mendoza was.
Biggest Concern
Staying healthy through another possible run to the national championship.
Of course Indiana had its share of issues keeping everyone healthy through the 16-game season, but all things considered, it caught a whopper of a break on the injury luck.
Nine defensive starters played almost every game, and the other two spots were relatively locked down without an issue.
With a few one-game exceptions here and there, the starting 11 on offense was about as intact as reasonably possible the entire way.
Biggest Game
Ohio State, October 17
You're not wrong to call this the game of the college football regular season - it might be 1 vs 2.
It'll be a stunner if the Hoosiers aren't 6-0 with ease to start the season. Losing to Ohio State in Week 7 would hardly mean the season is over, but it's a national championship-level game in Bloomington.
Transfer Portal
Indiana has the national championship season, lots and lots of NIL funds, and Curt Cignetti. The top players in the portal are going to pick up the phone when the Hoosiers call.
This can't be said enough, so forgive the repeat - trust the Cignetti talent evaluation skills.
The high-end talents coming in are terrific, and just assume the Indiana staff saw something in most of the midrange-ranked players that others didn't.
Best Signing
Nick Marsh, WR (Michigan State)
Here's your new explosive playmaker.
On an offense that didn't have much going its way, Marsh was the one guy who needed the ball in his hands as much as possible. In two years, he caught 100 passes for 1,311 yards and nine touchdowns.
Biggest Loss
Hosea Wheeler, DT (Baylor)
Amazing at Western Kentucky, he was coming off a 75-tackle season before coming to Bloomington.
He started the first five games and ended up making 31 tackles with four tackles for loss, but Tyrique Tucker is the main man on the nose now.
Other Names to Know
- Joe Brunner, OG (Wisconsin)
- Shazz Preston, WR (Tulane)
- Brock Schott, TE (Miami)
CFN Season Prediction
It'll be fascinating to see how Cignetti and his staff play this.
As much as Indiana will want to set a tone every time out and dominate every game, it's not about doing the business of the 12 in the front of the schedule; it's about the part in the back with those three or four in the end.
If this bunch wants to go visit Fernando in Las Vegas for the College Football Playoff National Championship, the top veterans need to have their batteries charged to at least 90%.
Yes, Indiana is loaded with experience and returns plenty of starters. It also has a starting 22 - and this includes most of the transfers - who already played a ton of very tough, very physical football.
If the Hoosiers get back to the national title game, that will mean most of the top guys will have played over 30 games in 17 months.
CFN Prediction: 10-2
Indiana can beat anyone and everyone, and it should roll through the first half without an issue. (Do NOT get hung up on the "2"; it's about the "10" and getting into the CFP.)
North Texas, Howard, Western Kentucky - really pushing the envelope there, national champs - kicks it off, with everything tuned up for the Big Ten season, starting with Northwestern, at Rutgers, at Nebraska.
Be shocked if the Hoosiers aren't unbeaten when Ohio State comes to town.
Missing Iowa, Oregon, and Penn State is nice, and getting USC in Bloomington is huge. At Michigan and at Washington - those are the landmines.
Remember, it took tough, down-to-the-wire battles to get by Iowa, Oregon, Penn State, and Ohio State last season.
Also remember, it's about winning the national title. There will be a few stumbles along the way, but not enough to keep Indiana out of a third straight College Football Playoff ...
Whether the rest of the college football world likes it or not.
Related: Indiana Football 2026 Schedule: Full Breakdown and Season Outlook
