Indiana hasn’t lost a football game since December 2024. Let that sink in for a second. We’re talking about a program that, up until the middle of the 2025 season, literally owned the worst all-time record of any Power Four team in the country. Even now, they’re sitting at 126th among FBS programs with a brutal 521 wins and 715 losses. And get this: Akron, *Akron*, still has a better all-time winning percentage (.468) than the Hoosiers (.424)! It sounds wild, right? But ever since head coach Curt Cignetti rolled into Bloomington, the game has changed, and frankly, it’s impossible to ignore the seismic shift.
The Maestro Behind The Madness
This Saturday marks the kickoff of their 2026 national title defense against North Texas, and it’s time to revisit why anyone, including this writer, would rank Indiana No. 1 in their Ultimate 138 College Football Rankings. It boils down to three undeniable facts: First, Curt Cignetti is still calling the shots as head coach. That’s paramount. Second, Indiana holds the best record in the sport over the last two seasons, a staggering 27-2. Think about that for a minute. And third, they are the reigning national champions, the first team since way back in 1894 to finish a perfect 16-0. Those are not just stats, folks, that’s a whole new dynasty emerging from nowhere!
Hoover’s New Blueprint For Dominance
The real question now is whether the Hoosiers still have the firepower on the field to back up that insane track record. Transfer quarterback Josh Hoover is a huge piece of that puzzle, a massive reason why this team remains as formidable in 2026 as they were during last year’s historic title run. Hoover is the nation’s leading returning passer, having thrown for 9,629 yards in just 36 career games. With wideouts Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh ready to haul in his passes, Indiana definitely has the offensive weapons to make another run at the top. Cignetti describes Hoover as playing with his “two new best friends:” a good rushing attack and a great defense. If Indiana can run the ball and play defense this year like they did in 2025, Hoover won’t be asked to do nearly as much, meaning fewer turnovers. We saw a similar thing last year with Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers’ 2025 Heisman winner, whose pass attempts dropped from 35 at Cal to 24 with Indiana. Hoover averaged 34 attempts at TCU, and we expect that number to plummet, but it’s all conditional on Indiana being able to run for more than 200 yards at better than five yards per carry.
This weekend, in front of what should be a packed house at Memorial Stadium, we’ll get our first glimpse of Hoover and this new Hoosiers strategy. Against a rebuilding North Texas team, hitting those rushing numbers should be a non-issue. If it *is* a problem, then maybe, just maybe, Indiana could revert to their pre-2024 ways. That would shock me to my core, but then again, Indiana becoming the best program in college football in just two short years already did that. Get ready, because the Hoosiers are back on Saturday, and they’re ready to prove the doubters wrong again.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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