To find next Indiana football, consider these two basketball schools
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When Indianawon its first national championship in program history, the Hoosiers smashed college football’s permission structure. Fans could always hope. Thanks to Indiana, fans of lovable losers gained permission to believe.
Who cares about history? That matters less than ever.
And while that’s not necessarily great news for programs like Alabama, that’s a fine development for a few other programs inside the SEC — one, in particular.
On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate whether the “next Indiana” could be located inside the conference that used to rule college football before relinquishing its grip of power these past few seasons.
You don’t get to where Indiana got on a wish and a prayer. Programs like Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi State and South Carolina must study how Curt Cignetti built this undefeated squad.
A billionaire with a checkbook would come in handy, too.
Who’s the next Indiana? Consider Kentucky
Adams: Kentucky has a doormat’s history, so that makes it eligible to be the next Indiana. If you check out UK’s offseason, the Wildcats appear interested in changing their course. They showed a commitment to change when they fired Mark Stoops and pulled the plug on his downward spiral. To replace him, they hired hot-shot coordinator Will Stein from Oregon, where he developed quarterbacks Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. Pretty good, right?
Stein is cooking in the transfer portal, building a class that’s ranked No. 9 in the 247Sports Composite. To have a chance, you must have a quarterback. Kentucky landed Kenny Minchey, the former Notre Dame backup. He’s unproven but seems talented.
Stein’s hiring might have caused UK’s donors to perk up. You don’t build a top-10 transfer class without some cash.
Toppmeyer: Like Indiana, Kentucky ranks among the losingest programs in college football history, so its pedigree makes it eligible for consideration. Big Blue Nation, located just across the Ohio River from Indiana, had a front-row view to the Hoosiers’ success.
“It can be done,” Stein said after his hire.
Kentucky’s transfer haul is a nice start, but I detect notable differences between UK’s quest for an uprising and what Indiana pulled off with Cignetti.
Cignetti seeded Indiana by bringing along some of his best players from James Madison, guys like D’Angelo Ponds and Elijah Sarratt. They became stars in the Big Ten. Stein doesn’t have the benefit of bringing along a bunch of proven Oregon players.
Cignetti’s roster-building strategy focuses on production over potential. In players like Minchey, Stein is betting on potential paying dividends.
Also, consider the track record of the two coaches. Cignetti had never been a Power Four coach, but he had a long record of winning wherever he’d coached, from Division II up to James Madison. Stein is a first-time coach. A 36-year-old Louisville native, he might invigorate fans and the booster class. But, his resume does not compare to Cignetti’s.
Indiana and Kentucky possess a similar history as basketball schools, and Stein’s transfer activity suggests he’s intent on a new direction. Beyond that, some of the comparisons come apart.
While Indiana’s success allows programs like Kentucky to think, “Why not us?” few teams will be able to pull off an uprising to the magnitude Indiana did.
What’s another candidate to be the ‘next Indiana’?
Toppmeyer:UCLA has a much superior football history to Indiana, but it’s a basketball school that’s been down in football the past couple of seasons. Its football peak occurred in the 1950s, with another summit in the 1980s. In other words, a long time ago.
Like Indiana, UCLA has a huge alumni base. Can new coach Bob Chesney get those alumni engaged on the NIL front?
Oh, and how about this: Chesney is a proven winner who most recently coached James Madison. How’s that for some Cignetti vibes?
Adams: Here’s the thing about Indiana’s outburst: Nobody saw it coming. That’s what makes predicting the “next Indiana” so difficult. Probably, we won’t see it coming.
Money helps. Show me a billionaire who’s intent on turning his alma mater into a first-time champion, and I’ll show you the next Indiana.
Texas Tech has a better history than Indiana, but it lacks a national championship. Oil tycoon Cody Campbell is intent on changing that.
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: To find next Indiana football, see Kentucky and UCLA, basketball schools
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