Why can't Indiana football get some respect? That's the real question
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Curt Cignetti loathes wasting time, so let’s get straight to the point.
Folks, no “next Indiana” looms on the horizon. There’s just Indiana.
Within the college football ecosystem, the pundits reheated an old topic from last summer, debating which program is poised to make an Indiana-esque rise from the trash heap to the top of the heap.
If the options for summertime college football banter are trying to unearth the “next Indiana” or scrutinizing the foot care of Florida’s coach — yes, that’s actually a topic under debate — then I choose the former.
But, the boring truth is no program seems imminently poised to replicate the jesters-to-heroes turnaround the Hoosiers pulled off. Asking who's the next Indiana, as if an answer exists, ignores the marvelous rarity of the Hoosiers' outhouse-to-penthouse plot twist.
Could UCLA be on the upswing? Sure. Bob Chesney looks like a good hire. He kept James Madison humming after Cignetti left, and he’s recruiting well at UCLA.
Does Kentucky suddenly have reason for hope? Indeed. Rookie coach Will Stein signed a nice transfer class, and he boasts a track record for quarterback development. Kentucky will become a winner “because of me, to be honest,” Stein told reporters recently. That’s Cignetti-level bravado, even if he lacks Cignetti’s head coaching resume.
Count Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State among programs with new coaches that should experience an uptick.
But, neither UCLA nor Kentucky nor any other woebegone program is on the verge of going 27-2 in two seasons, like Indiana did out of the chute with Cignetti at the wheel and the nation’s largest living alumni base at his sails.
So, while we’re busy mulling who’s the next Indiana, here’s a more relevant question:
Can the Hoosiers repeat as national champions?
Answer: The Hoosiers have a much better chance at repeating than Kentucky does of becoming the next Indiana.
Indiana football is still stacked, making a repeat possible
If Indiana’s jersey said Ohio State or Alabama or the name of some other blue blood on the front, the Hoosiers would be garnering more serious consideration for the No. 1 ranking in the preseason polls.
They won’t be No. 1, because I detect at least a hint of lingering skepticism about Indiana’s staying power, despite all evidence indicating they’re built to last — at least so long as Cignetti is in charge and the donors stay engaged.
The Hoosiers sent eight players to the NFL Draft after going 16-0, but they remain loaded. How loaded? Recently, when I cast my preseason all-Big Ten ballot, I wrote down the names of more Hoosiers than Buckeyes or Ducks.
When the ballots were tabulated, Indiana finished with seven selections on our USA TODAY preseason all-Big Ten lineup, matching Oregon's haul and outpacing Ohio State's four selections. The Hoosiers’ defense looks stacked. The offensive line remains robust. Transfer wide receiver Nick Marsh and running back Turbo Richard (good player, great name) addressed skill-position needs.
The key question: How big will the dropoff be from Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza to TCU transfer Josh Hoover?
Big Ten armed with three national title contenders
Don’t misinterpret my bullishness on Indiana as a knock on Ohio State or Oregon. Fact is, the Big Ten features three bona fide national championship contenders. (I wonder whether the SEC could say the same.)
If you’re picking Ohio State or Oregon to win the conference, I get it. Both feature top-of-the-line starting quarterbacks who’ve proven themselves inside the Big Ten. Jeremiah Smith and Bo Jackson join Julian Sayin to give Ohio State three Heisman hopefuls. Oregon’s defensive line could be second to none, just as Indiana’s linebackers could be second to none.
There remains a big three in the Big Ten for 2026, and it doesn’t include Michigan.
It’s Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon.
Or, it’s Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State.
Or, it’s Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana.
We can debate the order, but those three form the Big Ten's Cerberus. The more I examine the Hoosiers, the more I think their teeth could be sharpest.
“I like the guys we’ve got in the locker room,” Cignetti told ESPN recently. “We’ve been successful every year in the past, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t be successful every year in the future.”
I don’t either.
“Why go somewhere else?” Cignetti mused aloud.
He already answered that question. There’s no reason to go anywhere else.
Cignetti answered another question, too. Last year, when we asked who’s the next Indiana, Cignetti and his Hoosiers showed there is no next Indiana, there’s just Indiana. That's still true.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why can't Indiana football get some respect? That's the real question
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