Indiana Star Makes Bold Claim Before National Championship Game

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Indiana Star Makes Bold Claim Before National Championship Game

With their win over Oregon in the Peach Bowl, Indiana became just the fifth team in college football history to go 15-0 in a season, joining the likes of 2018 Clemson, 2022 Georgia, 2023 Michigan and – most famously – 2019 LSU.

Ahead of their national title game against Miami and the chance to be the first-ever team to go 16-0, people started debating how this Indiana team would fare against the LSU team that broke countless records and made mincemeat out of elite teams. For Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., there's a clear answer: The Hoosiers would win.

Speaking to On3's JD PicKell, Cooper declared that Indiana would beat the Tigers by a field goal.

“I would say 24-21, Indiana,” Cooper said.

Pride before a fall…

The 2019 LSU team is revered – especially by SEC football fans – as the greatest team of the College Football Playoff era and one of the greatest of all-time. So when Cooper declared that Indiana might even stand a chance against the Tigers, many pushed back in a big way:

"Their best corner wouldn’t be able to cover Terrace Marshall let alone the other two," one user declared.

"Indiana is a great story but 2019 was a completely different era at this point. There was basically no portal so all the blue bloods were infinitely more stacked than they are right now. 2019 OSU and Clemson would crush 2025 Indiana and so would LSU," another pointed out.

"First off, they would not. Second, what you expect him say? That they would lose?" a third remarked.

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA – NOVEMBER 09: Joe Burrow #9 of the LSU Tigers celebrates as he is carried by teammates after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 46-41 at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

"He says that but does he know that every team who has said that has lost ???"

"There’s no way on Gods green earth they are holding that offense to 21 points for an entire football game."

The 2019 LSU Tigers were stacked from top-to-bottom with NFL players. And not just NFL players who fizzled out quickly, but players who still rank among the best today.

10 starters from that team went on to be top 100 picks in future NFL drafts, and half of those players went in the first round.

Mike Greenberg famously explained why LSU is the greatest team ever in a more concise way:

It's good that Cooper is confident, and this Indiana team will always be special whether they cap off the year as 16-0 national champions or 15-1 runner-ups.

But let's pump the brakes on the comparisons to an all-time great team.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Jan 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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