Indiana’s 2025 run rewrote the script for a season. The Hoosiers won it all with a blue-chip ratio of just eight percent, a number that would have sounded impossible in the sport’s modern era before Curt Cignetti and company pulled it off.
That title team didn’t look anything like the usual national champion on paper. It was built around older players, sharper evaluation and a staff that knew exactly how to put the pieces together.
Coordinators Bryant Haines and Mike Shanahan helped drive the operation, and the roster’s age stood out from the start. Indiana averaged 22.5 years old, with 47 players between 22 and 25.
The starting lineup reflected that maturity. Jared Hayes of 247Sports reported, "Indiana's starting lineup in 2025 consisted of 17 players in their fourth year of eligibility or more.
Starting safeties Louis Moore and Devan Boykin were both sixth-year seniors, as well as tight end Riley Nowakowski and right tackle Kahlil Benson. Center Pat Coogan and defensive end Mikail Kamara were fifth-year seniors.
Ten more starters were either true seniors or redshirt juniors."
Cignetti, who is 66, is still the kind of coach who can squeeze the most out of a roster. He has a reputation for finding players who fit his system, and that part of his formula isn’t going anywhere. Big Ten Network analyst Adam Brenneman said on his podcast, "Toughness is the first thing Curt Cignetti looks for when evaluating players."
"It doesn’t matter what position they play. He watches how linemen finish blocks, how receivers block downfield, and how quarterbacks respond after taking hits in the pocket. That’s the standard he recruits to."
Still, repeating what Indiana did in 2025 is another matter entirely. No team has gone back-to-back since Georgia in 2021 and 2022, and the Hoosiers’ championship roster was also the last Covid bubble team. The experience edge that helped Indiana separate from the pack won’t be as easy to recreate, especially now that fifth- and sixth-year seniors are harder to come by.
And the broader college football picture still points back toward talent. Before Indiana’s breakthrough, every modern national champion had a blue-chip ratio of at least 50 percent.
Most of them were built from Top Five recruiting classes, and many had landed at least one No. 1 class. In their title seasons, 2024 Ohio State, 2022 Georgia, 2021 Georgia and 2020 Alabama all carried blue-chip ratios of 77 percent or better.
That’s why 2026 figures to bring the blue-chip model back into focus. Ohio State, Texas, Miami, Georgia, Notre Dame and Oregon sit among the national championship contenders, and they all lean heavily on the kind of recruiting formula that has powered the last 20 titles. At Oregon, Dan Lanning has made the pursuit of a No. 1 recruiting class such a priority that he has written it on his bathroom mirror, right below being the best husband and father he can be.
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Oregons Next 2027 Commit Could Be Closer Than Fans Think
Oregons 2027 recruiting class already has plenty of star power, and the Ducks are still working at a pace that suggests the group could keep growing soon. As of mid-July, they have 24 verbal commits, highlighted by recent additions Xavier Sabb, Hayden Stepp and Tae Walden Jr., giving Dan Lannings staff another early showcase of how aggressively it is building for the future.
The next move may not be far off, either, with four-star linebacker Feister sitting in the strongest position to become the next name in the class. Oregon remains in the mix for several other prospects as well, including defensive tackle Parks and running back Williams-Callis, while some targets have already shut things down elsewhere despite the Ducks continued interest. For a class that is already deep and still taking shape, the more interesting question may be how much more room Oregon wants to make. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Is Making A Serious Push For Its Next Elite Quarterback
Oregons quarterback board for the 2028 class is already taking shape, and Josiah Boyd has emerged as one of the names worth watching. The four-star passer has drawn attention from a national group of powers, but the Ducks have stayed active in his recruitment and have built real momentum by getting him to Eugene multiple times.
The competition is not letting up, though, with Ohio State and several other major programs still in the mix alongside USC, Arizona State, Alabama and Kentucky. Oregon has done enough to keep itself squarely in the conversation, and the relationship it has built with Boyd and the staff will matter as this chase develops over the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New Football Complex Already Feels Like A Recruiting Statement
Oregons next big football project is already shaping up to be more than just another building on campus. The Ducks are constructing a massive new indoor practice facility that will sit near the heart of the athletic footprint, with the kind of scale and visibility that makes a statement before a recruit ever steps inside. The plan also includes moving outdoor practice fields, reworking nearby roads and improving community facilities, all part of a privately funded effort that underscores how much support is behind the program.
For Dan Lanning, the appeal is as practical as it is symbolic. The new complex is designed to put classrooms, training spaces and football operations in closer reach of one another, a setup that should make daily life easier for players and coaches alike while also easing pressure on existing facilities. Completion is still a ways off, but even now the project already feels like the sort of infrastructure move that can shape how Oregon sells itself on the trail. [Read more 🡒]