Curt Cignetti has changed the standard at Indiana so quickly that the conversation around the Hoosiers is no longer about relevance. It’s about how high the ceiling really is now.
That’s what makes the 2026 season such a fascinating one for IU. Indiana is coming off a historic 16-0 run that ended with the school’s first-ever football National Championship, and the program enters the new year with the kind of expectations that would have sounded absurd not long ago.
Under Cignetti, though, absurd has become normal. The Hoosiers are 27-2 in his tenure, and after reaching the College Football Playoff in Year 1, he followed that up with the greatest season in program history.
The roster won’t look identical. Indiana lost plenty of production to the NFL.
But this is still a team built to chase another trophy, thanks to a strong transfer portal haul and important returners in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The incoming group is headlined by QB Josh Hoover and WR Nick Marsh, while WR Charlie Becker has the kind of upside that could make him one of the best wideouts in the country.
OL Carter Smith is also expected to be a stabilizing piece up front.
On defense, Indiana has real continuity where it matters most. The return of LB Rolijah Hardy, DL Tyrique Tucker, DB Jamari Sharpe, and CB Amare Ferrell gives the Hoosiers a backbone that should keep them in the hunt.
That’s why the ceiling here is as high as it gets: another national title. Back-to-back championships are absolutely in play for Indiana, even if the road to get there won’t be simple. Cignetti’s culture, the roster shape, and what looks like a favorable schedule all point to a team that can defend its crown.
The betting market sees it that way, too. Indiana is listed at +800 to win it all on DraftKings Sportsbook, which gives the Hoosiers the fourth-best odds in the country behind Ohio State (+600), Notre Dame (+650), and Texas (+750).
The floor is a lot less glamorous, but it’s still very much on the table if a few key games go sideways.
Indiana’s regular season schedule looks manageable on paper. The non-conference slate should be easy, and the Big Ten schedule is workable.
Still, there are landmines. The biggest one comes October 17 against Ohio State in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers get the Buckeyes at home, but Ohio State will be out for revenge after losing the Big Ten Championship Game to Indiana last December.
That game is followed immediately by a trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. Later in November, Indiana hosts USC and then travels west to play Washington. Those four matchups - Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and Washington - are the ones that will shape the season.
If Indiana goes 2-2 in that stretch and handles the rest, the CFP should still be within reach. But if the Hoosiers slip to 1-3 there, or cough up another game elsewhere, the playoff picture gets shaky fast.
At this point, Indiana should be favored in at least 11 of its 12 regular-season games. Even so, the floor is clear: an 8-4 or 9-3 finish and a missed CFP berth.
In Other News...
Curt Cignetti Is Chasing A Recruiting Breakthrough IU Has Never Seen
Curt Cignettis rise at Indiana has already changed the way blue-chip recruits view the Hoosiers, and now the program is pressing for something it has never had before. The target is Monshun Sales, the Rivals No. 1 wide receiver and No. 8 overall player in the 2027 class, a national-level prospect whose list of finalists also includes Alabama, Texas, Ohio State and LSU.
Sales has already made his rounds on official visits this spring, and the process is moving toward a decision window that could come this summer. For Indiana, the appeal is obvious: a coach who has delivered a national championship and a program suddenly willing to sit at the same table as college footballs usual heavyweights, even if the final answer is still to come. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Needs Tobi Osunsanmi To Be A True Difference Maker
As Indiana looks ahead to 2026 after its first national championship, one of the more intriguing pieces on the defensive side is Tobi Osunsanmi, the redshirt senior EDGE who has spent the past couple of seasons carving out a role as a pass-rush threat. At 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds, he brings the kind of burst that can change a drive in a hurry, and his path from linebacker to defensive end has helped shape him into a specialist the Hoosiers can feature when they want pressure off the edge.
The appeal is obvious, especially after a 2025 season in which he flashed impact production and drew a scouting note from a Kansas State beat writer that underscored how disruptive he can be when everything is clicking. The question for Indiana is whether he can turn those traits into something more complete, because the same evaluation also points to the parts of his game that still need work before he can be counted on as a true difference maker for a defense with bigger goals. [Read more 🡒]
Where Former Hoosiers Landed For Their First NBA Summer Shot
A small wave of former Indiana players is getting its first NBA Summer League run this month, with Lamar Wilkerson, Luke Goode, Reed Bailey, Tucker DeVries and Sam Alexis all on rosters for the leagues early showcase games. Former IU forward Malik Reneau, who finished his college career at Miami (FL), is also in the mix, giving Hoosiers fans a handful of familiar names to track as the pro calendar shifts into summer.
Their paths are spread across the leagues three stops in California, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, where the games will be easy enough to find on the usual TV and streaming outlets. For a fan base that spent the spring watching these players in college colors, Summer League offers a first look at where each one fits next, even if the full picture will take a little more time to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]