The Sporting News is betting big on Indiana.
In its 2026 college football preview magazine, back in print for the first time since 2012, the publication picked IU football to repeat as national champions and slotted the Hoosiers at No. 1 in its preseason rankings. Most other major preseason outlooks, along with the preseason coaches poll, have Ohio State or Oregon sitting atop the Big Ten. The Sporting News went in a different direction.
The Hoosiers headline the magazine’s preseason top 10, followed by Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, Miami (FL), Ole Miss, Oklahoma and USC. The preview also projects Indiana to beat Notre Dame in the CFP national championship game.
That belief in Indiana comes with a clear nod to Curt Cignetti’s impact.
“Head coach Curt Cignetti has shifted the landscape of the Big Ten with his mastery of the transfer portal and talent evaluation,” The Sporting News wrote. “New quarterback Josh Hoover will have to pick up where Fernando Mendoza left off, and that is no easy task. But the Hoosiers should be good enough to get back to the CFP for a third straight season under Cignetti.”
The magazine’s projected Big Ten order of finish has Indiana first, then Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, Illinois, Washington, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, UCLA, Northwestern, Michigan State, Purdue, Maryland and Rutgers.
Indiana also showed up prominently in The Sporting News’ preseason All-America team, released Thursday. Carter Smith and Rolijah Hardy landed on the first team, while Charlie Becker was named to the second team.
Smith, listed at 6-5 and 313 pounds, earned second-team SN All-America honors last season and started all 16 games for the Hoosiers. The publication pointed to his role as a steady presence up front, noting that he allowed just two sacks - both in the CFP championship game - and helped anchor a rushing attack that averaged 212.9 yards per game.
Hardy, a 5-11, 227-pound Navy transfer, broke out as a disruptive linebacker on Indiana’s national championship team last season. He finished with 102 tackles, eight sacks and 15 tackles for loss, while also adding five pass breakups in coverage. The Sporting News called him one of Indiana’s key returning pieces for 2026, along with Isaiah Jones and Tyrique Tucker.
In Other News...
Former Hoosiers Are Suddenly Facing Big NFL Camp Stakes
At the start of NFL training camp, 27 former Hoosiers were scattered across league rosters and fighting for the kind of opportunities that can define a summer. For Indiana fans, it is the sort of snapshot that keeps the programs pro pipeline in view, with players in all sorts of camp roles: Fernando Mendoza getting work with the Raiders, Riley Nowakowski sitting as the only fullback on the Steelers depth chart and Zach Horton finding himself back with Detroit after a teammates injury created another opening.
The early days have not been especially clean for everyone, either. Kaelon Black and DAngelo Ponds have already missed practice time, which is the sort of setback that can tighten the margins when rosters are still taking shape and every rep matters. For a group of Hoosiers trying to turn camp invitations into something more permanent, the next few days will tell plenty about who is holding ground and who still has work to do. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Just Got A Late Roster Boost Fans Will Want To See
A court ruling on NCAA eligibility has given Indiana a late jolt of roster clarity, and it comes at a useful time with fall camp opening for football and the rest of the athletic calendar already moving full speed ahead. The ripple effect reaches both major programs, with IU basketball also adding transfers Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu as the Hoosiers continue to reshape the look of the roster.
For football, the ruling matters because it gives the program another layer of long-term stability heading into the upcoming season and beyond. With IU volleyball also making the rounds at Big Ten media day, it has been a busy stretch across the department, but this latest development is the one that could pay off most down the line if the added eligibility turns into real continuity for a team still sorting out its future pieces. [Read more 🡒]
Rolijah Hardy Has Become Indianas Defensive Standard Bearer
Rolijah Hardy enters the season as the clear defensive centerpiece for Indiana, and the accolades reflect how far he has come. The junior linebacker led the Hoosiers in tackles and sacks last season, and his name keeps popping up on preseason All-American and All-Big Ten lists, a sign that outside evaluators see him as more than just a productive returning starter. With Aiden Fisher gone, Indiana will lean harder on Hardy and Isaiah Jones to help set the tone for a defense that now needs new voices as much as new production.
Hardys value has been about more than chasing ball carriers. He has shown the kind of versatility that gives a defense flexibility, from a pick-six in the 2024 spring game to coverage plays that stood out during the previous season. The question for Indiana is no longer whether Hardy can make impact plays. It is how much more he can carry when the Hoosiers ask him to become the standard everyone else is measured against. [Read more 🡒]