The first two College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season have already turned into a moving target, and Indiana got hit harder than most.
After landing at No. 4 in the opening release, the defending national champions slid all the way to No. 9 a week later despite being on a bye. Alabama, UCLA, Notre Dame, Texas and Tennessee all moved ahead of the Hoosiers, and that kind of leapfrogging drew a sharp reaction from Curt Cignetti.
“Bad losses to don't count anymore? 😂😂😂😂😂😂Are first downs still 10 yards?🤡🤡🤡”
Cignetti’s frustration came after a ranking shake-up that affected 18 of the 24 teams in the Top 25 across the first two weekly releases. Indiana was one of the biggest victims of that volatility, and the drop felt especially jarring because it came without the Hoosiers even playing.
Still, the committee’s skepticism about Indiana did not come out of nowhere. The Hoosiers have looked shaky at times in Big Ten play, and outside of a 47-15 win over Rutgers, one of the conference’s weakest teams, they’ve needed one-score wins to keep stacking up victories. They also suffered a dramatic loss to Ohio State.
There’s also the quarterback situation. Josh Hoover did not appear on the team’s most recent availability report, but he has clearly been ailing since the loss to the Buckeyes, and he was replaced by backup Grant Wilson in the recent win over Minnesota. The committee has shown before that it will punish teams with uncertainty at quarterback, going back to the 2023 Jordan Travis situation with Florida State.
Even so, a five-spot fall during a bye week is a steep one. It suggests the committee is looking at more than just Indiana’s record, and that’s where Cignetti’s case starts to make some sense. The Hoosiers have not taken a bad loss, and in a playoff race this crowded, that matters.
The top of the rankings is crowded with teams that can point to cleaner résumés. No.
2 Utah and No. 4 UCLA are unbeaten.
No. 5 Notre Dame has only the close loss at BYU, where the Irish may have deserved one more shot at the end zone after a clock issue following CJ Carr’s final incompletion.
No. 7 Miami’s only defeat came Saturday at Notre Dame, and the Hurricanes were still making a comeback push late.
No. 8 Tennessee lost to No.
6 Texas and also fell to a South Carolina team now ranked 17th.
The teams ahead of Indiana are not spotless, either. Georgia’s move to No. 1 is not controversial, but the Bulldogs do have a loss to a rebuilding Auburn team on their résumé.
Alabama’s lone defeat came in a close one against Georgia before the Crimson Tide were blown out by Tennessee, 26-10. Texas has back-to-back losses to now-unranked Oklahoma and Florida teams that are a combined 2-4 in their games since beating the Longhorns.
Strength of schedule does not exactly rescue Indiana, though. ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Hoosiers at No. 42 nationally in that category, behind six of the eight teams above them.
Only UCLA at No. 65 and Utah at No. 66 rank lower among that group, while Alabama sits at No. 1.
The broader picture only adds to the tension. The current 12-team field would include five SEC teams, with No.
11 Kentucky joining the four schools already mentioned, and the full Top 25 includes nine programs from the league. Cignetti has suggested that ESPN’s role in the process matters, since the network is the SEC’s exclusive media rights partner and also carries the CFP rankings shows and the playoff itself.
“SEC gets a lot of love from ESPN, you know, and all of their writers that they don’t technically pay, but march to their drum. So that’s why you see all these SEC teams up there, and some good two-loss teams from the Big Ten not quite as high,” Cignetti said on a radio show after the first rankings release.
“But like I said, it’s all going to be played out on the field.”
That kind of public shot at the committee is hardly new in college football. Coaches have been working the margins of the playoff system for years, just as they did in the BCS era and around the NCAA basketball tournament. Cignetti is playing the same game, and his annoyance is easy to understand.
Indiana’s five-spot drop made it clear the committee is not treating the Hoosiers like a protected brand, and they certainly are not getting the kind of benefit of the doubt Alabama has earned. With USC coming up Saturday, a game that could shape Indiana’s Big Ten championship hopes and playoff chances, Cignetti may need every bit of help he can get from the rankings conversation.
In Other News...
Indiana Just Landed A Guard Hoosier Fans Will Want To Watch
Indiana added another notable name to its future backcourt with the signing of four-star guard Chase Branham from the class of 2027, a move that gives Hoosier fans an early reason to keep an eye on La Lumiere School. At 6-foot-4, Branham brings size for the position, and his arrival only adds to the sense that Indiana is trying to build its next wave with players who can fit the programs long-term plans.
Branham also arrives with some historical context attached, since he is now the 10th-highest ranked recruit Indiana has landed in the 247Sports era. In the schools official release, coach Darian DeVries highlighted both Branhams ability and his character, which is usually the kind of combination a staff hopes will translate well once the real work begins and the recruiting buzz gives way to what he can actually do in Bloomington. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Just Sent Indiana A Message Before Bloomington Showdown
Lincoln Riley had plenty of praise for Indiana as USC turns its attention toward a trip to Bloomington, and the message was clear enough: this is not a matchup the Trojans can treat casually. Asked about the Hoosiers, Riley pointed to an experienced defense and the kind of coaching continuity that can make a team harder to prepare for, while also showing respect for Curt Cignettis program.
For Indiana, the compliments matter because they come with a reminder of what usually decides games at this level: which team can bring the same standard from one week to the next. Riley said consistency is the challenge, and that is exactly the sort of test the Hoosiers want in a high-profile home game, where a strong defensive identity and steady coaching should give them a chance to make USC earn everything. [Read more 🡒]
Tobi Osunsanmi May Decide Whether Indiana Can Survive USCs Attack
USC brings one of the Big Tens most dangerous passing attacks into this matchup, and Indianas best answer may come from the front line. The Trojans have leaned on quarterback Jayden Maiava to drive the offense, while the Hoosiers have built their defensive identity around getting pressure and disrupting timing before a play can fully develop.
Tobi Osunsanmi is at the center of that challenge. Indiana has to find a way to make USC uncomfortable early and often, because if Maiava settles in, the Trojans can turn a game fast through the air. The Hoosiers have shown they can defend at a high level, but this one may hinge on whether Osunsanmi and the pass rush can force USC out of rhythm before the secondary has to hold up for long stretches. [Read more 🡒]