For two years now, Indiana football has been flipping the script under head coach Curt Cignetti. What once seemed like a feel-good story has turned into something far more substantial - a legitimate powerhouse that’s crashed the College Football Playoff party and come out with hardware.
And while the wins have piled up, so have the doubters. One of the loudest?
Paul Finebaum, a longtime SEC voice who’s never been shy about sharing his opinions - especially when it comes to programs outside the South’s football fortress.
Finebaum was vocal in his skepticism throughout Indiana’s rise. He questioned the Hoosiers’ spot in the 2024 Playoff, cast doubt on Cignetti’s coaching chops even after a contract extension, and downplayed the significance of their national title chances heading into the championship game. His stance was clear: Indiana didn’t belong.
But this week, Finebaum took a different tone - a complete about-face, really. On his show Wednesday afternoon, he offered a full-throated admission: he got it wrong.
“There can be no debate,” Finebaum said from his North Carolina studio. “It is the greatest story in the history of the game.”
That’s not a throwaway line. From a guy who’s spent decades covering college football - and who’s built his brand around SEC dominance - calling Indiana’s run the greatest story in the sport’s history is a seismic shift. And he didn’t stop there.
Finebaum acknowledged just how misunderstood Cignetti’s work has been - not just by the public, but by him personally.
“Nobody was more incorrect in understanding that process than me,” he said. “Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong and it was an epic failure on my part.”
It’s a rare moment of vulnerability from a figure who’s made a career out of bold takes and unwavering confidence. But it also speaks to just how undeniable Indiana’s ascent has become.
The wins, the culture shift, the belief - it’s all real. And it’s forced even the sport’s most entrenched voices to reevaluate.
Finebaum, a Tennessee native and SEC loyalist through and through, has never been afraid to stir the pot. That’s part of what’s made him one of the most recognizable personalities in college football media. But like anyone else in this game - analyst, coach, or fan - he’s not immune to being proven wrong.
And Indiana? They’ve done more than prove a point. They’ve changed the conversation.