Curt Cignetti knows better than anyone that 2025 does not buy Indiana anything in 2026. Last year is last year.
This year is this year. That part is simple.
Still, it would not be a shock at all if Indiana opens next season with its highest preseason AP ranking ever, and the 14 first-place votes it picked up in the Coaches Poll only strengthened that argument. Nobody is saying that means the Hoosiers are guaranteed to repeat. But there is a real case for putting IU at the top until somebody proves it should be knocked off.
That idea gets even harder to dismiss when you look around at the rest of the sport. Ohio State and Notre Dame may end up as the betting favorites, but both lost their Playoff games last season and both fell to the two best opponents they faced.
Miami lost to IU in its own stadium and has even more first-round picks to replace. Oregon went 0-2 against Indiana and was outscored 86-42 in those two meetings.
Texas entered last season as No. 1 and missed the Playoff entirely after not getting past 4-8 Florida. Georgia has the talent and a returning starting quarterback, but it also has zero Playoff victories over the last three seasons.
That’s part of why Indiana sits among six teams with national title odds between +550 and +900. If that’s the range, the simplest answer might be to start with the team that went 16-0 and brought back its head coach and coordinators. Danny Kanell made that exact argument.
.@dannykanell makes the case for Indiana as the No. 1 team in the country. pic.twitter.com/xNJm3jErpl
And honestly, it’s hard to tear that logic apart. Preseason No. 1 has never been a clean science.
The whole point of the ranking is already fuzzy, especially when the sport spends every summer arguing about what the polls are even supposed to mean. If the goal is to honor the reigning national champ, then giving Indiana that spot would at least make sense.
That approach has plenty of precedent, too. Of the 25 national champions in the 21st century, 12 started the next season at No.
- Most of those teams kept their starting quarterback - nine of the 12 brought back the same QB1.
Indiana doesn’t fit that part of the pattern, but the teams that did start No. 1 with a new quarterback were coached by Nick Saban and Kirby Smart.
That’s the company Indiana is being measured against, and that tells you how much respect Cignetti has earned in a short time.
If somebody wants to argue that the Hoosiers should sit at No. 1 until they actually show signs of slipping, that’s a defensible position. In a sport this chaotic, rewarding the team that just went 16-0 is hardly outrageous. Indiana has a case to start there, and a strong one at that.
In Other News...
Indiana Faces Uncomfortable Questions After Tim Garl Takes Legal Action
Tim Garls exit has now become a legal fight, and it adds another uncomfortable layer to Indiana basketballs offseason conversation. The longtime former head trainer, who spent 44 years in the role, has filed a lawsuit against Indiana Universitys Board of Trustees and athletic director Scott Dolson, accusing the school of wrongful termination and age discrimination. His case is bolstered by letters of support from notable coaches and former players, underscoring how much his name still carries inside the program.
The suit asks for reinstatement, attorney fees and monetary damages, putting Indiana in the position of defending a decision that reaches well beyond one staff change. Garl says the university wanted to move on from him after decades of service, and the dispute now turns on what was said behind the scenes and why the move was made. For a program that values continuity and tradition, it is the kind of public clash that invites even more questions than answers. [Read more 🡒]
Omar Cooper Jr. Is Already Facing Early Pressure With The Jets
Indianas draft haul this spring was the sort of thing that changes the way a program is viewed nationally, with a record eight players hearing their names called in the 2026 NFL Draft. Fernando Mendoza and Omar Cooper Jr. were both first-round selections, a reminder of how much high-end talent the Hoosiers pushed into the league at once and how quickly their former stars have moved from campus headlines to pro expectations.
Coopers transition, though, has already brought a little early-season pressure in New York. The Jets are counting on him to be part of the passing-game picture this season, but his spot in the receiver pecking order is not settling as smoothly as hoped in training camp, where another young wideout has made a strong case to climb the depth chart. For Indiana fans watching from afar, it is the first real reminder that a promising college resume does not guarantee a clean path once the NFL preseason starts sorting roles. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Transfers Are Already Shaping The Tone Of Fall Camp
Indiana kept building through fall camp as it prepares for the 2026-27 season, and a big part of the early tone has come from the newcomers who are settling in quickly. The Hoosiers are working through player development and team cohesion, and both the running back room and the wide receiver group have already started to reflect that mix of returners and transfers. Turbo Richard, who came over from Boston College, is part of a running back rotation that is giving Indiana more variety, while the receiver unit has leaned on the depth and versatility of players such as Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh.
What stands out at this stage is how smoothly some of those transfers are fitting into the program. Rather than just learning the system, a few are already taking on leadership roles in practice, which is usually a good sign for a camp still taking shape. For Indiana, the hope is that this kind of buy-in carries over once the intensity rises and the roster has to translate offseason momentum into something more durable. [Read more 🡒]