Curt Cignetti’s Indiana run is being framed here as a sequel nobody saw coming: the Hoosiers ride all the way to the College Football Playoff in 2025, take their expected hit on the national stage, then come back in 2026 with Fernando Mendoza and somehow keep the train rolling. In this projection, the result is a season that starts with control, hits a brutal midseason stretch, and still ends with Indiana sitting at 10-2 overall and 7-2 in Big Ten play.
The opening month looks like a steady march through opponents Indiana should handle without much drama. North Texas comes first, but the edge that might have existed in 2025 is gone with Drew Mestemaker now at Oklahoma State, and the Hoosiers are projected to win 38-6.
Howard follows, and Indiana is expected to cruise 45-3. Western Kentucky brings a more credible Group of Six challenge, especially with Georgia on the Hilltoppers’ schedule the week before, but the gap in the trenches is still supposed to show up fast in a 34-6 Indiana win.
Big Ten play begins with a pair of road games that both tilt Indiana’s way in these predictions. Northwestern, despite hiring Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator, is still short on punch, and the Hoosiers are picked to win 42-13.
Rutgers has some offensive upside, but not enough to threaten Indiana in Piscataway; that one lands at 42-24. Then comes the first real measuring stick: a trip to Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers are described as less intimidating than they once were, and Indiana is forecast to leave Lincoln with a 27-13 win.
The schedule then tightens in a hurry. Ohio State comes to Bloomington, and that’s where the streak ends in this projection.
Julian Sayin is expected to be better in Year 2, Jeremiah Smith is also projected to take another step, and the Buckeyes are picked to win 24-14. A month later, Indiana heads to Michigan, where the matchup is treated as close to even but still slightly tilted toward the Wolverines at home.
The call there is Michigan 23, Indiana 21.
Indiana is expected to steady itself after that stretch. Minnesota comes to Bloomington, and the Hoosiers are projected to lean on a creative defense to frustrate Drake Lindsey and win 27-10.
USC follows in mid-November, and the Trojans’ offense is described as dangerous enough to scare anyone, but not enough to survive in Bloomington because of their defense. Indiana is picked to win that one 42-31.
The road trip to Washington is labeled a sneaky trap game, though the Huskies themselves are treated as more than that. Demond Williams Jr. is singled out as a dynamic threat, but Indiana’s poise under Mendoza is part of the reason the Hoosiers are still projected to escape with a 17-13 win.
The regular season closes with Purdue, a program that hasn’t won a Big Ten game since 2023 and isn’t expected to change that here. Indiana is projected to finish the job with a 49-10 rout.
The final forecast is simple enough: 10-2 overall, 7-2 in the Big Ten.
In Other News...
Indiana Footballs 5 Biggest Recruiting Wins That Changed Everything
For a program that spent years trying to change its recruiting reputation, the last decade has offered a few real proof points, and Indianas best classes have produced more than just serviceable starters. Omar Cooper Jr., Carter Smith, Michael Penix Jr. and Whop Philyor all arrived with different profiles and different expectations, but each became part of the Hoosiers broader rise under multiple coaching staffs. The common thread is how those additions helped Indiana look more like a program that could identify, develop and keep high-end talent on the field.
The interesting part is how much of that success came from players who either outperformed their rankings or turned into foundational pieces once they got to Bloomington. Some became the faces of a passing attack, others stabilized the line of scrimmage, and one helped reset what Indiana could ask of its quarterback room. The list shows why recruiting wins matter here beyond the headline rating, because the real value is in the way those commitments changed the ceiling of the program and left the Hoosiers with a stronger future to sell. [Read more 🡒]
Curt Cignetti Just Reached A New Level Of National Spotlight
Curt Cignettis rise from college football success story to national name keeps spilling beyond the sideline, and his latest stop is a commercial shoot that puts Indianas coach in the kind of mainstream spotlight few in the sport ever reach. After leading the Hoosiers through an undefeated championship season, Cignetti has already shown up in a growing list of media and promotional spots tied to that turnaround.
Now he is taking part in a national State Farm ad, another sign that his profile has climbed well past Bloomington. The shoot has given him a different kind of challenge than game-planning, with plenty of retakes along the way, and it adds one more layer to a run that has already made him one of the most recognizable figures in the sport. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana May Finally Be Showing The Toughness Fans Have Wanted
Indianas latest exhibition offered a glimpse of the kind of edge fans have been waiting to see. Samet Yigitoglu and Aiden Sherrell both flashed in the frontcourt, while freshman Prince-Alexander Moody brought the kind of energy and defensive activity that can change the tone of a game. Even with the offense not fully clicking from long range, the backcourt still did a solid job of creating looks and keeping the pressure on.
Sherrell in particular stood out as a player who looked ready to take on more responsibility, and Moodys effort gave the roster a different kind of spark. The coaching staff came away encouraged by how those pieces are developing, which matters as much as the final score in November. What Indiana is still trying to sort out is whether those promising stretches can turn into the sort of consistent toughness that holds up once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]