Big Ten’s Reign Rolls On: Indiana Caps Historic Three-Peat with National Title
MIAMI, Fla. - The Big Ten isn’t just knocking on the door anymore. It’s kicked it down, planted its flag, and made itself at home atop college football. With Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami on Monday night, the conference secured its third straight College Football Playoff national championship - a feat it hadn’t pulled off since the early 1940s.
For Commissioner Tony Petitti, it’s been a whirlwind three-year stretch. Michigan, Ohio State, and now Indiana have all climbed the mountain under his watch, giving him as many national titles in football as the previous three Big Ten commissioners combined. That’s not just a good run - that’s legacy-building stuff.
Petitti, true to form, didn’t soak in the spotlight for long. As confetti rained down and the Hoosiers celebrated their improbable rise, the commissioner gave reporters a brief soundbite before disappearing into the night.
“I can’t be more proud and just be so privileged to be part of this,” Petitti said. “Obviously it means so much for Indiana, but it means a lot for the entire league, all of our coaches, all of our players.”
While Petitti keeps things understated, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has no problem saying what’s on everyone’s mind: the Big Ten is dominating. Over the past three seasons, six different Big Ten programs have reached at least the CFP semifinals - Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, Washington, Penn State, and Oregon.
That’s not a conference riding one or two elite teams. That’s depth, that’s power, and that’s consistency.
From Punchline to Powerhouse
It wasn’t all that long ago the Big Ten was seen as college football’s perennial underachiever. The 2006 and 2007 seasons ended with Ohio State getting steamrolled in back-to-back BCS title games by Florida and LSU, sparking a seven-year SEC championship streak. Even after the Buckeyes reignited hope with their 2014 CFP title, the Big Ten managed just one more playoff win over the next eight seasons.
That narrative started to shift in 2023 when Michigan broke through. But it’s what’s happened since - three straight national titles, a flood of elite talent, and a deeper middle tier - that’s turned the Big Ten from punchline to powerhouse.
A big part of that transformation? The evolving landscape of college football economics.
Since 2021, players have been allowed to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL), but this past season marked a major shift: schools could now directly pay athletes. The Big Ten’s 18 programs were all in, budgeting up to the $20.5 million cap across all sports - with a hefty portion going to football.
That investment paid off. Programs like Ohio State used NIL and revenue sharing to retain and reload, bringing in top-tier transfers like quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins, and safety Caleb Downs. That group helped the Buckeyes rattle off four straight CFP wins by double digits.
Indiana’s Meteoric Rise
But Indiana’s story is something else entirely.
The Hoosiers, long the Big Ten’s football doormat, hired Curt Cignetti in December 2023. He brought with him a dozen players from James Madison and built out the roster with a mix of under-the-radar veterans and a few Power 4 transfers.
That group went 11-2 in 2024. This season, Indiana doubled down, adding more high-level talent, including Cal transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza - who went on to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy.
The result? A national title for a program that had never even sniffed this kind of success. It’s a testament to the power of player movement, financial backing, and a coaching staff that knows how to build fast and win big.
“What Indiana has done in two years, I’ve never seen anything like it in all the years I’ve worked in sports,” Petitti said. “I’m just blown away.”
A Conference on the Rise - Top to Bottom
Indiana, Ohio State, and Oregon all made the CFP this season, but the Big Ten’s strength didn’t stop there. Five other programs - Iowa, USC, Michigan, Washington, and Illinois - finished with at least nine wins.
The conference went 10-4 in bowl games, including a 3-1 record against the SEC. That followed up a 5-1 mark against the SEC last year.
Still, the perception gap lingers. The SEC placed seven teams in the final AP poll compared to six from the Big Ten.
Some of that skepticism may have stemmed from Indiana’s shaky playoff debut last season, when it lost to Notre Dame in the first round. During that game, ESPN’s Sean McDonough openly questioned the Big Ten’s dominance, saying, “I don’t understand why there’s this presumption from many that the Big Ten is so much better than the ACC or the Big 12.”
Fellow ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit didn’t hold back either, suggesting Indiana “was not a team that should have been on that field.”
But fast forward to this year’s Peach Bowl, where Indiana thrashed Oregon 56-22 in the semifinals, and McDonough had a different tune: “The Big Ten has established itself as the premier conference in college football right now, for sure.”
After Monday’s championship, McDonough stood by his previous comments but acknowledged the shift. “It’s a year later, they’ve won the last two national championships, and they have the No. 1 team in the country this year. You go down below that, they’re winning the other bowl games.”
Letting the Results Speak
Despite the lack of vocal advocates in the media, the Big Ten is letting its record do the talking. Three straight national championships.
A deeper pool of competitive programs. A clear edge in head-to-head matchups with the SEC.
The numbers don’t lie.
“I think it shows that the Big Ten’s taking over for real,” said Indiana safety Louis Moore, who transferred from Ole Miss in 2024. “They’re always trying to compare like the top two conferences, obviously the SEC and the Big Ten.
It’s always been like back and forth with them, too, to be honest. But now it shows that the Big Ten’s taking over, that’s how it’s gonna be.”
It’s not just a hot streak - it’s a changing of the guard. And as the dust settles on another championship season, the Big Ten isn’t chasing anyone anymore. It’s setting the pace.