The Indiana Hoosiers made history in the previous college football season, going 16-0, winning the Big Ten and winning the national title game against Miami. A big reason for their success was the amount of returning players who had at least two or three years of experience playing at the college level. However, over the offseason, the Hoosiers lost multiple players to the NFL Draft and the transfer portal.
Though, this is not to say that head coach Curt Cignetti hasn’t reloaded the needed positions. Through the transfer portal, Cignetti and his staff gained quarterback Josh Hoover to replace 2025 Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, as well as wide receiver Nick Marsh, who has a big frame (6-foot-3 and 200 pounds). These two were already seen making connections throughout spring camp and likely will be a huge threat against opposing defenses in this upcoming season.
Indiana also brought in Boston College transfer Turbo Richard to play running back. The rising junior played in both his freshman and sophomore seasons for Boston College. In the 2025 season, he ran for 749 yards and nine touchdowns, while also notching 213 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
On the defensive side, they added corner A.J. Harris, who previously played at Georgia and Penn State. They also gained EDGEs Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State) and Joshua Burnham (Notre Dame) from the portal.
It appears that Indiana will likely use the same strategy that it used last year to win the national championship, which is utilizing experience. Many of the players it brought in have one or two years left of eligibility and have played at least one or two seasons. Not to mention the players who have been at Indiana the past couple of seasons who will be stepping up into bigger roles.
What does Indiana’s playoff road look like?
The Hoosiers don’t have a rough path to the playoffs. Their hardest games will be on Week 7 against Ohio State at home, Week 8 against Michigan away and Week 10 against USC at home.
Now, while Michigan and USC will likely still be top-25 teams by the time the Hoosiers play them, Indiana should still be favored by at least one or two touchdowns. If the Hoosiers are going to lose a game during the regular season, it’ll most likely come from Ohio State. The Buckeyes will have already played a top team in Texas before they go to play Indiana, while the Hoosiers’ biggest challenge before Week 7 will be playing on the road at Nebraska.
It seems like the Hoosiers have a favorable path to going undefeated in the regular season, making the Big Ten championship and making the playoffs as a top seed. With the amount of discipline Cignetti coaches his team with, and the fact they have found players that have loads of talent, there’s no doubt that Indiana will be back as a top team this upcoming season.
