Indiana football accomplished what once seemed impossible last season, shedding its reputation as one of college football's perennial losing programs and replacing it with a far more prestigious label of national champion.
Now, with TCU transfer Josh Hoover taking over at quarterback
and expectations raised higher in Bloomington, the question is obvious: Can the Hoosiers do it again and become just the 15th FBS program to defend their national title?ESPN's Paul Finebaum isn't buying into that.
"One of the easiest bets in college football is to go against the defending champion no matter what you know about them. And Indiana has more things going against it than just
the suffocating pressure of being the defending champion," Finebaum said on this week's USA TODAY Sports' College Football Unfiltered podcast with Blake Toppmeyer.
So, what's going against the sixth-ranked Hoosiers heading into the 2026 campaign? Finebaum had his laundry list of reasons for Cignetti's squad, which is just the second defending national champion in the past 15 years to start the following season outside the top five in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
"They're suddenly hunted. A lot of people do not like them. And their schedule, which I'm a schedule freak about because I think a good schedule can help you and a very difficult schedule can cost you, especially when you're depending on 13 people (the College Football Playoff selection committee) to determine whether you go to the playoffs or no," Finebaum said.
"... So I'm betting against them."
Indiana is not set to face a single Power Four opponent in its nonconference schedule — which kicks off Saturday, Sept. 5 at noon ET against North Texas — and is set to face four preseason top-25 teams from the Coaches Poll in its Big Ten slate, including No. 1 Ohio State and No. 16 Michigan in back-to-back weeks. The Hoosiers will face No. 14 USC and No. 19 Washington in two of their last three games of the regular season.
In addition to adding Hoover from the portal, Indiana returns Charlie Becker at wide receiver and Carter Smith on the offensive line. The Hoosiers also haveone of the top linebacker units in the country with the returns of Rolijah Hardy and Isaiah Jones.
But Finebaum wasn't all negative on the Hoosiers. He still believes Cignetti can lead Indiana out of the Big Ten and into the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season.
"They'll go to the playoffs. I think they'll lose a couple of games. But no way do I think they can repeat."
Be sure to check out USA TODAY Sports' new College Football Unfiltered podcast, hosted by USA TODAY Sports columnist Blake Toppmeyer. You can stream on YouTube or download via Apple podcasts and Spotify.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paul Finebaum makes his position clear on Indiana: 'I'm betting against them'
