Indiana is Now a Football Power

Indiana did it last night. They won the whole thing. They beat every team on their schedule. They have the most wins in a season since some Yale team back in the early 1900's. Let’s discuss.

Indiana is on top of the college football world and they turned their entire program around in two short years. Curt Cignetti proved his worth and then some. I may not personally like him, but he is one hell of a college football coach and he knows how to win in this new era. I read some people griping about his roster being old. Who cares? He did nothing illegal in recruiting fifth and sixth year seniors. These guys wanted to come play for him through the portal, he picked the players that fit his system and he has won big with them at Indiana. He used the portal to perfection.

I made comments a week or so back about Fernando Mendoza being a game manager. I was wrong. He won that game last night. He was the reason that Indiana was able to sustain a few drives and get points. His run on fourth and long that scored the winning TD for Indiana was one of the best runs I have seen in a college football game in quite a long time. He secured the number one pick in the upcoming draft. Mendoza was no game manager last night. He was awesome.

As I said in my previous post about Indiana and Mendoza, this Indiana defense is elite. They are one of the better defenses I have seen on a college football field in a few years. The corners were all over the wideouts. The run defense, save for one long run, stuffed Miami at the line most of the night. And the linebackers cleaned up any messes that came their way. They also provided nice pressure on Carson Beck all night. And the secondary came up with the game sealing interception with less than a minute.

Even IU's special teams came up with a humongous punt block for a TD that helped get the momentum back in the third quarter.

Indiana was the most sound, most serious and best college football team by a wide margin for the 2025-26 season. Miami put up a fight and made it interesting for a while, but Indiana's run seemed destined to end this way. Miami made the title game by upsetting higher seeded teams. Indiana looked every bit the overall number 1 seed, dominating Alabama and Oregon on their way to the title. Miami may have more "pro" ready players, but Indiana was a much more complete and better team. Sure, Mendoza is the QB and Heisman winner, but he has guys all around him loaded with talent. They have two very good running backs. The receivers seemingly never drop a pass. The o line is dominant. The defense is amazing. Indiana is the definition of a team in modern college football. They play for one another, not draft positioning. They won because they bought into the new culture and coaching that came with the new coaching staff. They used the portal the best way possible. They made all the right moves and turned that into a championship team. Now they will have the joy and frustration of playing as the hunted rather than the hunter. They are not going to be taken lightly ever again. This is going to be a perennial contender, and the other teams on their schedule will be looking for new ways to beat them. It seems weird for me to say that about Indiana, but it shouldn't be. They are national champs and national champs play with a target on their back.

I also want to point out that the Big Ten has now won three straight national titles. For years and years the Big Ten always struggled during bowl season. They just couldn't seem to get to the title game, or if they did they would get trounced. But now, in the modern NIL and transfer portal era, the Big Ten seems to be the best conference in all of college football. I don't think it's hyperbolic to say that they have usurped the SEC as the dominant conference. With Indiana last night, the university of Ohio State last year and Michigan two seasons ago, the Big Ten has won them all. And they didn't play a SEC team in any of those title games. Sure, the SEC has a few teams here and there that make the playoff, but so does the Big Ten. Oregon made it to the final four this year. Last season the Big Ten had five playoff teams. The SEC only had three. In the 23-24 playoff, the last with four teams, there was one SEC, one Pac 12, one Big 12 and one Big Ten, and the title game was Pac 12 versus Big Ten. We are in a new era of college football, and for the first part of this era, the Big Ten is the best conference, and it is not even close. And before people say, well they have 16 teams from all over the country, it is not fair, the last three champs from the Big 10 are all traditional Big Ten teams. So, as a fan of a Big Ten team, this makes me happy.

Anyway, congrats to Indiana. They are the no questions asked champs of the 2025-26 college football season. Enjoy it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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