Numbers That Mattered: The Indiana Hoosiers National Championship Season

Photo Credit: Indiana University Athletics Numbers drive so much in today’s world and the sports world is no different. Now more than ever teams are hiring and building analytics teams to get every edge possible over their opponents. Over the course of the season, we’ve looked into many of those numbers ahead of the Indiana Hoosiers’ matchups each week. Now, in our final edition of the season, we recap the key numbers that drove Indiana's championship season as a whole. We’ll be looking at a lot of numbers from Pro Football Focus, which I’ll abbreviate here as PFF. Without further ado, let’s get into it: #3 Indiana's run blocking unit ranked 3rd in the country by PFF grades. This bolstered Indiana's offense and kept opposing defenses on their toes all year long. Indiana finished the year ranked 12th in the country in rushing yards per game with 212, which could not have been done without the fabulous work of this offensive line unit. Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator Bob Bostad proves time and time again that he is the best in the business and deserves much credit as well. This offensive line unit is primed to return several key contributors as well. Ajani is expected to replace Benson at right tackle (though they were splitting time already) and new transfer Joe Brunner lines up to bring added experience to the line as well. Besides that, however, the line is the same. With Brunner being the one new piece to the equation - and a fantastic piece at that - the Hoosiers very well could see the same success on the ground as they saw in 2025. #1 The Hoosiers' receiving corps ranked 1st in the country by PFF grades. Their four leading receivers were all underdogs. Omar Cooper Jr was a high three star/low four star recruit, Elijah Sarratt was a zero star recruit, Charlie Becker was a three star recruit, and EJ Williams, while a strong recruit, was a three star transfer when he arrived in Bloomington. Production over potential, as Coach Curt Cignetti always says. Cignetti and his staff have turned these underdog receivers into top dog passing threats. I'm sure Cignetti's time and experience as wide receivers coach at Alabama under Nick Saban is pouring into these players day in and day out. The results have been shown, and now we wait and see where Cooper Jr, Sarratt, and Williams will be playing on Sunday. Photo Credit: Pro Football Focus #3 IU's defense as a whole finished as 3rd best in the country by PFF grades. Defensive Coordinator Bryant Haines put on an ingenious masterclass of a performance throughout the 2025 season, regularly confusing opposing quarterbacks, never showing clear tendencies, and consistently working through adversity when key injuries arose. One key aspect to the Hoosiers' success was never letting the opposing team get into a rhythm. The Hoosiers allowed the 2nd fewest plays per game on average with opposing offenses running just 56 plays per game (per gameonpaper.com). This allowed the Hoosiers to stop offenses in their tracks, frustrate quarterbacks who were looking to string together passes in rhythm, and create one dimensional offenses that were easier to defend as a result. The Hoosiers are bringing back several key contributors to this top tier defense, but many players will be leaving as well. The Hoosiers have been active in the transfer portal to fill those roles and look to be fully reloaded for another statement run in 2026. #7 and #9 The Hoosiers had two defensive backs in the top 10 in the country when examining overall defensive PFF grades. You may know one of them pretty easily, as D'Angelo Ponds' unbelievable performances showed the country just how good he really is, but can you name the second one? That second defensive back is Devan Boykin, who played the Rover position for the Hoosiers in 2025, and actually graded higher than Ponds by these rankings (Boykin ranked 7th in the country among DB's and Ponds ranked 9th). Ponds received an overflow of media attention and skyrocketed up draft boards as he put together - quite literally - his best graded game of the season by PFF in the National Championship game. He is a lock down corner who cuts the field in half for opposing quarterbacks. He is 100% deserving of every accolade, draft position, hype, praise, and stardom, and is an undeniably key reason for the Hoosiers winning the National Championship. Ponds' great success, however, may have overshadowed just how great Boykin was as well. Boykin at the all important Rover position acts as a hybrid between a safety and linebacker. He is tasked with stopping the run, blitzing the quarterback, and covering inside receivers, whether that is a slot receiver, a tight end, or a running back. Boykin excelled at this role, finishing 1st in the country among DB's in run defense grades, 8th in the country in tackling grades, 23rd in the country in coverage grades, and - as we mentioned - 7th in the country overall. Boykin also led the Hoosiers in overall defensive PFF grades and played the 10th most snaps on the team on defense. Boykin was simply indispensable to this team. So when you think back on this National Championship winning Indiana Hoosiers squad, you will remember D'Angelo Ponds' greatness, but don't forget about Devan Boykin's as well. Photo Credit: Pro Football Focus 7th, 1st, and 7th Football has three phases, and the often underappreciated phase is Special Teams. To win a National Championship, you must be elite at all three phases, and the Hoosiers certainly were in 2025. Jonathan Brady ranked 7th in the country in punt return yards (which includes his electric return for a touchdown against Old Dominion in Indiana's season opener), Nico Radicic finished 1st in the country in broking his own Indiana record of extra points made by going 87/87 on point-after kicks (including 18/19 on field goals, taking his overall kicking total to 105/106, or 99.05%), and Quinn Warren ranked 7th in the country in net punt average with 45.5 yards. The Hoosiers truly dominated teams in all three phases of football, and that should not be overlooked in the slightest. Other IU Numbers That Matter Articles –#20 Indiana vs. Old Dominion –#23 Indiana vs. Kennesaw State –#22 Indiana vs. Indiana State –#19 Indiana vs. #9 Illinois –#11 Indiana vs. Iowa –#7 Indiana vs. #3 Oregon –#3 Indiana vs. Michigan State –#2 Indiana vs. UCLA –#2 Indiana vs. Maryland –#2 Indiana vs. Penn State –#2 Indiana vs. Wisconsin –#2 Indiana vs. Purdue –#2 Indiana vs. #1 Ohio State –#1 Indiana vs. #9 Alabama –#1 Indiana vs. #5 Oregon –#1 Indiana vs. #10 Miami

Numbers That Mattered: The Indiana Hoosiers National Championship Season

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