The Indiana football fan base is still, and will always, basking in the afterglow of winning the 2025 national championship. With the sports calendar flipping over to 2026, let’s take one final look back at how the Indiana Hoosiers reached the top of the mountain.
The Regular Season
No. 20 Indiana 27 Old Dominion 14
The Hoosiers’ 2025 season could not have started any worse outside of a major injury. Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph took the first play from scrimmage for a 75-yard touchdown run, stunning most of the Indiana crowd.
It was an ugly game that saw zero touchdown passes from Fernando Mendoza and the red zone offense had trouble punching the ball all afternoon. However, Indiana’s special teams and defense stepped up to the challenge. Jonathan Brady kick-started a dormant offense with a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown, and the IU defense notched three interceptions that led to 10 points.
Many thought this team would not sniff the College Football Playoff again and the AP voters actually dropped IU a couple of spots the next week.
No. 23 Indiana 56 Kennesaw State 9
The Hoosiers’ passing game came to life and the defense shut down the Owls’ offense. However, the game was closer than the score indicated. With IU leading 28-9 in the third quarter, Kennesaw State hit a deep pass that could have led to another score, but Jamari Sharpe chased the receiver down and stripped the ball. IU would roll from there. Elijah Sarratt caught three of Fernando Mendoza’s four touchdown passes.
No.22 Indiana 73 Indiana 0
Great teams do this to bad teams. The Hoosiers rolled as Fernando Mendoza threw five touchdown passes, four of them to Omar Cooper Jr. which tied a single-game school record. The Hoosiers did lose running back Lee Bebee Jr. for the season in the second half of this game.
No. 19 Indiana 63 No. 9 Illinois 10
The national media lazily called Illinois “this year’s Indiana” prior to the 2025 season and, boy, were they wrong (shocker). Hoosier fans had this game circled on the calendar as when people would learn exactly what this version of Indiana was. There were many people saying Indiana was a one-hit wonder and had no staying power (national people wrong again).
The beat down was so severe that it made the national media (shocker) question whether Illinois was actually good instead of it being a statement made by Indiana. After a D’Angelo Ponds punt block scoop and score the game never really settled down for the Illini and the Hoosier avalance kept on coming.
No. 11 Indiana 20 Iowa 15
The 20-15 win over Iowa gave a glimpse of what the Hoosiers were capable of. Indiana had not won in Iowa City since 2007 and Kinnick is always a place where title dreams go to die. The Hoosiers’ undefeated season was on life support a couple of times, but they found a way to win a brawl of a game without D’Angelo Ponds.
Fernado Mendoza took a shot along the sideline trying to get a first down that galvantized the team. It was at that moment that he showed he had the toughness to take IU where it wanted to go. A 49-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt with under two minutes to go sealed a major road win for the Hoosiers.
No. 7 Indiana 30 No. 2 Oregon 20
Coming into this game the national media wanted to see how IU could play against a “good team” on the road (as if they didn’t watch IU go into Iowa and win the week before). The last two road games against ranked teams did not end well for Cignetti’s Hoosiers, so this game blow up that narrative.
Indiana controled the game basically from start to finish. A fourth quarter pick six thrown by Fernando Mendoza was greeted on the sideline with a “Having fun yet?” comment from his head coach. Mendoza responded and drove the Hoosiers 75 yards for the winning touchdown on the next drive.
No. 3 Indiana 38 Michigan State 13
The Hoosiers returned home for the Old Brass Spittoon game ranked number three in the nation. The Spartans had a great game plan and limited IU to just three first half possessions. Their only issue was that IU scored touchdowns on all three possessions. After a brief weather delay at half time the Hoosiers put the game away to
No. 2 Indiana 56 UCLA 6
The Hoosiers were put on upset alert by some national media who thought UCLA had turned the page and were distracted by Jerry Neuheisel’s flowing golden locks. Aiden Fisher put those doubts to rest with a pick-six on the second play from scrimmage. Indiana dominated, but did lose Fisher to a leg injury that would keep him out of the next week’s game against Maryland.
No. 2 Indiana 55 Maryland 10
The first 10-plus minutes of this game had Hoosier fans on edge. An early interception gave Maryland a 3-0 lead. IU, who was already without Aiden Fisher and offensive lineman Drew Evans, saw Elijah Sarratt leave with a leg injury that would cost him a couple of weeks.
Indiana didn’t blink as Charlie Becker filled in nicely and IU’s defense came up with several big plays. The IU offense eventually started to click and made the Testudo head to the dressing room early.
No. 2 Indiana 27 Penn State 24
This game will live on forever in the lore of Indiana football. The banged-up Hoosiers were without Drew Evans and Elijah Sarratt. They missed their chance to put the game away early in the second half and Penn State roared back to take a 24-20 lead. IU regained possession with 1:50 remaining and immediately took a sack, where Mendoza nearly lost a fumble. Staring down a 2nd-and-17 with 1:35 left at their own 18-yard line, the Hoosiers showed they refused to lose. (Don’t lie, you all felt a little daunted)
Mendoza and the offense were masterful on the best drive in Indiana football history. Everyone contributed and made plays, but it was highlighted by a play that will be replayed forever: Omar Cooper made an unbelievable catch with 36 seconds left to put IU up 27-24.
No. 2 Indiana 31 Wisconsin 7
The Hoosiers were the walking wounded heading into their final home game of the 2025 season. With a much-needed bye week coming before the Bucket Game, Indiana drubbed Wisconsin in the most ho-hum fashion. The win secured another undefeated home record for Cignetti.
No.2 Indiana 56 Purdue 3
The Hoosiers capped off their undefeated regular season on a frigid night in West Lafayette. They clinched a spot in the Big Ten title game with a 56-3 beatdown of the hapless Boilermakers. While Mendoza struggled with the cold, the Hoosiers’ running game and defense sent a large IU crowd home happy.
Big Ten Championship Game
No. 2 Indiana 13 No. 1 Ohio State 10
In a game that was underhyped because of the CFP implications, the Hoosiers and Buckeyes squared off as the top two teams in the country for the Big Ten Championship. The game was a heavyweight battle as both teams landed early punches. The Buckeyes nearly knocked Mendoza out on the first play of the game, but the Heisman winner missed just one play.
The Hoosier defense limited an explosive Buckeye offense to 10 points. Twice the Buckeyes had chances to take the lead inside the red zone and IU forced a fumble and a missed chip-shot field goal. The pro Hoosiers crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium was sent into a frenzy multiple times, but the final time was on a big-time third-down completion to Charlie Becker that basically iced the game.
The Hoosiers knocked off Ohio State for the first time since 1988, won the Big Ten for the first time since 1967 and held the number one spot in the polls for the first time ever.
College Football Playoff
Rose Bowl: No. 1 Indiana 38 No. 9 Alabama 3
The 2026 Rose Bowl was as close to a religious experience as one can have as an IU fan. It wasn’t the top of the mountain, but a waypoint where people were cleansed from football sins of yesteryear. Once again, the national media (see a pattern?) doubted the Hoosiers and pumped up former SEC royalty Alabama. Instead, the Hoosiers put the game away against the once mighty Crimson Tide before the sunset over the San Gabriels. It was utter domination and summed up in one sequence when the Hoosiers did not fall for the sleight-of-hand tricks that Alabama tried on a failed fake punt sequence. The 38-3 pounding marked the first time a team coming off a first-round bye won a playoff game.
Peach Bowl: No.1 Indiana 56 No. 5 Oregon 22
Indiana fans took over Atlanta on Thursday and the Indiana football team took over on Friday. The Peach Bowl started with a bang and the loudest crowd pop in recorded history (unofficially). D’Angelo Ponds’ pick-six on the first play of the game sent the crowd into a frenzy and Indiana really never looked back. IU dominated the semi-final game and punched its ticket to the national championship against Miami.
National Championship Game: No. 1 Indiana 27 No. 10 Miami 21
A game for the ages, and not just IU fans. The national championship game had a bit of everything. A Heisman moment for the Heisman winner, huge special teams plays and a comeback that fell short. The Hoosiers took a 10-0 lead at halftime before Miami started to punch back. A touchdown on the Hurricanes first possession of the third quarter started a back-and-forth second half. Indiana would keep Miami at arm’s length with a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown. Miami responded again before Mendoza’s 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-five.
Still, Miami would not go away, scoring again to cut IU’s lead to 24-21. The Hoosiers nearly put it away, but a false start had even the most faithful IU fans on edge as the Hoosiers had to settle for a field goal. The Hurricanes moved the ball to just over midfield thanks to a bad roughing the passer penalty and a couple of longer throws from Carson Beck. However, the Hoosiers found a way when Jamari Sharpe stuck to his fundamentals and picked off a pass to seal the win and the trophy for the Hoosiers.
The 2025 season will go down in the record books. The Hoosiers were the first team since 1894 to go 16-0. They answered the bell every time and proved nearly all the doubters wrong. Just don’t bring it up around the 2026 Indiana football team, because it’s now ancient history.