We’re only 101 days out from toe meeting leather on September 5th when old friend QB Tayven Jackson and his North Texas Mean Green in Bloomington.
The Hoosier Huddle crew was nice enough to let me kick off this tradition that has stretched back over a decade and I’m here to talk about the schedule for ’26, do a bit of a review on Indiana Football’s title run, give some expectations for where I see this team going in ’26 and tell you what I’m excited about for the upcoming season.
’25 Indiana Football Season Wrap
First, since it’s been a while, I thought I would just give a wrap up to the ’25 Indiana Football season.
Obviously, if you’re reading this, you know Indiana went 16-0, beat the breaks off of some blue bloods, made a bunch of people in the media’s head spin and never trailed in the CFP, outscoring Alabama, Oregon and Miami 121-46, which was just a little bit worse than what they did to the rest of their schedule.
I wanted to hit some macro-level stats that I found amazing about IU’s ’25 season to put a bow on it.
IU’s efficiency on offense and defense by just about every metric was elite. IU finished 3rd in scoring offense (41.6) 2nd in scoring defense (11.7). Two stats that stick out to me as a 20+ year watcher of this program are the rushing and sack numbers. IU has, traditionally, struggled to do both of those things under numerous coaches…but not under Curt Cignetti. Indiana finished 12th in rushing yards per game (213) and 11th in sacks per game (2.9).
The other stat that sticks out is IU’s red zone efficiency, for and against. First on defense, IU finished with a middling 81% scoring rate for their opponents in the red zone. That was good for 41st overall. That’s…fine. But they didn’t allow people in the red zone almost at all. In 16 games, IU allowed just 27 total red zone opportunities for its opponents. That’s just 1.7 red zone opportunities per game, which was pretty easily the best in the nation.
Offensively, IU was just as elite in the red zone. They had the 2nd most red zone opportunities and finished 8th in red zone conversion (71/77 – 92.2%) with 56 being TD’s (72.7%) which was 12th.
The reason I brought up those stats, specifically, is that they are why you win games. IU was elite at getting to the QB. They had an elite running game to complement their elite QB. When the offense got in the red zone, they scored TD’s. And teams nearly never reached the red zone on their defense. That’s how you win a title. You make nothing easy and always keep the pressure on your opponent because you’re so efficient at the winning things.
The ’25 Indiana Hoosiers were also super likeable. People loved watching IU…and not just IU fans. Anecdotally, if I were wearing an IU hat or shirt out here in Chicago, I often got a look or a “Go Hoosiers”. I have never had that before. It’s something I always thought was possible (ok, not a title but competitive team year in and year out) if they just hired the right guy and spent the money…And they did.
Finally, a huge shout-out to the entire staff from Cignetti on down to the recruiting coordinators and media team. Just a totally well-run, well-oiled machine that pumped out terrific vibes at all levels, all season.
IU took the college football world by storm and did it with a no-nonsense quote machine of a coach, the most likeable and affable QB in a generation and a team of kids who worked their tails off no matter the physical limitations at times against other elite athletes.
What a fun bunch to be a fan of.
To put a final bow on ’25, I wanted to talk about a key loss that I think is still going under the radar. IU lost Curt Cignetti’s long-time Strength and Conditioning coach Derrick Owings to Tennessee. Unlike in the NFL, where S & C staffs are typically competing with players’ own trainers for time, college is much different. Offseason practices happen, but the guys with the team when the actual coaches cannot be present are the S & C guys. They help instill the culture that the actual on-field staff helps build…but they’re with the players as much or more than the coaches over the course of a year given the NCAA restrictions.
IU brought in Tyson Brown, who, by all accounts, is a really good, up-and-coming guy who briefly crossed paths with Cignetti at JMU before going to Washington State and then UConn.
Still, with so many coaches staying around and QB Coach Tino Sunseri coming back, losing Owings might not be an issue this season, but it takes time for a S & C staff to implement their philosophies. We’ll see how it plays out.
2026 Indiana Football Schedule
Sat, Sep 5 vs North Texas
Sat, Sep 12 vs Howard
Sat, Sep 19 vs Western Kentucky
Fri, Sep 25 vs Northwestern (8 pm FOX)
Sat, Oct 3 @ Rutgers
Sat, Oct 10 @ Nebraska
Sat, Oct 17 vs Ohio State
Sat, Oct 24 @ Michigan
Sat, Oct 31 vs Minnesota
Sat, Nov 14 vs USC
Sat, Nov 21 @ Washington
Sat, Nov 28 vs Purdue
I know people give IU a bunch of crap about the lead into the season with the three buy games, but I like it. It was a springboard for the ’25 season. If people recall, Fernando Mendoza, you know, the guy who won the Heisman Trophy and went No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft, Mendoza had some people nervous he wasn’t the answer after the offense sort of struggled to get going against (what turned out to be a very good) Old Dominion team.
But when you have a new signal caller, you probably need a little runway before you start the 9 game conference schedule.
I think this is as manageable a schedule as you can get in an elite conference like the B1G. The road games are tough but IU is also really darn good! I get caught up in this all the time where, in my head, I’m like, “man, at Nebraska, Michigan and Washington is tough…can we get one or two of those?”
Every team has questions, and some bigger than others. Does Washington’s QB Demond Williams even want to be there after trying to portal and then getting threatened with a law suit? How fast does Michigan HC Kyle Whittingham get them up to speed? Is QB Bryce Underwood progressing in a totally new offense? Can Nebraska continue to build at an incremental level with Anthony Collandrea under center? Is he good enough to lead them to a win against (what looks like) an elite IU defense even at home?
I like the Friday game with Northwestern. It’s going to be super fun to have USC come to Bloomington. The OSU game is going to be wild and I’m very happy it’s at IU this year.
I’m not going to make predictions here, but I think IU has a very good chance to get to the Playoff again.
What Should Excite IU Fans in 2026
I think IU’s passing game has a chance to be really good. IU totally reloaded its WR room and the duo of Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker looks like they’re going to be very hard to stop. Add to that guys like Shazz Preston, Tyler Morris, and the two true sophomores Davion Chandler and Lebron Bond and I’m not sure there are many better rooms in the nation.
I’m very excited about IU’s DL. I loved the ’25 DL and the injuries to Stephen Daley and Kellen Wyatt took a bit of the sting out of their dominance up front. But the ’26 DL is absolutely loaded, and nothing against the guys from last year, but IU’s brought in some different body types from high major D1. Again, I loved the guys from last year, and this isn’t a knock on them. I just think adding the likes of Joshua Burnham, Tobi Osunsanmi, Chiddi Obiazor and Joe Hjelle to the already elite duo of Mario Landino and Tyrique Tucker is a huge deal. Add to that that we’ll probably see a sophomore to junior year bump from Daniel Ndukwe and you’re looking at another elite room that I would put up against anyone.
I’ll be doing more in-depth dives but wanted to give some thoughts on two rooms that I think are top 3 in the nation, worthy. IU is now getting athletes that they didn’t have before and it’s going to be exciting to watch those athletes play in IU’s schemes.
I also think the national people are still sleeping on IU. Sure, they lost Mendoza and Cooper and Ponds and Sarratt…but they also retained 12 starters from their national title-winning team. Do these national guys putting them 6th or worse know that?
I say good. Let them think that. I think Cignetti and IU probably do better with a chip on their shoulder…Also, it’s absolutely wild that I’m saying national people ranking IU 6th in the preseason is too low. Times have certainly changed.
With that…Let’s start the Hoosier Huddle Countdown to Kickoff!