So what do the Indiana Hoosiers do for an encore as they prepare for the 2026 season, which begins Saturday at Memorial Stadium Saturday against North Texas?
I’m going to say something outlandish…
Not only will the defending national champions be a contender for the national title yet again, I believe they are capable of being every bit as good, every bit as dominant as last year’s perfect team.
Now, does that mean they’re going to repeat at 16-0 and blow out almost everybody on the path to a national championship? Not necessarily. So many things have to go right, just like last year in a season punctuated by Fernando Mendoza’s late-game TD pass to Elijah Sarratt against Iowa, like Omar Cooper Jr.’s toe-tap touchdown in the back of the end zone against Penn State.
But last year was not some kind of miracle.
At the very least – the very least – the sixth-ranked Hoosiers will be back in the College Football Playoff for the third time in Curt Cignetti’s remarkable tenure in Bloomington.
(It amazes me that IU is ranked that low. In the most recent coaches’ poll, IU received the second-most first-place votes from the coaches, but as the No. 6 ranking suggests, several coaches tabbed the Hoosiers as the 14th team in the nation, or thereabouts. If they were Alabama or Oregon or Ohio State and did what the Hoosiers did last season, they’d be ranked first in the country. Top three at the very least.)
True, they’ve lost several elite players, notably Fernando Mendoza, D’Angelo Ponds, Aidan Fisher, Mikhail Kamara, Pat Coogan and others. But this team isn’t a one-hit, or even two-hit wonder. Once again, they are loaded, having brought in a top 10 portal class to go with the returning players. Consider, IU has eight players who were recognized as preseason All-Americans, including defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker and offensive tackle Carter Smith. Beyond that, they retained their entire assistant coaching staff, most notably offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines.
They’re stacked: Defensive linemen Mario Landino. Linebackers Isaiah “Bones” Jones and Rolijah Hardy. Offensive linemen Drew Evans and Bray Lynch. Wide receiver Charlie Becker. Cornerback Jamari Sharpe. And the list goes on. And they could be even more imposing if the courts rule favorably on the eligibility of defenders Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt.
Most important, though, they have Cignetti, the miracle man, who has taken the once-losingest Division 1 program in college football history and turned it into the country’s unlikeliest juggernaut.
In the end, this team will go as far as Josh Hoover, the fifth-year quarterback from TCU, takes them. Again…very bullish. He arrives in Bloomington as a wildly productive passer who was ranked as the fifth-best quarterback available in the portal. By season’s end, though, I fully expect him to be one of the nation’s elite signal-callers. Why? Because when you play for Cignetti and Shanahan, you put up great numbers and win post-season awards. Everywhere Cignetti has coached, the quarterback has his best-ever season and leads the conference in passing and in other statistical categories.
Can he replicate what Mendoza accomplished last season? I’m not betting on Hoover to win the Heisman like Mendoza did, but I fully expect him to have his best-ever collegiate season and to lead the Hoosiers back to the CFP.
People forget, Mendoza struggled when he arrived in Bloomington. During spring practice prior to last season, Cignetti had questions about the Cal transfer, and remember, Mendoza didn’t play particularly well in the last year’s season opener against Old Dominion.
The argument can be made that Hoover arrives with greater fanfare than Mendoza, who was hamstrung by a poor supporting cast at Cal. Yes, Hoover has had some interception issues during his TCU days, having thrown 24 picks the previous two years. But pair a quarterback with Cignetti and Shanahan, he has a way of becoming the best version of himself.
“We’d like to see him (Hoover) play a little faster at practice with a little more urgency and drive every ball,” Cignetti said. “I don’t know what was asked of him where he came from in terms of practice, but no plays are like a throw off, not even in walk-through. We’re excited about Josh, first of all; let’s be clear about that. But he has a body of work in terms of winning football games, passing yards, touchdown passes. Got to clean up some of the turnovers, obviously, which (TCU) coach (Sonny)n Dykes made light of.
“But when Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: A great defense and a really good run game…”
Hoover’s physical gifts are ample; the question is whether he can replicate Mendoza’s physical and mental toughness, his ability to meet the moment, his resilience and decision-making ability. If past is prologue, Hoover figures to have a career-best season. It’s the Cignetti Effect.
Hoover has another advantage; he’s surrounded by elite playmakers.
As good as the Hoosiers running game was last year with Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black, I fully expect it to be even better this season with Turbo Richard (great name), Khobie Martin and Lee Beebe Jr. They’re so good, I doubt Hoover will throw for 3,400 yards, as he did his previous two seasons at TCU.
And on the outside, well, look out. The Hoosiers have arguably the best one-two punch at wide receiver with Becker and Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh. Both young men are expected not only to be first-round draft choices, they are both viewed as top 10 draftees. I know, I know…better than Cooper and Sarratt? Yes, absolutely. Becker, who had just nine catches the first nine IU games last season, went bananas down the stretch after he filled in for Sarratt, who was injured. He is poised for a monster season along with Marsh, the electric receiver from Michigan State.
How do you improve on perfection?
We’re going to find out soon.
Enjoy the wild ride.
Purdue sucks! But so does Michigan and “O-high-ya state”!!
Great article, Bob. For IU and Notre Dame fans, this is going to be a fun season.