Indiana’s No. 6 Ranking Could Be a Blessing in Disguise
As the 2026 college football season approaches, there is a legitimate case to be made that the Indiana Hoosiers should have been sitting at No. 1 in the country.
Under Curt Cignetti, Indiana has gone an astonishing 27-2 and is coming off a flawless 16-0 campaign that ended with a national championship. The coaching staff remains intact, while the Hoosiers also return several key contributors on both sides of the football. They have further strengthened the roster through the transfer portal, with On3 ranking Indiana’s incoming portal class No. 1 nationally.
Given all of that, Indiana entering the season as the nation’s top-ranked team would hardly have been a surprise. In fact, making that argument has become a familiar one around the program.
Instead, the Hoosiers will open the season ranked No. 6 in the AP preseason poll.
And while that might initially seem like a disappointment, it could ultimately work in Indiana’s favor.
Recent preseason No. 1 teams have struggled to finish the job
Ohio State enters the 2026 season as the No. 1 team in the AP preseason poll. History, however, suggests that being placed at the top before the season begins can come with plenty of pressure.
Over the past two-plus decades, 20 of the previous 22 teams that began the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll failed to win the national championship. The difficulty of carrying that designation from August all the way through the postseason has been evident, making the preseason top spot something of a potential curse.
Indiana won’t have to deal with those expectations.
For Ohio State, meanwhile, this marks the ninth time in program history that the Buckeyes have started a season ranked No. 1. None of the previous eight resulted in a national championship.
That history could be particularly significant considering Indiana and Ohio State are scheduled to meet in a highly anticipated showdown Oct. 17 at Memorial Stadium.
Cignetti has transformed Indiana into a national contender
Regardless of where the Hoosiers landed in the preseason rankings, their No. 6 position is another indication of the extraordinary transformation taking place in Bloomington under Cignetti.
Before Cignetti arrived, Indiana had won only nine games combined across the previous three seasons and posted a dismal 3-24 record in Big Ten play.
The program has undergone a dramatic turnaround since then.
Indiana is now 27-2 under Cignetti, has reached the College Football Playoff twice, captured a Big Ten championship and collected major postseason victories in the Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl and CFP National Championship Game.
The No. 6 preseason ranking also represents another milestone for the program. It is Indiana’s first-ever preseason ranking inside the AP Top 10 and the highest preseason position the Hoosiers have ever received.
It is only the fifth time in program history that Indiana has appeared in the AP preseason poll.
What once looked like a program struggling to establish itself in the Big Ten has quickly become one of the most dangerous teams in the country.
Now, with Cignetti back at the helm, a talented roster returning and the nation’s top-ranked transfer portal class added to the mix, Indiana appears equipped to keep that momentum going.
The Hoosiers will begin their title defense at home against North Texas on Saturday, Sept. 5, with expectations higher than ever in Bloomington.
