Top 25 in 25: Indiana Football Season Preview

Nov 23, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti runs with his team before the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. By Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

We’re counting down the final 25 days before the college football season by previewing every one of my preseason top 25 teams! With 25 days left until week zero, we start our previews with my No. 25 team in the country – the Indiana Hoosiers.

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Projected Record: 8-4 (5-4)

Ceiling/Floor: 10-2/6-6

Projected Wins: Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, Indiana State, Michigan State, UCLA, Maryland, Wisconsin, Purdue

Projected Losses: Illinois, Iowa, Oregon, Penn State

Most Intriguing Game: Illinois (Week 4)

The Hoosiers are coming off a magical 2024 season in head coach Curt Cignetti’s first season, where they went 11-1 and made the inaugural 12-team playoff. But after losing most of its starters from a year ago, can they replicate their success with this year’s squad with a bunch of new faces from the transfer portal?

Indiana’s 2025 offense will be led by California transfer quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, who could contend to be the best QB in the Big Ten this fall. Mendoza threw for over 3,000 yards, 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, at nearly a 70 percent completion percentage last season. Mendoza should have solid talent around him as well, starting with star receiver Elijah Sarratt, who could also contend to be the best at his position in the conference. The Hoosiers also added a few solid pieces on the offensive line and running back room to try and reload/improve the running game from 2024.

On the defensive side of things, Cignetti’s squad returns only three players from a season ago, but all three are elite players in d-lineman Mikail Kamara, linebacker Aiden Fisher and defensive back D’Angelo Ponds. Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines is back as well though, and with some good portal additions, the defense should at least be close to what it was a year ago, where it was one of the best in the conference and against the run.

It will be interesting to see how the Hoosiers do against a tougher schedule this year. You could argue that they greatly benefitted and only made the playoff because of their extremely easy schedule in 2024, but that’s not their fault. But with trips to Penn State, Oregon and Iowa, on top of a home date with Illinois this year, there will be no doubt that a second-consecutive CFP trip will have to be earned via some tough wins in 2025.  But Cignetti is an elite culture builder, and he proved he can do it with a bunch of transfers last year, but doing it with the portal method comes with a risk of having a 2024 Florida State type season, where it all falls apart because there’s no foundation. While I don’t think it’ll fall off to that degree, I do think there will be a slight decline, and a tougher schedule won’t help matters.

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